Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

State of the Kitties: 2017

Posted on January 5th, 2017

Belladonna in a Master-level catnap yoga pose

Belladonna in a Master-level catnap yoga pose

As we move out of the trash year that was 2016, I know there is one important question on everyone’s minds: how are the cats of the world?

Belladonna is going to be 15 (!!) this spring, and while she’s thin and arthritic and grumpy, she’s still pretty spry and loves her heated cat bed. I need to take her in for an old lady vet checkup pretty soon, and we’ve installed cat stairs around to avoid too much leaping, but all in all she does pretty well. Also, since she’s so old, she is constantly spoiled rotten by both myself and roomie — she gets lots of extra treats and has graduated to yelling at us until someone turns on the faucet for her majesty to drink fresh water.

Her other current fave is her catnip dental treats, which you can help provide by supporting her human slave.

BODE

BODE

Pteropodidae (aka Pod), on the other hand, is hitting kitty middle age and getting the spread. He turned 8 this past autumn, and is getting quite the bodacious kitty bod going. I’m making a bit of an effort to give him more murder baby enrichment time with The Great Red Dot and the fuzzy snake, but overall I admit I kind of like his softer, lazier side. Even if he does sometimes make me go ‘oof’ when stepping on my tummy.

Podling definitely has the whole “cats are liquid and control their own gravity” thing going, especially when he doesn’t want to be picked up.

Podzilla would like you to buy something from the Etsy Shop so he can get a new cat tree from which to survey his domain.

Categories: Words Words Words
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Advent 2016, week 4

Posted on December 31st, 2016

2016 is almost over!

To celebrate the end of this terrible year, I drew one sketch every day. They’re in various media on cheap-but-archival 5.5″x8.5″ embossed white cards. Some of these will be available as cards, some of them will be in a special sale for my email list next month, and some of them are already spoken for.

I had the flu and then a cold for most of December, so pardon some of the weirdness. I’m mostly well now, except for a bit of a lingering cough. Wish me luck in not catching anything else for awhile!

Advent 2016 day 26: Snortoro, a Pokemon and Totoro parody mashup

Advent 2016 day 26: Snortoro, a Pokemon and Totoro parody mashup, $20

Advent 2016 day 27: General Organa, Star Wars parody art

Advent 2016 day 27: General Organa, Star Wars parody art, sold

Advent 2016 day 28: Pounce

Advent 2016 day 28: Pounce, $10

Advent 2016 day 29: Star Cat

Advent 2016 day 29: Star Cat, $15

Advent 2016 day 30: Inception in a Teacup, parody art

Advent 2016 day 30: Inception in a Teacup, parody art, $30

Advent 2016 day 31: Toast, Inception parody art

Advent 2016 day 31: Toast, Inception parody art, $30

Happy New Year!

Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Advent 2016, week 3

Posted on December 26th, 2016

2016 is almost over!

To celebrate the end of this terrible year, I’m doing one sketch every day. They’re in various media on these cheap-but-archival 5.5″x8.5″ embossed white cards. Some of these will be available as cards, some of them will be in a special sale for my email list next month, and some of them are already spoken for.

I’ve had the flu and then a cold for most of December, so pardon some of the bizarreness going on here. I am almost not sick at this point, but still have a bit of lingering bleh. BLEH.

Advent 2016 day 18: Lost a Bet, Sherlock parody art

Advent 2016 day 18: Lost a Bet, Sherlock parody art, sold

Advent 2016 day 19: Boromir, Lord of the Rings parody art

Advent 2016 day 19: Boromir, Lord of the Rings parody art, sold

Advent 2016 day 20: Cat Wrap

Advent 2016 day 20: Cat Wrap, $20

Advent 2016 day 21: Snowman

Advent 2016 day 21: Snowman, $10

Advent 2016 day 22: Tomcat and Robin

Advent 2016 day 22: Tomcat and Robin, $20

Advent 2016 day 23: Still Not Well

Advent 2016 day 23: Still Not Well, $5

Advent 2016 day 24: Santa Fuel, for Jeff

Advent 2016 day 24: Santa Fuel, for Jeff, sold

Advent 2016 day 25: Ornament Rainbow

Advent 2016 day 25: Ornament Rainbow, $30

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Best of 2016: Artist’s Choice

Posted on December 21st, 2016

Artist's Choice: Best of 2016 from Amy Crook

2016 has been a terrible year for so many reasons, but as I went through my backlist I found that I still like a lot of the art I made, despite everything else that was going on.

I’ve chosen all art that’s unsold this time around, a baker’s dozen with one from each month and an overall favorite that I can’t really explain my devotion to, but really, really love.

Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Words Words Words
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Advent 2016, week 2

Posted on December 18th, 2016

2016 is almost over!

To celebrate the end of this terrible year, I’m doing one sketch every day. They’re in various media on these cheap-but-archival 5.5″x8.5″ embossed white cards. Some of these will be available as cards, some of them will be in a special sale for my email list next month, and some of them are already spoken for.

Advent 2016 day 11: Kiss my Cat

Advent 2016 day 11: Kiss my Cat, $30

Advent 2016 day 12: Minimalist TARDIS

Advent 2016 day 12: Minimalist TARDIS, sold

Advent 2016 day 13: Silver Ornaments

Advent 2016 day 13: Silver Ornaments, $10

Advent 2016 day 14: BODE

Advent 2016 day 14: BODE, $5

Advent 2016 day 15: Catboy Arthur, Inception parody art

Advent 2016 day 15: Catboy Arthur, Inception parody art, $25

Advent 2016 day 16: Croissants

Advent 2016 day 16: Croissants, $10

Advent 2016 day 17: Ghost Gifts

Advent 2016 day 17: Ghost Gifts, $5

PS – I’ve had the flu all week, so pardon the varying levels of weirdness and quality.

PPS – #BODE

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Advent 2016, week 1

Posted on December 11th, 2016

2016 is almost over!

To celebrate the end of this terrible year, I’m doing one sketch every day. They’re in various media on these cheap-but-archival 5.5″x8.5″ embossed white cards. Some of these will be available as cards, some of them will be in a special sale for my email list next month, and some of them are already spoken for.

Advent 2016 day 1: Enraptured, Q/tea parody art for Kim

Advent 2016 day 1: Enraptured, Q/tea parody art for Kim, sold

Advent 2016 day 2: Revolting Spoons, for Jeff

Advent 2016 day 2: Revolting Spoons, for Jeff, sold

Advent 2016 day 3: Festive Tentacles

Advent 2016 day 3: Festive Tentacles, sold

Advent 2016 day 4: December Airship

Advent 2016 day 4: December Airship, $20

Advent 2016 day 5: Cat Love

Advent 2016 day 5: Cat Love, $10

Advent 2016 day 6: Grinch

Advent 2016 day 6: Grinch, $15

Advent 2016 day 7: Seasonal Cross-Contamination

Advent 2016 day 7: Seasonal Cross-Contamination, $25

Advent 2016 day 8: Sister Act, White Christmas parody art for CC & Dami

Advent 2016 day 8: Sister Act, White Christmas parody art for CC & Dami, $25

Advent 2016 day 9: Sherrinford the Skull

Advent 2016 day 9: Sherrinford the Skull, $20

Advent 2016 day 10: Christmas Tea for Kim

Advent 2016 day 10: Christmas Tea for Kim, sold

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Catnap

Posted on December 8th, 2016

Catnap by Amy Crook

Catnap, 12″x9″ ink on Strathmore watercolor paper

If you’ve admired my sketchbook cats, this one is for you — a full-size zen kitty napping away, graceful sweeps of the brush creating a beautifully minimalist rendition of feline repose.

The larger size looks elegant in a frame, the simple black and white adding the perfect touch to any room.

The contrast between the loose stroke of the back and tail and the finer detail in the ears and face evokes the many contrasts inherent in a cat’s nature.

Catnap, detail, by Amy Crook

Catnap, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the delightful contrast between the delicate ears and swooping tail. Below, the art is in a frame, the larger size giving a lovely elegance to the charming image. This is one piece of cat art no one will call kitsch!

Catnap, framed art by Amy Crook

Catnap, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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