Painted Ladies
Posted on August 6th, 2015
Painted Ladies by Amy Crook
This is the summer of paintings that take months to complete! I started this last month with the off-kilter row houses all leaning together against a midnight sky. Then it sat around for weeks while I contemplated this sky or that sky, and finally I found clouds that match with the same whimsical, half-surreal feel as the townhouses below.
Perhaps this is where the London Addams clan lives, the houses joined up by tunnels and secret passages until it’s really one big, beautiful wall of weird. Instead of a swamp they have walled-up cellars that suspiciously moan. Instead of an unmarked, abandoned well, there’s a root cellar that doesn’t seem to stop going back and down into the deep earth.
Which of these painted ladies would you like to live in?
Painted Ladies, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Painted Ladies, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a the detail of the moon and a few of the lovely, strange roofs it’s shining down upon. Below, the painted ladies are in a frame, like a window to another, odder reality.
Painted Ladies, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, painted ladies, periwinkle, row houses, sold, stars, watercolor
Rainforest
Posted on August 4th, 2015
Rainforest, abstract art by Amy Crook
As an antidote to Monday, I give you another contribution to my Pathways series. This one is a vibrant turquoise softened by cool blue and granular black, with the tiniest hint of shimmer hiding in the highlights.
It makes me think of the Amazon jungle rising up to the sky, taking over wherever it can.
There’s a glow of life at the core of each growth, especially along the bottom where they stretch up out of a mound of colour, reaching upward and spreading outward like plants seeking the sun.
Rainforest, 8″x8″ watercolor and iridescent watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Rainforest, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the intricate, organic shapes of the runnels and fronds. Below, the piece is nestled in a frame, already growing upward out of sight.
Rainforest, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: green, iridescent, nfs, pathways, watercolor
Cuppa Rage
Posted on August 3rd, 2015
Cuppa Rage by Amy Crook
Almost half of my July was taken up dealing with a tech snafu, which was covered by my extended warranty but still enough to drive me around the bend.
This sharp-edged, boiling cuppa was inspired by the uniquely enraging experience of dealing with terrible tech support that operates off a script with no room for the actual variation of customer experience. The cup itself is a dull, smoldering burgundy with bright orange in the handle and cut-off plane of the top, and a vibrant red inside with the bubbling tea. I gilded the sharp edges at the top and bottom of the cup and along the saucer, the bright spot of not actually murdering anyone.
My tech woes have been solved, but it’s good I had a cuppa to contain my rage.
Cuppa Rage, 7″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and metallic watercolor on paper.
Cuppa Rage, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of gold offset by the virulent orange on the sharp-cut edge of the cup, and the roil of tea inside. Below, the rage has been contained in a frame, ready to receive all the frustration of your Mondays to come.
Cuppa Rage, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: cuppa, for sale, metallic watercolor, pen and ink, tea, watercolor
MI6 Tinies: J is for James
Posted on July 29th, 2015
MI6 Tinies: J is for James by Amy Crook
As promised, here’s the second of my MI6 Tinies. James is falling into the same trap as “Z is for Zillah,” though he’s at least using proper martini glasses instead of a teapot for his gin. Gorey’s ubiquitous black doll also makes a guest appearance, spreading its ill omen along with the display of finer spirits.
These two are a commission, but you can acquire them printed on a lovely 2-card set at my Etsy shop.
MI6 Tinies: J is for James, 8.5″x5.5″ pen & ink on paper.
MI6 Tinies greeting cards by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: 007, edward gorey, etsy, gorey, james bond, mi6 tinies, nfs, q, quartermaster, sold
Q is for Quartermaster
Posted on July 27th, 2015
MI6 Tinies: Q is for Quartermaster by Amy Crook
The wonderful patron who commissioned most of my Baker Street Tinies knitted me the most amazing shawl, and one of the things she requested in trade for it was a pair of MI6 Tinies.
This time I’ve crossed the world of James Bond over with Edward Gorey’s Gashlycrumb Tinies. The new Q from Skyfall appears in a parody of “Y is for Yorick” except instead of a column of stone it’s a tall tower of servers teetering and about to fall on his head.
Don’t worry, 007 will get his on Wednesday! These two are a commission, but you can acquire them printed on a lovely 2-card set at my Etsy shop.
MI6 Tinies: Q is for Quartermaster, 8.5″x5.5″ pen & ink on paper.
MI6 Tinies greeting cards by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: 007, edward gorey, etsy, gorey, james bond, mi6 tinies, nfs, q, quartermaster, sold
Devil and Angel Bookmarks
Posted on July 22nd, 2015
Devil & Angel bookmarks, Sherlock parody art by Amy Crook
I sketched these as my art warm-up about 10 days ago, which turned out to be the day’s entire art output because I then entered printer tech support purgatory. Everything’s under warranty, but I could really stand to have had this fixed sometime last week.
I’m not sure why I felt the need to give Sherlock a tentacle tattoo, but as it looks adorable on him, I don’t think it matters. Horns inspired by a rewatch of Monsters Inc.
Devil & Angel bookmarks, pen & ink on parchment cardstock.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bookmark, john watson, nfs, parchment cardstock, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watson
Daron, Colin, and Ziggy
Posted on July 20th, 2015
Daron, Colin, and Ziggy by Amy Crook
Daron’s Guitar Chronicles is continuing its summer of fanworks, and I’m easily led, so when someone asked me to draw Colin I couldn’t resist giving him a rock star on each arm. I love how this really shows how short Daron and Ziggy are, but my favorite detail is the little hole in Ziggy’s fishnet shirt, though Daron’s adorable blush is a close second.
The original should show up in the Floating Gallery soon, or you can get these cuties on a card in my Etsy shop.
Daron, Colin, and Ziggy, 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic marker.
Daron, Colin, and Ziggy greeting card by Amy Crook at Etsy
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, daron moondog, dgc, etsy, for sale, pen and ink, ziggy
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