Archive for the ‘Daily Art’ Category
Recipe: Cheesy Meatloaf
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
That’s right, words on Wednesdays means sometimes you will get random recipes again! I know you’re thrilled.
I would describe this meatloaf as delicious but also relentlessly savory — there is nothing sweet about this bad boy, but mmmm it’s good. The nice thing about meatloaf is it’s super easy.
- 20 oz package of ground turkey
- about the same amount of ground beef
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- dried Oregano/Basil/Coriander (to taste)
- 1.5 cups Italian breadcrumbs (not Panko, the boring kind in the cardboard can)
- 1 lb shredded cheese (I really like Kraft’s Triple Cheddar)
- 2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray the inside of a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Mix together all the ingredients in a big bowl. Use your bare hands, or wear gloves to keep them clean. Be gentle, if you overmix you’ll end up with tough meatloaf, but you do want the ingredients all evenly distributed, too.
Bake until the center is at 155°F — I use one of those awesome probe thermometers that goes off when it hits temp, but if you don’t have such a thing, it takes about an hour usually. Cover with foil and sit out to rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice and nom.
Put the leftovers in the fridge as is, and in the morning you can just pull off all that fat that’s in the pool of liquid around the loaf, and then save the gelled gravy beneath for extra tasty noms later. Also, meatloaf sammiches. I’m just sayin’.
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: cheese, recipe, sharpie
Tentacle Deeps 31
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Tentacle Deeps 31, watercolor by Amy Crook
I’m still enamored of these paints that are ghostly pale from some angles, and richly colored from others. This one looks like fine gilding from the right angle, but turns almost white and translucent from the wrong one. I couldn’t resist the idea of golden tentacles, though!
Tentacle Deeps 31, 4″x6″ watercolor on paper.
My camera picked up the golden color quite well, though I ended up leaving the background a little more purple than it is in reality because, well, it looks cool.
Tentacle Deeps 31, detail, by Amy Crook
The piece looks nice framed, below, with my usual iPhone for scale. I considered using a dollar, but then, I have no idea of my international readers (hi!) know how big a dollar is, and yet it’s safe to assume most of you have seen someone holding their iPhone. Weird.
Tentacle Deeps 31, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: for sale, gold, iridescent, purple, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
Forest Dragon
Monday, March 26th, 2012
Forest Dragon by Amy Crook, all rights reserved
I swear, this commission took all the time in the world, but I will admit I’m happy with the results. I was pretty sure I would be once I got it past the ass point, but you never really know until it’s all done. Molly is very happy indeed, and I hope she gets well soon so she can come collect it!
“All I had was the idea of a dragon in a forest and I was so lucky to have Amy bring what I really had in mind to life. And with the snap shots of the progress along the way I got to be more and more excited by the final result. The details of the scales are my favorite part.”
Forest Dragon, 24″x18″ oil paint on canvas, nfs (commission).
I’ve taken a bunch of detail shots for you, just so you can appreciate the awesomeness.
Forest Dragon, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the sun shining through the Dragon’s spines and onto the texture, iridescent scales. Below, another shot of sunlight, this time streaming through the trees and making the leaves appear translucent.
Forest Dragon, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Sunlight and shiny things are a bit of a theme, which is apropos for a dragon, I think.
Forest Dragon, detail 3, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the wings, which are translucent and let the trees behind them show faintly through, as well as the dragon’s ridges. Below, an oblique close-up of the tail so you can see the physical texture of the scales, and the more visual texture on the hoard of gold.
Forest Dragon, detail 4, by Amy Crook
If you’re considering a commission of your own, email me! I’ve got a few things in the queue already, but I’d be happy to talk about putting your painting next in line.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, dragon, iridescent, nfs, oil paint, oil painting, tree
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Mycroft Holmes ink sketch
Sunday, March 25th, 2012
Mycroft Holmes by Amy Crook
Mycroft was a little thank-you gift to someone, and he wanted to show off his dapper pose to you all. Have a great weekend!
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: mycroft, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock
Party Octopus
Saturday, March 24th, 2012
Party Octopus cartoon by Amy Crook
Party Octo’s in the house tonight! Everybody just have a good time…
And now that you have that earworm, too, I shall leave you to enjoy your Saturday.
Party Octopus, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. You can buy him on a card at Etsy, he makes a great birthday card or party invite!
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
Tags: copic marker, martini, octopus, party, pen and ink, purple, weeble
Interfering Blues
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
Interfering Blues, abstract art by Amy Crook, $234
This is another of those pieces that’s challenging to photograph, and I totally did it to myself. I had the lovely ultramarine spirals already as a simple, elegant piece, but they sat around for weeks feeling unfinished before I got my new shiny Japanese watercolors. I used the blue from the pearlescent set to paint a second set of ghostly spirals atop the first, which are barely visible from some angles, and from others take on a lovely iridescent blue hue.
I’m definitely doing well with my new year’s resolution to paint more spirals on things, and I have to admit there’s something I find really charming about this particular set. The colors and shapes are very simple and bold, but they work for me.
Interfering Blues, 6″x6″ watercolor on paper, $234 with free shipping.
Interfering Blues, detail 1, by Amy Crook
These pieces are deeply frustrating to photograph. For instance here, the paper is really a nice bright white, but since the shine is even brighter but also blue, I can’t really color balance the way I’d like to. But, at least you can see the pale blue shine on some of the spirals at this angle!
Interfering Blues, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Above is more of a close-up of just one spiral, which captures the full range of color on the paint from a pearly warm white on the right to the shining blue on the left. This is such a nifty image I made a computer wallpaper of it, if you’d like a little more interference blue in your day.
The piece ships unframed for $234, but if you’d like me to frame it for you (or want to talk about anything, really!), feel free to email me about it.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: blue, for sale, interference, iridescent, watercolor
In the Spiraling Blue
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
In the Spiraling Blue, abstract art by Amy Crook
This art is deceptively simple, just one color of paint on the soft, cream paper. French Ultramarine is a rich, bright blue and it mixes pretty well with the salt to give a pale blue tint to the crystals without dulling their luster. This is the last of 3 pieces I did experimenting with various shades of blue paint, and it sat around the longest, trying to figure out what else it needed.
It turns out, it just needed for me to decide it was finished.
Sometimes art is like that, there’s always the temptation to take it one step further and possibly ruin it. This sat in my shelf for a few weeks while I glanced over and considered what else I might do with it, and eventually I realized that the strong, swooping spirals were enough by themselves, especially mixed with the tiny ones at the center of each salt pool.
In the Spiraling Blue, 7″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
In the Spiraling Blue, detail 1, by Amy Crook
The camera really shows both the soft sky blue color of the salt and the way it sparkles in the sunlight. It also tends to wash the paper with slightly more yellow than it has, giving the whole thing a blue-and-gold feeling that’s more subtle in the real thing. This iPhone wallpaper shows off the real colors a little better.
In the Spiraling Blue, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: blue, for sale, salt, spirals, watercolor
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