Archive for the ‘Things I’m a Fan Of’ Category
Endless: Delirium
Friday, October 1st, 2010
Endless: Delirium, 1/2 by Amy Crook
Today’s print is the last in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and the only one that I printed twice, once in a single color (below) and once in a sickly rainbow of shades (above).
Delirium was once Delight, though the story of how she went from one to the other remains untold. To represent this dual nature, there’s two intertwined sections of the plate, with butterflies fluttering in the light and — though they’re nearly impossible to see now — frogs hopping around in the darker sections of the image. Delirium was in many ways the most whimsical of the Endless, but at the same time represented a social loss of innocence.
Delirium, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, edition of 2, $199 each with free shipping.
Endless: Delirium, 2/2 by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: etching, for sale, intaglio, sandman
Endless: Despair
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
Endless: Despair by Amy Crook
Today’s print is the third in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
This plate represents one of a pair of “twins,” Despair, the sister to desire. I went entirely abstract with this one, as Despair wears no clothing, squatting in her domain of mirrors, listening to people’s murmurs as they look at themselves. The dripping aquatint shading grows dark and darker as it goes down the image, layer upon layer of the illusions we build to cover up the darkness inside.
Despair, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: etching, for sale, intaglio, sandman
Weeble Wednesday: King in Yellow
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Weeble King in Yellow by Amy Crook
The King in Yellow is the fourth weeble in my series of depictions of the mythos of HP Lovecraft. He’s often associated with Hastur, and originally appears in the short story “The Repairer of Repuations.” He is the titular character in a play said to reveal such irresistible truth as to drive any reader or viewer mad.
In keeping with the Neil Gaiman theme of the week, the play is a central part of a pastiche of Lovecraft and Sherlock Holmes that he wrote, entitled “A Study in Emerald.”
King in Yellow, 5″x7″ pen, ink and Copic marker on watercolor paper.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: coloring book, copic marker, for sale, lovecraft, monster, pen and ink, tentacles, weeble, yellow
Endless: Desire
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Endless: Desire by Amy Crook
Today’s print is the second in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
This plate represents one of a pair of “twins,” Desire — whose sister is Despair. This time I used delicate lace to give texture to the top half of the plate, and below we have a pile of shiny, discarded hearts. The face of Desire is reflected in the largest, central heart, vague yet compelling as it represents the secret desires hiding in us all.
Desire, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: etching, for sale, intaglio, sandman
Endless: Dream
Monday, September 27th, 2010
Endless: Dream by Amy Crook
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series has inspired thousands of artists of all sorts since it began in 1989. I made a total of 5 of these small etching plates for the Endless, though for some reason I never printed the Death plate by itself, although it’s used in one of my larger pieces, Red Death.
This plate represents the series’ main character, Dream. His dark robes, at times, showed the faces of infinite dreamers around the hem, and so I used a tattered piece of silk to create the impression of cloth at the top of the plate. Then I drew the faces in by hand, young and old, male and female, each of them dreaming with their eyes shut tight.
Dream, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: etching, for sale, intaglio, sandman
Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets
Friday, September 24th, 2010
Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, color edition, by Amy Crook
One of the easiest way to etch a printing plate is called dry point, where you basically draw on the softer metal of the plate with a sharp steel point, creating grooves in the plate. These never last very long, I only got half a dozen prints out of it (I did 2 editions, 3 each of the black and white, below, and the color, above), but there’s something very satisfying about working directly with the material this way.
The color edition was created by carefully rubbing the inks just into the parts of the plate where I wanted them, and then taking care not to overly clean off the excess, leaving the soft glow of yellow on Pooh bear, as well as the gentle shading on the greenery.
This was actually my very first attempt at printmaking, and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I drew two of my most favorite characters. I’ve given away the rest of the edition so I only have the two examples left, which I’m choosing not to sell because of the copyright still surrounding A. A. Milne’s wonderful characters.
Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, 10″x6″ etching on watercolor paper, not for sale.
Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, black and white edition, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: edition, etching, intaglio, nfs, piglet, winnie the pooh
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Bobtail Squid
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Bobtail Squid by Amy Crook
I think bobtail squid are just the cutest of the squid family, so I decided to paint one up for another tiny painting. He’s actually a deep-sea creature, so he should rightly be floating in a serene black depth, but I wanted to give him a little lighter of a background, so I made it a dark blue with a bit of sunshine coming in. Maybe it’s really the lights of an oncoming research vessel, who knows?
Bobtail Squid, 4″x6″ oil paint on canvas board with a 5″ wooden easel.
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: for sale, oil painting, squid, studio gallery, tiny painting
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