Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category

Sea

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Sea by Amy Crook

Sea by Amy Crook

I finally got a better photo of this print that showcases the muted, subtle colors. The paper is such a pale blue, and the other colors so muted, it can be quite difficult to photograph, and even worse to try to work with in Photoshop.

I love the teal-grey waves with their scribbled-in echo of the etching plate, and slow fade from dark to light. It’s nearly two feet tall and over two and a half wide, and would look gorgeous floated on a piece of matte board in a simple frame.

You can see where I also used one of my etching plates, the same one that shows up in very different contexts in Ogdred Weary and Elements. Instead of inking into the deep grooves of the plate, I used the same brayer (ink roller) that I used to make the larger patterns, to roll ink only onto the surface of the plate, leaving the actual etching free of ink. (Click any image to see it larger.)

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

You can see here how there’s echoing linework hiding in the main part of the image. First ink was laid down on the main plate using the brayer, and then the back of a paintbrush was used to scrape away the ink to add texture.

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The whole pattern of waves and seaweed, or tentacles, or just more eddies and currents, is topped off with a shining sun rubber stamp in silver ink.

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

The print itself is quite large, the imported paper soft with beautiful natural edges. It really needs to be matted and framed for proper display, perhaps floated on a white or black background.

Sea, 31″x23″ monoprint, etching and rubber stamp on paper.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Chasing Amy

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Chasing Amy, detail, by Amy Crook

Chasing Amy, detail, by Amy Crook

Some days I can resist the pop culture reference in the titles, and some days I can’t. I’ve always really liked this monoprint for no reason that I can articulate, something about the colors and the way it all came out just works for me. I was especially pleased with the way the image expanded out of its borders to give a sense of movement, making the whole page more a part of the image.

Chasing Amy by Amy Crook

Chasing Amy by Amy Crook

Like my other prints, this one of a kind piece will need to be framed or matted before it’s ready to display. I’m happy to help you out with that if you like, for the cost of materials.

Chasing Amy, 3″x3″ monoprint on 11″x11″ watercolor paper, $499 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
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What You See

Monday, August 9th, 2010

What You See by Amy Crook

What You See by Amy Crook

This etching plate was cut from a larger “found” plate. When I found the abandoned piece, this particular image jumped out at me, so when I cut the plate into smaller pieces, I saved this one out. It’s printed onto a piece of handmade paper with little strands of human hair (a lock cut from a classmate, iirc). The paper has gorgeous natural edges, and would look great floated on a black matte and framed, though right now it’s just loose.

I feel like it would be giving something away to tell you what I see when I look at the piece, instead of letting you find your own images. I will say that there’s an element of anima, of the manitou, in it for me. What do you see?

What You See, detail, by Amy Crook

What You See, detail, by Amy Crook

What You See, 2″x2″ etching on 6″x9″ handmade paper, $349 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
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Patterns and Symbols

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Patterns and Symbols by Amy Crook

Patterns and Symbols by Amy Crook

These three tiny etching plates were hand inked and arranged to go through the printing press together, creating a one-of-a-kind print. Each etching plate is only an inch or an inch and a half square, the images floating in the center of the white page.

The top plate was painstakingly inked so that each aquatinted curl of “smoke” got its own colour, and then the two subsequent plates — both etchings with added aquatint — were inked with the same colors to complement the first. Together the three separate decorative motifs give a different meaning and presentation than any one piece would singly.

Patterns and Symbols, 8″x12″ etching on watercolor paper, $299 with free shipping.

Patterns and Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Patterns and Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
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Crux Ansata

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Crux Ansata by Amy Crook

Crux Ansata by Amy Crook - click for larger view

Crux Ansata means ‘handled cross’ and is another name for the Egyptian Ankh. There are a lot of pop culture meanings assigned to the ankh, and this particular version with the more standard cross buried inside is one often associated with the Goth subculture and vampires in particular.

This print was created by layering print after print, running the paper through the press several times and then finally painting with ink directly onto the page. First a sheet of handmade paper was used to create the swirling blue-green background texture. Then the ankh itself was applied as a monoprint but using the thicker oil-based etching inks, which were also used to ink the red found-object etching plate with its deeply etched random splatters. The other field of red is also a monoprint, which means this page went through the printing press 4 times total. Finally, the gold etching ink that glows in the lower right-hand corner and limns the ankh itself was applied by hand directly to the paper with a paintbrush.

The whole piece is quite large, on a thick sheet of watercolor paper. It’s 30″x22″, or 2.5 feet wide and nearly 2 feet tall. The first layer of blue-green-grey swirls always reminds me of some sort of spirit, and the glow of golden yellow in the corner and around the ankh the life-energy that the ankh is often thought to symbolize. Blood red anchors the piece in the flesh and gives the whole thing a Gothic edge, though the overall effect is hopeful.

Crux Ansata, 30″x22″ monoprint on watercolor paper, $699 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Fog

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Fog, detail, by Amy Crook

Fog, 3″x3″ print on 8″x11″ watercolor paper

This piece was made deliberately vague, just a hint of a figure hiding in the violet fog. The monoprinting process helped to further add blur and squishiness to the image, so that it’s only our human nature to see a face wherever there’s the right arrangement of shapes that brings out the figure at all.

This print is on a sheet of paper that is unframed, and will need to be matted and/or framed to be suitable for hanging. I’m always happy to frame things for you for the cost of materials, and shipping’s always free.

Fog by Amy Crook

Fog by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
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Blood From a Stone

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Blood From a Stone by Amy Crook

Blood From a Stone, 4″x6″ monoprint on 8″x10″ watercolor paper

The origin of this monoprint’s title is a bit odd — it’s not really named because of the magenta “veins” in the blue marble, but because the 3 pure inks used here (blue, yellow and magenta) are the colors you need to mix to get a really good, realistic blood red. I suppose it says a lot about me that I spent a lot of time figuring out how to mix the perfect shade of blood, but everyone needs a hobby, right?

Painted to resemble natural stone with inclusions of magenta veins and a few small flecks of yellow “gold,” this piece has always had a rather soothing quality to me despite the morbid name.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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