Archive for the ‘Things I’m a Fan Of’ Category
Make Good Art
Monday, July 16th, 2012
Make Good Art calligraphic painting by Amy Crook
Although I think many people have said this before (including several of my prior art teachers), it’s come most recently from Neil Gaiman. I also find the advice later on about freelancing to be very good and very true — to paraphrase, you must do good work, be on time, and be pleasant, and people will continue to hire you; actually, two out of three will do, most days. And thank goodness for that, because some days all three is more than anyone can manage.
I made this very pink wash when I was mucking about with my red palette of Japanese watercolors, going from the color that is almost exactly the same as the Orchid crayon in my childhood set, through a bright fuchsia pink and on to a lovely deep burgundy. I used my poor abused fountain pen to scribble in the lettering, then took my water brush and blurred it out, which gives an interesting effect, especially in the capitals. Next came the gold glitter paint in the letters, and I left it overnight to figure out what more it needed.
It needed tentacles, of course!
I finally found the fourth palette from the same set, which is six different shades of almost-black, so I took the rich plum-purple one and made a row of tentacles reaching up to tease at the lettering. Then, to balance it, I added the gold filigree at the top, and it finally felt done.
My mental narrative for it is a bit like, “Glimpse of the golden vines of Olympus? Make good art! Chased by tentacles from the Depths? Make good art!”
So, that’s my message for you this Monday – whatever form it takes, whatever inspires you, today, make good art.
Make Good Art, 8″x4″ Japanese watercolor, pen & ink, and glitter gel pen on Fluid watercolor paper on paper.
Make Good Art, detail 1, by Amy Crook
This is one of those pieces that’s very different depending on the lighting; the gold almost vanishes when it’s in low light, but it stands out beautifully when the sun hits it, and the thicker paint on the tentacles also has a bit of a gloss here and there. Below, you can see the effect just on the word “Art.”
And for those of you that’ve read this far, have a wallpaper of the above image, with my gloved fingers sneakily Photoshopped out.
Make Good Art, detail 2, by Amy Crook
I put it in a temporary frame so you can see the scale. Given the odd size, you may want to have it custom framed, or put it on a piece of mat board in a larger frame the way I’ve got it shown below.
Make Good Art, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
Tags: calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, neil gaiman, pen and ink, pink, red, watercolor
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Giant Rats 16: Don’t You See?
Saturday, July 14th, 2012
“Do you see, John?” – a Sherlock comic by Amy Crook
For a few months now I’ve been contemplating the idea of doing a larger work with the Gorey-style shading, taking Sherlock and his Watson on an adventure that I could later put into a short book or something. Apparently, the first step on that path wasn’t deciding on a story or doing thumbnails, but instead drawing a random panel that might or might not fit in the middle, with a cute little one-shot joke.
If I do actually get far enough into the project it seems like it’ll finish (never a guarantee, heh), then I’ll want the originals to be Kickstarter incentives for printing a run of little books, I think, so this one won’t be for sale just yet.
“Don’t you see, John?” Sherlock comic, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper.
Sherlock comic, framed, by Amy Crook
These are the smaller size from my B is for Baker Street series, the art itself is 5″x3″ on the 7″x5″ paper, whereas the original four character drawings are 7″x5″ including the text, on a larger 8.5″x5.5″ sheet of paper. These are much easier to frame, and easier to finish as well with significantly fewer square inches of white space to be crosshatched in masochistic detail.
So, what do you think? Would you want a little Sherlock book, perhaps The Giant Rats of Sumatra?
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black and white, crosshatching, giant rats of sumatra, gorey, john watson, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes
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Mycroft & His Brolly
Saturday, July 7th, 2012
Mycroft and His Brolly cartoon by Amy Crook
This absurd little sketch was actually by request. Someone asked for a drawing of “Mycroft cuddling his umbrella, wearing matching pyjamas,” which was just so silly I couldn’t resist! And yes, of course those are umbrellas on their matching pjs, what else would they be?
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: cartoon, mycroft, pen and ink, sherlock
Dirigible
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
“Should we haul him up?”
“Nah, let him dangle a little longer.”
Dirigible, Girl Genius art by Amy Crook
I seem to have become obsessed with patterns, though I already knew I had a strange thing for spirals. I used my water brush, which is a nifty device with a well of water the way a brush pen might have ink. I dipped the tip in paint and began at the center, then brushed outward, the color getting more and more diluted until there’s hardly any blue left. Then, of course, once I had the spiraling clouds, I needed something to float in them. I put a brass trilobyte on the side of a dirigible as an homage to the wonderful Girl Genius webcomic.
The dirigible’s dangling passenger is just a bonus.
Dirigible, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Dirigible, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the lovely purple Dirigible with its golden trilobyte and passenger holding on for dear life below, next to a dime for scale. Below, it’s resting temporarily in a 10″x8″ frame, hanging out with my iPhone for an entirely different sort of size reference.
Dirigible, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: for sale, girl genius, spirals, things that are actually steampunk, tiny fandom, watercolor
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Dramatic
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
“If you’re quite done with the dramatic poses, there is a case, you know.”
Dramatic, Sherlock art by Amy Crook
This one’s actually based on a bit in the second episode of Series 2, The Hounds of Baskerville. There’s a point at which Sherlock is up on a windy promontory, looking over the moors, with John down below waiting patiently for him to stop enjoying the way his coat looks blowing in the breeze.
He does so love to be dramatic.
Dramatic, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Dramatic, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the strange clouds and impatient John with Sherlock off in the distance, framing a perfectly boring dime. Below, it’s temporarily in the same 8″x10″ frame you’ll have grown used to seeing this week, for scale.
Dramatic, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: for sale, sherlock, sunset, tiny fandom, watercolor, watson
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On Fandom, Fan Art, and Being a Big Dorky Fangirl
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
S is for Sherlock, Baker Street Tinies art by Amy Crook
By Starlight by Amy Crook
I sometimes think I’ve always been a fan of something. I remember getting into reading Star Trek books when I was maybe 12, but before that it was Stephen King and my big horror phase at 10, and before that I read every Nancy Drew book the library had, and all the Oz books (did you know it was a series?), and the Narnia books, and… Yeah.
I’ve always lived best in other people’s worlds. Even though every one of the things I named above, and every one of the things I’m a fan of now is problematic in some way, that doesn’t diminish my love for them.
Doctor Who
Bookmark 1
by Amy crook
As an artist, it’s always been a calling to me to draw or paint the things I was a fan of. I remember when I was younger, drawing ridiculously detailed pencil art from posters of the bands and actors I swooned over as a pre-teen. And now I’m nearly 40, and I still draw and paint things out of other people’s worlds, other people’s imaginations.
Transformative works are everywhere we look these days. From Sherlock to The Avengers, the new anthologies of stories in the Cthulhu Mythos and the explosion of unlicensed fanworks online (note: yes, the stuff here goes in that category), people are looking back through the things that came before, rifling through the imaginations of the past to build a foundation for the things they make now.
I love it.
Every once in a while I roll my eyes at the endless sequels and remakes and book-to-movie adaptations, but in truth it’s more Sturgeon’s Law (90% of everything is crap) I’m disparaging than the desire to depict Shakespeare as high school drama or make stylized movie posters for films from a different era.
So, I’ve embraced my dorky fangirl heritage, and in amongst the abstract salt paintings and tentacles you’ll find cartoon monsters out of someone else’s imagination and other pastiches of my favorite things.
I’ll just try not to do too much that falls into that bottom 90%.
Weeble Voldemort cartoon by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Words Words Words
Tags: info, why, words
Seekers
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
“Who wins if It gets the Snitch?”
Seekers, Harry Potter art by Amy Crook
I’ve done so many paintings of tentacles rising up from mysterious depths that I thought it might be fun to do a set striving for the heights instead. These pale, half-translucent tentacles are reaching toward an errant Golden Snitch, and disrupting someone’s game of Quidditch.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Just ask Harry Potter.
Seekers, 4″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Seekers, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the Golden Snitch next to an ordinary dime for scale. Tiny, tiny scale. Below, for a different sort of scale, I’ve temporarily put the painting in a standard 8″x10″ frame so you can imagine how it would fit into your home. Because it totally would fit into your home. I mean, doesn’t everyone need tentacles?
Seekers, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: for sale, Harry Potter, tentacles, tiny fandom, watercolor
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