Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Success!

Posted on November 11th, 2014

the back of the package sent to my lucky winner

the back of the package sent to my lucky winner

I did my first-ever email list giveaway this month, and it was a success! The darling Midori got her package and was very squeeful about the plethora of goodies inside.

The giveaway thing started out as an excuse for me to send more mail — people on my email list can opt to give me their snail mail addresses to get entered in a monthly drawing. I’m also going to try to get some birthday cards going out, and maybe something special for next Halloween (my favorite holiday!).

I wanted to give generously and not just one or two things — something that would really bring delight and awesome happiness to my people. The splendidly wicked Evil Supply Co.* sends out a bunch of freebies every month, and after winning a whole Mr. Ghost’s Monthly Parcel (The Raven!) and being totally shocked at the amount of swag in there, I wanted to pass that feeling on to my beloved readers, customers, and patrons.

ALL the swag

ALL the swag

In addition to cards, bookmarks, gift tags, and some of my awesome Moo minicards**, there’s a couple of things you can’t get anywhere else — stickers, prints, and one of my even awesomer square Moo cards, which are like high-quality mini art prints.

*this is not an affiliate link, I just like Atticus a lot
**this is totally an affiliate link, but I also like Moo a lot

Categories: Words Words Words
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How Many Minions

Posted on November 8th, 2014

How Many Minions, parody comic by Amy Crook

How Many Minions, parody comic by Amy Crook

How many Minions does it take? Who knows, these six haven’t even managed it yet, though the one on top is shining like a proper Christmas star, having lifted his whole tree of support off the ground below.

You can get these silly Minions on a card at my Etsy shop.

How Many Minions, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

How Many Minions holiday card by Amy Crook at Etsy

How Many Minions holiday card by Amy Crook at Etsy

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Murder at Sunset

Posted on November 7th, 2014

Murder at Sunset by Amy Crook

Murder at Sunset by Amy Crook

A single tree hosts a murder of crows as the sun sinks below the horizon, painting the clouds in glorious golds, oranges, and reds. This latest installment in my Horizons series has a charming simplicity with the single, crooked tree, but a lovely complexity of layered clouds hiding behind it.

Murder at Sunset, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Murder at Sunset, detail, by Amy Crook

Murder at Sunset, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the seven crows coming to roost for their murder, whether in collusion or merely coincidence. Below, I’ve put the painting in a temporary frame, though I think this one would benefit from a mat cut to size for its final resting place.

Murder at Sunset, framed art by Amy Crook

Murder at Sunset, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Dark Scottish Loch

Posted on November 6th, 2014

Dark Scottish Loch by Amy Crook

Dark Scottish Loch by Amy Crook

Many miles away
Something crawls from the slime
At the bottom of a dark Scottish loch

There is a very subtle shimmer of amethysts in the water at the center of this painting, another in my series of maps to nowhere. The rich mineral-based paints give very understated, muted colors, with only that tiny bit of shimmer to add lightness. I outlined the ‘loch’ with Sharpie marker, and named it after the above lyrics from The Police’s Synchronicity II.

There’s even a hint of monsters in the gorgeous texture of the lake, a suggestion of something lurking in the forest surrounding it as well. A shadow on the door of your mind.

Dark Scottish Loch, 10″x8″ Sharpie marker and Primatek watercolorn on archival paper.

Dark Scottish Loch, detail, by Amy Crook

Dark Scottish Loch, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the amethyst paint shimmers ever so subtly in the dark waters of the loch. Below, you can see the painting in a frame, suggesting at secrets to be found at the bottom of things.

Dark Scottish Loch, framed art by Amy Crook

Dark Scottish Loch, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Winter Lane

Posted on November 5th, 2014

Winter Lane by Amy Crook

Winter Lane by Amy Crook

I turned my trees on their side (pun intended) and did a vertical one this time, with those upward-sweeping branches tangling up in your vision as they reach for the sky above. You can practically feel the winter crispness of the day, and just spot a pair of crows (two for joy, two for luck) hiding in the branches.

Winter Lane, 4″x8″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Winter Lane, detail, by Amy Crook

Winter Lane, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the purple in the shadows, the golden glow along the horizon, and the texture hiding in the silhouetted trees. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, waiting for its new forever home.

Winter Lane, framed art by Amy Crook

Winter Lane, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Atmosphere

Posted on November 4th, 2014

Atmosphere by Amy Crook

Atmosphere by Amy Crook

This makes me think of a strange, swirling planet flinging its atmosphere off into the void, or perhaps stealing the blue-violet outer ring of gases from somewhere else. The thin middle ring of blue is hard to spot in the scan, but you can see it in the detail photo quite well, and it’s very obvious in person. The color reminded me very distinctly of photos of the earth’s atmosphere, that thin layer that keeps us all alive, which is where the piece gets its title. The spiralling planet itself is a color-changing paint that goes from reddish copper to a warm golden bronze, while the outside runs through blues and purples depending on the angle of the light.

Atmosphere, 5″x5″ duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Atmosphere, detail, by Amy Crook

Atmosphere, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the thin blue shining out from between lavender and copper. Below, it’s in a frame, hanging out with my old glasses for scale.

Atmosphere, framed art by Amy Crook

Atmosphere, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Dreamlands

Posted on November 3rd, 2014

Dreamlands by Amy Crook

Dreamlands by Amy Crook

Pink jellyfish float serenely over a translucent city in shadowy greens, everything looking half-real against the sky of blue with hints of periwinkle and lavender. Deadly tendrils caress the tops of the buildings, or perhaps pass right through them, and the buildings tilt along with the horizon, like something in a dream.

I’m sure it surprises nobody that the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian sort of thing, the alien worlds one travels to in the perilous hours of dreaming.

Dreamlands, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Dreamlands, detail, by Amy Crook

Dreamlands, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the way the jellyfish float past the city, unaffected by its strange towers and spires. Below, you can see the painting in a temporary frame, like a window into a dream.

Dreamlands, framed art by Amy Crook

Dreamlands, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
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