Archive for the ‘Illuminated Alphabet’ Category
U is for Uncial
Thursday, January 10th, 2013
U is for Uncial, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I guess there’s not a lot of Ulrichs or Ursulas out there, but if there are, this is the letter for them! I personally plan to use it to spell STFU until someone buys one of the letters. And, of course, you can always put U and I together and be a terrible pickup line.
Uncial is one of the classic calligraphy fonts, so I wanted to do a proper homage in warm earthy brown and cheerful new-leaf green. There’s just a touch of gold decoration in the fattest parts of the letter, giving it a lovely bit of sparkle.
U is for Uncial, 5″x5″ pen & ink, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.
U is for Uncial, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the gold glitter illuminating the letter with just a touch of sparkle. Below, you can revisit the last few weeks of letters, plus the lovely, flourishing F.
S, T, F & U, illuminated letters by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, brown, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, green, illumination, pen and ink, watercolor
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T is for Tentacles
Thursday, December 27th, 2012
T is for Tentacles, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
The Alphabet series is back with a new week, and this time we have sparkly tentacles creeping in on the T, which looks like it wants to creep away before it gets totally engulfed. The background is a rich golden yellow, which shows up best in the last picture. It would go wonderfully for the Thomas, Thea or, of course, Mr. T in your life.
T is for Tentacles, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor, pen & ink, and glitter gel pen on paper.
T is for Tentacles, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bright shine of glitter making the golden yellow look almost orange-dark. Below, a picture that’s no doubt familiar from the R & S posts, of four of these illuminated paintings hanging out in their frames.
S, T, A & R, calligraphic illuminations by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, green, illumination, pen and ink, tentacles, watercolor, yellow
S is for Spirals
Thursday, December 13th, 2012
S is for Spirals, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I originally planned on doing Sharpie for S, but in the end the spirals won my heart. I used clean, simple shades of blue and silver for the S, perfect for a Steve or Susan that needs a bit of sparkle in their life.
S is for Spirals, 5″x5″ pen & ink, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.
S is for Spirals, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the light shining off the silver glitter spirals. Below, you can see STAR all spelled out with my alphabet.
S, T, A & R, calligraphic illuminations by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, blue, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, illumination, pen and ink, silver, spirals, watercolor
R is for Retro
Thursday, December 6th, 2012
R is for Retro, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
Do you know a Renee or Robert who loves retro design? This R has a bit of sparkle, a bit of old-school charm, and a lot of pink and teal. The grey R is outlined in black and silver, and the red border and designs are also done in shiny glitter. I’m almost done with my alphabet, too, so if you’ve been waiting on T or V, they’ll be up soon!
R is for Retro, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.
R is for Retro, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of glitter on both borders, highlighting the rich, opaque pink and teal. Below, the R is hanging out with a few sneak peeks to spell STAR.
S, T, A & R, calligraphic illuminations by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, illumination, pen and ink, pink, purple, red, silver, teal
Q is for Quilling
Thursday, November 22nd, 2012
Q is for Quilling, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
A break from the Holmes Brothers to give thanks for getting my Q on! I finally finished this one yesterday, right under the wire, and I’ve got 4 letters left to do before I’m done. If you’re interested in one of the later letters for a holiday gift, just email me and I’ll give you a preview!
Quilling is an interesting craft for which the supplies are a bit hard to find! I ended up getting Twirled Paper by Klutz Press, which comes with a bunch of lovely colors, and a book of very useful instructions, as well as the “quill” for actually making the coils of paper. After a bit of practice and trial & error, I ended up with a lovely purple Q with a long, curly triple tail.
Q is for Quilling, 5″x5″ quilling paper, glue, Japanese watercolor, and glitter gel pen on paper.
Q is for Quilling, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a detail of the twirly coils of paper and the sparkly green border. Below, you can see it in a frame — I’ve taken out the glass of a normal frame here, but you might consider a shadow box to protect the coils from dust, kitties and curious fingers.
Q is for Quilling, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, glue, green, illumination, purple, quilling paper, watercolor
P is for Pattern and Primary
Thursday, November 15th, 2012
P is for Pattern & Primary, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
And now for something completely different! Comic to resume tomorrow, never fear. And remember, you can always see the whole series so far (in order from A) at the alphabet tag.
This came out a bit patriotic as well, though mostly I wanted the red-and-white harlequin background to contrast well with the bright, primary blue of the letter. Gold glitter gel pen adds the yellow for all three primary colors, and since the red is glitter pen as well, the whole thing has a lovely sparkle. Perfect for a Patricia or Peter.
P is for Pattern & Primary, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor, pen & pink and glitter gel pen on paper.
P is for Pattern & Primary, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sun shining off the red diamond and gold vine patterns. Below, the P is hanging out all by itself in its frame.
P is for Pattern & Primary, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, blue, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, illumination, pen and ink, red, watercolor
O is for Origami
Thursday, November 8th, 2012
O is for Origami, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I believe this pattern is actually for an origami fried egg, when done with yellow paper and the colors reversed, but I wanted a big, bold shape for my O. The four corners created little points when folded back, so I actually drew the gold pattern on the entire 3″x3″ square background and then glued just the points on the back of the O down. The O floats above the background serenely, and it has to be framed with no glass in order to make room.
This was the first non-flat letter I made, though there’s a few more coming, including the ampersand (&). I’m nearly done with the series, half a dozen letters to go, so if you are curious about one we haven’t seen yet (perhaps for a holiday gift!), just drop me a line and I’ll give you a sneak preview.
O is for Origami, 5″x5″ Origami paper, watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.
O is for Origami, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the origami floats on its background, letting the gold glow beneath it as it sits serenely above, the whole thing surrounded by a simple red border. Below, M is for Majuscule and Miniscule is hanging out with my O to make OM!
O is for Origami and M is for Majuscule & Miniscule, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, illumination, orange, origami, watercolor
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