Archive for the ‘Daily Art’ Category
Rain Crow
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
Rain Crow, art by Amy Crook
A wonderful person who’d just found my site emailed me to ask if I’d done anything with ravens/crows or dragons, and I realized that, despite both of these being themes I really enjoy, I really hadn’t. After doing my little crow sketch the other day, I decided to actually google up what a real crow looks like (yes, still too lazy to look out the window, hush) and used those references to draw this.
All the color in the crow comes from ink pens, which I scribbled with delightful abandon to create the basic shape and color fill on the crow, and then after the salt on the beak had formed, I went back in with plain water and added the gorgeous watercolor-esque wash over the whole crow.
After I put in the ground, I decided it needed something in the sky around it, and the obvious choice for me was salt-pool raindrops in this soft aqua blue pen.
Rain Crow, 7″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and salt on paper, nfs (sold).
The real amazing part of this crow is actually the part you can’t actually see except from a very specific angle, this amazing salt formation right over its eye that’s actually in the shape of a fat little black bird, which I photographed framed by one of the water droplets that would later become a salt pool. This formation is incredibly fragile, so I didn’t even put the piece on the scanner, just took photos and have now put it in a shadow-box frame where it will stay protected.
Rain Crow, detail 1, by Amy Crook
The salt on the crow’s beak and eye formed with a really neat oil-slick sheen, which is totally lost in the closeup above, so I took another one for you below:
Rain Crow, detail 2, by Amy Crook
The frame I found is this soft silver shadow box, though I’m keeping my eye out for another frame that would allow you to pick it up and view the piece from the side, which is the best way to see its amazing secret.
Rain Crow, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: blackbird, crow, nfs, pen and ink, salt, sold, watercolor
WIP: Weeble Cthulhu Divination Deck
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Weeble Cthulhu Divination Card sketch by Amy Crook
Since it’s been a while since I released my two Coloring Books, I want to get back to my original weeble monster love and do another Cthulhu project. This time, I want to make a parody divination deck starring Weeble Cthulhu and his other creepy cute pals. This is inspired both by my love of tarot cards (they’re like little packs of themed art!), and the completely awesome Fantod Pack by Edward Gorey.
I’m still making a lot of the basic decisions, but I made this sketch as a motivator for myself. I love how his tentacles float up in the water, and the weird angles on his altar bed, though I’m pretty sure I won’t bother to show the surface of the water in the final, just shade it to give sense of being below the depths. I just felt like drawing a tiny sailboat.
Stuff that needs to be decided (feel free to weigh in!):
- What size should the cards be — playing card or tarot card size?
- How big should the deck be? (I’m thinking 42 cards right now.)
- Or, do I want to add a whole extra research dimension by trying to do an entire 78-card Tarot deck?
- If I did do a Tarot deck, how would the suits work? Obviously Tentacles would be a suit, but what about the other 3?
- If I did a 42-card “divination deck,” what should I do for the actual instructions for use?
- Either way I need to assign numbers and meanings to the monsters, which should be hilariously fun. I love the universal gloom of Gorey’s predictions, though mine will of course involve more tentacles.
- Where should I have them printed? How fancy should the accompanying booklet be?
- What other rewards should the Kickstarter off than packs and more packs? Originals, obviously, but what else?
I want to get at least half if not most of the art done before I even consider a Kickstarter, so that if/when it does fund it’ll be ready to send off to the printer very soon after. Having supported several Kickstarters now, I have to admit that the wait after funding is interminable, and the one that was ready for press right away and has already shipped to me has a very special place in my heart.
So, what do you all think, dear readers? Would you want to divine that you were destined to be detained by demons, tickled by tentacles or poked by psuedopods? Or have I lost too much of my sanity to be trusted?
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Works In Progress
Tags: cthulhu, lovecraft, tarot, weeble, wip
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On the Horizon
Monday, August 15th, 2011
On the Horizon by Amy Crook
I used two different salt techniques on this piece, first making the row of big ‘lights’ and then creating the dark watercolor wash. Then I used small flakes of salt to create the bigger lights along the horizon and the stars in the tall, endless sky. This particular paint leaves gorgeous cloud-like formations, adding a level of texture and detail that’s really hard to see all tiny. If you click on the image, you can see a larger version, I also made a computer wallpaper and two different iPhone wallpapers.
I originally started this with something else in mind, which is why there’s a very straight row of salt across the bottom, but I find I’m far happier with this than the first idea.
On the Horizon, 7″x8″ salt and watercolor on watercolor paper.
You can see some of the detail here, with just a touch of sunlight caught on the peaks of the salt crystals.
On the Horizion, detail 1, by Amy Crook
This image shows the subtle sparkle of salt along a few of the deeper pools, where some of the fine flakes dissolved and left tiny crystals just at the edges.
On the Horizion, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: salt, stars, watercolor
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Evil Fishie sketch
Saturday, August 13th, 2011
Evil Fishie sketch by Amy Crook
I managed a sketch for Saturday, whee! I realized that a lot of what I sketch is the preliminary drawings for things I’d rather post finished, so that’s why I never seem to have any sketches for my Saturday posts. This guy seems rather Lovecraftian to me, perhaps I can do a properly inked version of him of I do another coloring book sometime.
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: fish, lovecraft, nfs, pencil
Hibiscus Violet
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Hibiscus Violet, abstract art by Amy Crook, $99
Something about having painted the iridescent oils onto this watercolor postcard before gracing it with the hibiscus tea caused the tea to stop at a lovely violet mid-stage between the vibrant pink and soft blue of my other hibiscus pieces. I used salt to add some extra texture to the tea wash, but most of the texture comes from the peaks of dried oil paint.
This piece rides the edge of being busy, the harmonious color palette keeping it from being too random. I really like the way the paint shimmers in the light, but the areas of tea are a soft matte, which makes the paint seem to float above the background just a tiny bit.
Hibiscus Violet, 4″x6″ mixed media on watercolor postcard, $99, framed, with free shipping.
Here you can really see how the paint rises up from the page, and get a sense of the iridescent effect.
Hibiscus Violet, detail, by Amy Crook
I’ve put it in a simple black frame, you can see how the colors change depending on the light.
Hibiscus Violet, framed art by Amy Crook, $99
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, iridescent, oil paint, postcard, tea, violet
Iridescence 3
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Iridescence 3, abstract art by Amy Crook, $333
I admit, I wanted to post both of these in the same week because they feel like different sides of the same coin to me. They use similar color schemes and techniques, but where Iridescence 2 is all soft glowing colors and indistinct shapes, Iridescence 3 is all sharp-edged spirals and visible brush strokes.
Even the haloes of complementary color around each salt pool are sharper and more distinct than in the previous piece, with more areas of pure white paper peeking through as a result. I’m not sure which of the two I prefer, though this is the one I’ve got out on display right now.
Iridescence 3, 7″x5″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
This is a closeup of the green salt pool in the lower left, so you can really see how the paint is layered in distinct circles with watercolor’s characteristic dark, sharp edges.
Iridescence 3, detail, by Amy Crook
The bold black frame works really well with the blue-black and violet-black in the darkest, sharpest of the paint swirls, and protects the fragile salt crystals from damage.
Iridescence 3, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, hibiscus, iridescence, pen and ink, purple, salt, tea, watercolor
Cousin Godiva
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Cousin Godiva by Amy Crook
This idea came to me when I was walking to meet a friend, my (ridiculously) long hair blowing in the breeze. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the idea of Lady Godiva, and of course Cousin It is a theme anyone with long brown hair will find in their life. The combination of Addams Family and legendary lady was irresistible to my cartooning fingers.
With all the cartoons I do, I’m getting to be an old hand at drawing and coloring hair, so Cousin It was pretty easy overall. It’s the first time I’ve tried to weeble-ify a horse, though!
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: addams family, copic marker, hair, lady godiva, nfs, pen and ink, weeble
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