Archive for the ‘Flowers, Trees and Landscapes’ Category

Naomi’s Jack, and her Monster

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Naomi's Monster by Amy Crook

Naomi's Monster by Amy Crook

Back in May I offered three slots to draw people’s Monsters, so I could by Havi’s Monster Coloring Book. It’s taken a while to get both of us connected (she’s a busy one!), but I finally have the third one done, for Naomi Dunford of Ittybiz.

Naomi didn’t have a specific Monster she wanted colored, so she sent me some pictures of Jack and we talked a little, and I did a sketch for her of this friendly little hill monster offering Jack a pink rose (Naomi has a thing for pink roses. Who knew?). It took a while to get it from idea to finished product, but I love the cheerful green and pink result, a non-creepy monster for her to hang on the wall.

Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
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Whiteboard Doodles

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Whiteboard Brain in a Jar by Amy Crook

I got a whiteboard! Well, a stick-on whiteboard, which I’ve put on the back of the linen closet door.

I also acquired a rather odd assortment of marker colors, though I’ve bought a more normal set to supplement with now. The bright ’80s turquoise especially was hard to photograph, so it’ll be nice to have some boring blue.

Today I thought I’d share some of the silly doodles I’ve done on the whiteboard, with the to-do lists, reminder notes and other randomness carefully cropped out.

Sorry about the picture quality, poor lighting + iPhone camera = even more meh than usual.

Whiteboard Cthulhu by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Cthulhu by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Violets by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Violets by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Weeble Vampire by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Weeble Vampire by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Skulls by Amy Crook

Whiteboard Skulls by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Fairy Studies

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Fairy studies by Amy Crook

Fairy studies by Amy Crook

Just a couple of sketches I did for a tiny painting I’m working on. I’m still not totally happy with either one, so who knows what the final painting will be like!

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
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Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, color edition, by Amy Crook

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

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
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Holly Jackson & Cottage Copy

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Holly Jackson by Amy Crook

Holly Jackson by Amy Crook

Since it’s Sunday, I’ll repost another older cartoon that never made it up here on Antemortem — Holly Jackson and Sir Didymus of Cottage Copy! Holly wanted to show her mighty pen and scroll, and of course the Cottage Copy canine needed to put in his appearance.

He made a second appearance, along with another version of Holly, on the painting I did that eventually became the header for the Cottage Copy website:

Cottage Copy by Amy Crook

Cottage Copy by Amy Crook

Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces
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Vampire Watermelon

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Vampire Watermelon by Amy Crook

Vampire Watermelon by Amy Crook

I asked Twitter what they wanted me to doodle this weekend, and one of the few replies I got was from @etherjammer, who suggested vampire pumpkins & watermelon. Somehow even though the pumpkins sounded adorable and fun, I ended up wanting to do a watermelon instead, turning the stripes into creeping veins and giving it a rather pointed smile.

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Mystic Cave

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Mystic Cave by Amy Crook

Mystic Cave by Amy Crook

This painting contains the four elements in harmony, the sky above and earth below, water stretching out from the rocky shore and the glow of a fire coming from the cave. I originally started it for the cover of a book, but we ended up going a different direction. Still, it’s one of my favorite small paintings, simple and peaceful with a small hint of a hidden secret.

The edges of the canvas aren’t finished, but the painting can be hung as is, or slipped into a frame.

Mystic Cave, 9″x12″ oil painting on canvas.

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
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