Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Panurgic

Posted on July 26th, 2016

Panurgic, James Bond parody word art by Amy Crook

Panurgic: able or ready to do anything,
7″x5″ pen & ink, brush pen, and Copic marker on paper

When I saw this word, I immediately thought of James Bond — always ready to for a lovely lady, a martini, a fight, or all three at once. He’s sticking to the drink here, but I’m sure at least one of the others will show up later to keep life interesting.

Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Power-Up Bookmarks

Posted on July 21st, 2016

8 Power-up Bookmarks by Amy Crook

8 Power-up Bookmarks by Amy Crook

Power up your day with little breaks!

Everyone’s energy flags, your enthusiasm wanes, and your desire to work on the thing that really excited you starts to turn into a big heap of “donwanna.” Choose one of these and take a break, to help restore your body and mind to the place they need to be to get back to work on that thing you love.

If you’re in a small biz, check out Tara Swiger’s free Month of Biz Love, too — that’s where I came across this idea most recently, and what inspired me to make these bookmarks for you!

Power Up Bookmarks by Amy Crook on Etsy

Power Up Bookmarks by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Card Design, Pretty Words
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Engouement

Posted on July 19th, 2016

Engouement, Inception word art by Amy Crook

Engouement: unreasoning fondness, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper

The 6th anniversary of Inception was this past weekend, and so here’s one last adorable Arthur and Eames to celebrate.

“Unreasoning fondness” describes a lot of what it’s like to be in fandom, loving something to a ridiculous degree despite its flaws. See also: cats.

What do you have engouement for?

Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Arthur and Eames sticker designs

Posted on July 14th, 2016

Arthur & Eames stickers by Amy Crook

Arthur & Eames stickers by Amy Crook

Tumblr is celebrating the 6th anniversary of Inception, and they held an all-day chat dedicated to getting people to finish their works in progress. The lovely person running it asked me to design some stickers for those who participated, so I made Arthur for anyone who came to write at all, and Eames for those who finished & posted something.

I didn’t have a ton of time, and these stickers are actually only 1.5″ high, so I went for a quick, colorful chibi design to give us the essence of these two lovely characters without getting all fussy about the details.

Happy Inceptiversary!

Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Coming Soon

Posted on July 12th, 2016

brush calligraphy practice

brush calligraphy practice

The Printer is dead — long live the Printer!

I didn’t get word art done last week thanks to the printer doom, other than this notebook I’m filling with brush lettering and brush pen art for a secret project for my Etsy shop. I’ve got about half of the pieces done, and then there will be scanning, Photoshoppery, and — gasp! — printing!

That’s right, the third one was the charm, and I have a shiny new Canon taking up way too much space on my tiny desk now. So, more word art coming soon (tomorrow, for you Instagram followers!), but until then, enjoy these little sneak peeks.

Mmm, tea. Or coffee. Whichever.

Mmm, tea. Or coffee. Whichever.

Categories: Pretty Words, Works In Progress
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Never to Be Told

Posted on July 8th, 2016

Never to Be Told by Amy Crook

Never to Be Told, 6″x6″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

The dull orange glow coming off this rusted, smoking ruin is a lovely, warm color that somehow still embodies the apocalyptic feel of it. It’s a color you only see in the sky when things have not gone according to plan.

The crows circling above the city are the final harbingers of doom, that sign that civilization has left and there’s nothing left but whatever the crows can pick over.

It sounds like the start of a fascinating story, doesn’t it?

Never to Be Told, detail, by Amy Crook

Never to Be Told, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a single bird circling above the ruins, blackened beams and smoke-smudged skies. Below, this mournful scene is framed for posterity, waiting to spark new tales and inspire post-apocalyptic ideas.

Never to Be Told, framed art by Amy Crook

Never to Be Told, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Dragonfly Airship

Posted on July 7th, 2016

Dragonfly Airship by Amy Crook

Dragonfly Airship, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and pen & ink on paper

This is the first of the end-of-gallery Airship series that really gelled in a beautiful, detailed way. The gorgeously patterned dragonfly wings work with the body of the ship. The windows on the body imply a fascinating sense of scale. The ornamentation hovers somewhere between the whimsy of steampunk and the sleekness of retro-futurism, with the flower-petal propeller adding the final touch of whimsy.

This painting is perfect for sparking the imagination, sending your mind on short flights of fancy to keep your day floating along peacefully.

Dragonfly Airship, detail, by Amy Crook

Dragonfly Airship, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a detail of the painted pattern, evoking without copying a firefly’s delicate wings. Below, the art is sitting in a frame, just waiting to fly off to its new home.

Dragonfly Airship, framed art by Amy Crook

Dragonfly Airship, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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