Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Battle Scarred

Posted on June 18th, 2014

Battle Scarred, abstract art by Amy Crook

Battle Scarred, abstract art by Amy Crook

There are two distinct layers to this painting, both filled with shining metallics. The copper in the back is marked and scarred like armor that survived a great battle, with blue glittery enamel filigree over the top, decoration that either came after the battle, or survived unmarked by whatever damaged the surface below. Or perhaps it’s a tracery of some magic used to preserve this artifact of past battles, won or lost.

Battle Scarred, 5″x7″ watercolor, salt, metallic watercolor, and glitter gel pen on paper.

Battle Scarred, detail, by Amy Crook

Battle Scarred, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the copper paint catching the light, the sparkle of the glitter pen and the salt interacting. The blue pen has picked up a slight green tinge in places from the color beneath it, and the metal ranges from a blushing copper to more golden to the green of tarnish in places. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, sunlight giving it a brilliant sheen.

Battle Scarred, framed art by Amy Crook

Battle Scarred, framed art by Amy Crook

This one-of-a-kind piece will be available in the Floating Gallery for July; you can join my list to get an early chance to buy.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Graduating is Cool

Posted on June 17th, 2014

Graduating is Cool, a Doctor Who commission by Amy Crook

Graduating is Cool, a Doctor Who commission by Amy Crook

This was also a commission, by the coolest Aunt in the world, for her niece that’s going into fashion design in the fall. The bright purple of the original is, as always, hard to reproduce on the computer, but the Doctor is all kitted up for the ceremony, including a proper tassel on his (very cool) fez!

Want a little Doctor of your own? You can commission art for yourself or a friend!

Graduating is Cool, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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In or Out

Posted on June 12th, 2014

In or Out, Doctor Who parody art by Amy Crook

In or Out, Doctor Who parody art by Amy Crook

Peter Capaldi is most famous in England for his role as the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It — or at least he was, until he got cast as the twelfth Doctor. We haven’t seen anything about him except his costume, and August refuses to hurry here, so this bit of Doctor Who fan art uses a quote from Malcolm’s mouth.

This art was a commission for one of my favorite patrons, but she’s kindly allowed me to put them on cards for my Etsy shop, so you can enjoy some sweary twelfth Doctor of your very own!

In or Out, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

In or Out, Doctor Who greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

In or Out, Doctor Who greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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I <3 Payment Plans

Posted on June 8th, 2014

Purple Mist, abstract art by Amy Crook

No, really, I do. Layaway, payment plans, installments agreements, whatever you want to call it, I love them to bits. They help buyers who want art but don’t have all the pennies in their budget today, and they help me.

As a working artist, money coming in at regular intervals is a really nice thing to have. It’s always good to know my boba tea budget is covered! Instant gratification aside, that commitment tells me you love my art enough to give it a good home. It’s like the extra little bit of love you show when you’re willing to wait for your new kitten to get fixed before it comes to its forever home.

Okay, really I just wanted you to think art = kittens for a minute.

You might be wondering, how does one set up a payment plan with an artist such as yourself? Well, it’s really simple: just ask me.

Answers, We Has ThemWood Elf by Amy Crook

  • I offer 3 payment plans, $25, $50 or $100/month. Even the lowest one is enough to get one piece of art paid off within a year.
  • I’ll keep track of it in a shared Google Spreadsheet, so you can always see where you are in your payments and how much there is to go.
  • I don’t charge any interest, but you won’t get your art until after you’ve sent the last payment.
  • Your painting or drawing will be marked sold as soon as we come to an agreement, so you don’t have to worry someone else will swipe it while you’re paying.
  • You can pay with Paypal, checks, or meeting up for coffee & handing me cash, whatever works. Well, okay, you can only do the last one if you’re local to the SF Bay Area (hi!). I can even set up a Paypal Subscription Payment that’ll charge you automagically.
  • You can always double up if you get a windfall and get your art faster, or rearrange if you come to a tight spot. If you have to miss a payment for whatever reason, it’s cool, we’ll just pick it back up next time.

Three Crows by Amy Crook
Agree With Me?

If you’ve fallen in love with something in the Floating Gallery and want to take it home with you, send me an email! We’ll work out an agreement to make that possible.

Got more questions? You can ask them here, or drop me a line. I’m always happy to chat.

Maleficent, abstract art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Words Words Words
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Two Fish

Posted on June 7th, 2014

Two Fish, watercolor by Amy Crook

Two Fish, watercolor by Amy Crook

Two fish, different, but still swimming together in the vibrant purple depths. The bottom fish flashes between purple and blue, and the top fish has gold-to-green duochrome paint on one half, and gold-to-orange on the other.

To me, this painting is about support. The bottom fish is always there, just on the edge of awareness, ready to rise up when he’s needed.

Two Fish, 4″x8″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Two Fish, detail, by Amy Crook

Two Fish, detail, by Amy Crook

You can really see the blue, gold, and orange catching the sunlight above, turning the purple water to a muted, matte background for the fishes’ brilliance. Below, the fish are swimming in a temporary frame, bright in the middle of darkness.

Two Fish, framed art by Amy Crook

Two Fish, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
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Distance

Posted on June 6th, 2014

Distance, art by Amy Crook

Distance, art by Amy Crook

Two paintings of crows this month, what is this world coming to? Obviously, I’ve had my blinds open to watch the birds outside my window. Pod appreciates this very much, though he doesn’t seem to understand that he’d be very sad if he actually could try to leap and catch one.

This time the crow and branches are sketched in with pen and ink, while the sunlit mist and distant castle are watercolor. It reminds me of the opening scene of some fairytale, an establishing shot waiting for us to swoop over the dead, misty forests and up to one of the towers to see who’s hiding in the castle.

Distance, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Distance, detail, by Amy Crook

Distance, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the crow and the mist-shrouded, distant castle, bracketed by dark, dead branches. Below, you can see the painting, sun-washed and petite next to my phone.

Distance, framed art by Amy Crook

Distance, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Frost Ghosts

Posted on June 5th, 2014

Frost Ghosts, spooky watercolor by Amy Crook

Frost Ghosts, watercolor by Amy Crook

This painting, too, is hard to convey online. There’s no shiny paint or other special effects, but the way the paint seems to have depth is somewhat lost, and the subtle shadings and chilly colors get warmed and muddied.

I let the paint on this one mostly do its own thing with only a little direction from me to tease out the handprints on the right and the strange, creepy face in the upper left. The frostlike bloom of lighter paint happens when the dark purple and pale, opaque periwinkle interact in a pool of color, and are allowed to dry as they will.

The ghosts put their mark on this painting just for you.

Frost Ghosts, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Frost Ghosts, detail, by Amy Crook

Frost Ghosts, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see one of the handprints that bloomed above the surface of the dark paper and darker paint like frost traced on a window at night by a ghostly hand. Below, the painting sits in a frame in the incongruous sunshine, showing off more of its depths.

Frost Ghosts, framed art by Amy Crook

Frost Ghosts, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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