Archive for the ‘Daily Art’ Category
Lost Arcadia
Monday, November 5th, 2012
Lost Arcadia, watercolor by Amy Crook
I’ve been reading a lot of HP Lovecraft lately, and aside from being occasionally stunned by the epic racism, I’ve noticed that a lot of his descriptions of paradise have a certain common form. There’s tall spires, glowing domes, beautiful temples and perfumed gardens awaiting the lucky person who can find the various lost cities. Of course, doom (or DOOM in the case of Sarnath) often comes to destroy those idyllic cities or sink them to the bottom of the ocean, but it wouldn’t be Lovecraft if it didn’t.
This is painted using three shades of near-black, the soft green, midnight blue and deep purple, and a tiny bit of actual black thinned out to almost nothing to give texture to the glowing moon, plus a wee bit of white for the few stars that peek out above the clouds. I like the loose way I can just paint with no sketch or reference using the blacks, getting a whole range of values that aren’t just plain grey due to the subtle tinting.
Lost Arcadia, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Lost Arcadia, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I have a hard time convincing Photoshop to clear away the blue tinge of sunlight from the image without over-saturating the subtle colors on the image, so I left the one above without much adjustment so you can see the detail on the buildings. Below, you can see the swirling blue-black clouds and violet-tinted night sky as it lightens up in the glow of the city below.
Lost Arcadia, detail 2, by Amy Crook
And finally I have it in a frame! My 8×8 frames don’t have stands, just wall hanging hardware, and my iPhone couldn’t jump that high, so I’m afraid you’ll have to imagine how they look together.
Lost Arcadia, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: city, lovecraft, moon, nfs, sold, spirals, watercolor
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Random Tentacle
Sunday, November 4th, 2012
Random Tentacle watercolor sketch by Amy Crook
I was working on the purple for Tuesday’s tentacles, and I did this little sketch on my scratch paper to see how the paint would flow and decide if it was too dark. I liked it so much I scanned it to share with you — the original’s about an inch and a half high, so you’re seeing it rather larger here.
Happy Sunday!
Categories: Daily Art, Tentacles
Tags: nfs, sketch, tentacles, watercolor
Thinking in Grey
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
Thinking in Grey, Sherlock fan art by Amy Crook
Copic markers have four kinds of grey — warm, cool, neutral and toner. I used warm and cool greys to put in all shading here, giving the whole image a muted effect like an old photo. You might recognize the pose from last week’s bookmark, which was sort of practice for this bigger piece, though of course I widened the view quite a bit.
Thinking in Grey, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold
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Delicate Jellyfish
Friday, November 2nd, 2012
Delicate Jellyfish, watercolor by Amy Crook
This is one of those pieces it’s really impossible to get a feel for without seeing it in person, alas. All the paint on it is “duochrome,” which means the green background changes to gold, the pink turns purple and the green in the tentacles goes a totally different shade of purple when it’s tilted into the light just right, giving the piece almost an inverse feel as things that were darker become lighter and vice versa.
Delicate Jellyfish, 4″x6″ duochrome watercolor on green Crane & Co. paper.
Delicate Jellyfish, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a little of the color-changing effect, though it’s very hard to capture on film. Below, I’m including the frame with this painting because I found the perfect complement. The frame’s made of mother-of-pearl that shimmers just like the painting without detracting from it.
Delicate Jellyfish, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: crane and co, duochrome, for sale, green, iridescent, jellyfish, purple, watercolor
1 Comment »
N is for Negative Space
Thursday, November 1st, 2012
N is for Negative Space, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
The texture on this one is really subtle; with the red watercolor a very dense and intense tone, the red glitter gel pen nearly vanishes unless it’s at the right angle. I really enjoy the big red shark-fin shape at the bottom, and the deceptive simplicity of this particular letter. Perfect for a Nelson or Natalie or Norbert!
N is for Negative Space, 5″x5″ watercolor stick and glitter gel pen on paper.
N is for Negative Space, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shining glitter catching the sunlight, giving the whole image a bit of a bluish tint to it. Below, the N is hanging out with next week’s O to spell out every toddler’s favorite word – NO.
N is for Negative Space & O is for Origami, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, illumination, pen and ink, red, watercolor
Tentacle Deeps 43
Tuesday, October 30th, 2012
Tentacle Deeps 43 by Amy Crook
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water(color)! I never quite know when I’m going to be done with this series, but apparently it’s not just yet. This is definitely another step in the girly direction for the tentacles, with shimmery purple, duochrome pink and green. Even the paper is a lovely soft green cardstock from Crane & Co.
The spirals in the background are very subtle, the green-gold hard to see except in the right light, but I like the way they float up off the page like bubbles.
Tentacle Deeps 43, 4″x6″ iridescent and duochorome watercolor on green Crane & Co. paper.
Tentacle Deeps 43, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the shimmer of purple in the pink, and gold in the green spirals, not to mention the sheen on the purple tentacles. Below, it’s in its frame, waiting to bring a strange beauty to someone’s life.
Tentacle Deeps 43, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: crane and co, duochrome, for sale, green, purple, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
1 Comment »
Fairytale Sky 4
Monday, October 29th, 2012
Fairytale Sky 4 by Amy Crook
I have to admit, this particular version of the moon and clouds is done to my very own color preferences, so it’s one of my favorites. There’s a hint of periwinkle in the curve of the huge horned moon, and the clouds are a soft, wispy mix of iridescent blue, interference purple and soft white. The silver stars are smudgy and twinkling on the black paper background, and the whole piece has the feeling of a magic in the air.
Fairytale Sky 4, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the interplay of blue and purple in the shimmery clouds. Below, the piece is tucked into a frame (with no glass to reduce glare for the photo), and sitting with my iPhone 4s so you get an idea of the size.
Fairytale Sky 4, framed art by Amy Crook
(iPhone not included)
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, for sale, iridescent, moon, periwinkle, watercolor
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