Archive for the ‘Daily Art’ Category
Tentacle Deeps 26
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
Tentacle Deeps 26 by Amy Crook
I went for a warm, soft brown on this installment of the tentacles, with layers of tentacles fading into the murky waters. the tentacles are painted with my favorite granulating lunar black to give that lovely texture, and the background itself has some bloodstone in it to add to the texture. I find these very meditative to do, just thinking about how to arrange the curls and swirls in an attractive pattern without too much repeat or too little visual interest.
The visual texture on this one is very rich and soft, though the paper is quite stiff. Beware the velvety tentacles, their embrace is insidious.
Tentacle Deeps 26, 5.25″x7″ watercolor on paper.
I haven’t actually framed this one yet, it’ll have to go in an 8″x10″ frame with a mat because of the slightly too-wide paper that a certain artist was slackery about tearing to size. You can still enjoy the traditional close-up shot below, though.
Tentacle Deeps 26, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: brown, for sale, rust, sharpie marker, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
Red-Violet Spirals
Monday, February 20th, 2012
Red-Violet Spirals, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
I’m going to mix up the schedule this week a little, I have three related pieces (this is the first) that I’ll post Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and then there’s Tentacles for Tuesday of course, and more tentacles in the form of a Weeble Squid for Thursday. In addition, on Friday I’ll post a special button to buy all three pieces framed and ready to display.
I have several sheets of this velvety black paper from days gone by, and I’ve torn it down into smaller pieces that I pull out sometimes when I’m not sure what I want to work on. I was wanting to do something immediate, which meant no salt, and so I got out my big palette of Japanese watercolors (yay birthday presents) and got all the pans wet. I took out three sheets of the black paper and layered spirals on each in a color family, experimenting with light and dark, overlapping and not. I think this was actually the third one finished, but I can’t quite remember.
I decided on the spirals because I love spirals. I have no idea why, I just do, and one of my things I wanted to do this year was paint more spirals on things. This one ended up looking almost like a Valentine, actually, with just a hint of a heart in the final arrangement of shapes.
Red-Violet Spirals, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
My scanner did not like this series, and so you can get a better idea of the actual color in the photo below.
Spirals Trio, three watercolor abstracts by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, burgundy, japanese watercolor, nfs, pink, red, sold, spirals, spirals trio, triptych
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Sherlock Bookmark 4
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
Sherlock Bookmark 4 by Amy Crook
Secret Bonus Post! I had one more bookmark than would fit in my usual 6-day week, so I decided to go ahead and post this one on Sunday. If you can’t read my handwriting, click the image above for a bigger version.
When I was working on this, first I drew tiny John & Sherlock, and then I decided what John was upset about. I didn’t really plan it ahead, just let the joke unfold in the space I had, then went back and fixed the typo when I inked it. I had fun drawing tiny Sherlock popping his collar like a boss.
Sherlock Bookmark 4, 7″x1″ pen and ink on paper, nfs (sold).
Sherlock Bookmark 4, with book, by Amy Crook
You can see the little cartoon above with a standard hardcover book, just waiting to mark someone’s place with secret delight.
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bookmark, comic, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock, sold
Spiral Bookmark 1
Saturday, February 18th, 2012
Spiral Bookmark 1
by Amy Crook
And so we wave a cheerful goodbye to Bookmark Week with this last installment.
I was experimenting with these pigment-dense watercolor sticks I picked up, using the teal and orange pair to create a very bright contrast indeed. I wasn’t quite happy with it as is, though, so I added in the silver spirals on top with this awesome silver brush pen I got in Japantown, which gives a nice bit of shine to the piece.
Spiral Bookmark 1, 1.5″x7″ watercolor and brush pen on paper, nfs, sold.
Spiral Bookmark 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the various textures from the drawn lines to the washes created by running a wet brush over the watercolor stick, to the shining silver paint floating atop it all. Below, the bookmark sits happily with a book, just waiting to fulfill its intended purpose.
Spiral Bookmark 1, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: bookmark, brush pen, nfs, orange, silver, sold, teal, watercolor, watercolor stick
Jellyfish Bookmark 1
Friday, February 17th, 2012
Jellyfish Bookmark 1
by Amy Crook
The second-to-last day of Bookmark Week is upon us! I’ve already got a few ideas for next time, too, so I hope you’re enjoying the shift from small to super-small art this week.
This one I actually just doodled idly while I was on the phone, thinking of my larger piece Jellyfish Deeps as I worked. I thought about going back in to try to add a little color, but I liked the slight reddish cast the mat board gave to the white gel pen. I’m sure I’ll do another of these sometime, though, the jellyfish are just too entertaining.
Jellyfish Bookmark 1, 0.875″x5.875″ white gel pen on black mat board, nfs, sold.
Jellyfish Bookmark 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see how the black mat board bled red into white of the ink, though it’s made much more pink by my camera here. The mat board is quite thick, but it would still slip easily into a book as long as you don’t shove it all the way to the spine. Below, I have the jellyfish hanging out with a hardcover, for size comparison.
Jellyfish Bookmark 1, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
Tags: bookmark, crosshatching, gel pen, jellyfish, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tentacles
Meadow Bookmark
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
Meadow Bookmark by Amy Crook
The only horizontal bookmark from this week uses opaque Japanese watercolors on recycled paper. By recycled I mean my printer had a spaz printing some cards and I’ve painted over the old image, though a tiny bit of it seeps through at the right angles. Instead of throwing away these mistakes, I save the paper for other experiments, since the blank cards I use are thick and have a lovely texture for drawing or painting.
Every once in a while, after drawing all the tentacles and monsters a girl could desire, I just feel like painting an abstract field of wildflowers. I can almost imagine the bees buzzing lazily as they collect all the different pollen to make tasty honey just for me.
Meadow Bookmark, 6.75″x2″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Meadow Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, this photo reveals all the textures in this little bookmark, from the paper to the little bumps made by the flowers as the beaded droplets of paint dried. Below is the obligatory photo of the bookmark with a book, for scale.
Meadow Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
On my monitor this last picture is the best one to show the colors off, but really, your monitor and mileage may vary. Just one of the frustrations in showing art online, I suppose.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: bookmark, nfs, sold, watercolor
Sherlock Bookmark 3
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Sherlock Bookmark 3
by Amy Crook
Bookmark week continues with another Sherlock Holmes!
He skulks on this black bookmark in pencil, which makes his details vanish at the wrong angle, though the graphite catches the light nicely at the right angle. I painted in his green eyes, red buttonhole and blue scarf on a whim, and I like the way those little details leap out of the page at you.
Sherlock Bookmark 3, 1″x5″ pencil and watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Sherlock Bookmark 3, detail, by Amy Crook
You can really see his detailing in the detail photo, above, and of course I couldn’t resist a shot of him peeking sneakily up out of a book, below.
Sherlock Bookmark 3, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, bookmark, japanese watercolor, nfs, pencil, sherlock, sold
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