Archive for the ‘Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things’ Category
Backbone
Wednesday, February 5th, 2014
Backbone, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
Back in November, the same painting session that gave me the beginnings of both Exit Strategy and The Colour Out of Space produced the background for this. I did some more with the background before letting it sit for two months, and finally a few weeks ago I figured out what I wanted to do with it.
I actually used thinned-out titanium white paint in a fountain pen to draw these little shapes rather than painting them, a technique I practiced first on a couple of this month’s bookmarks.
The sinuous lines of vertebrae don’t quite follow the soft shapes they wind through, but they are informed by them. It’s hard to tell if this is one very long creature or several; if they’re suspended in water or mist or even fossilized; if they’re from something natural, unnatural, or even supernatural.
Backbone, 6″x4″ watercolor and Japanese watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Backbone, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see an extremely close look at a dozen of the many vertebrae twining through the painting. Below, the painting is tucked in a frame, its mysteries safely contained.
Backbone, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bones, for sale, japanese watercolor, pen and paint, skeleton, watercolor
Box of Hearts
Sunday, January 12th, 2014
Box of Hearts, a Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook
When Cthulhu gives you a big box of hearts, he really gives you… hearts. Ew. They may be small and squishy, but he finally found a way to show his love!
The card delightfully frames the image with the words:
“Cthulhu wanted to give you his* hearts
*not all hearts dedicated to Cthulhu before acquisition”
You can give your love a Valentine this year from my Etsy Shop. Assuming they’re the sort to be wooed by, well, this.
Box of Hearts, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, Floating Gallery, Tentacles, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: anatomical heart, copic marker, cthluhu, etsy, for sale, heart, pen & ink, valentine
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis
Thursday, November 7th, 2013
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis
pen and ink art by Amy Crook
If you’ve never experienced sleep paralysis, this particular Uncanny Fear might not quite make sense to you.
You’re lying in bed, just on the edge of sleep, and your body has descended into some nether region of unresponsiveness. A fear grips you along with the strange paralysis, and you look around as much as your frozen eyes will allow. Dark figures loom all around, watching, waiting, though you don’t know what for. You probably don’t want to know.
Although I enjoy the pattern on the rumpled bedding immensely, I think the staticky quality of the shadowy figures if my favorite part of this one.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the spooky, swirly footboard on this narrow bed. Below, the piece is in a frame, with my iPhone for size reference.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: a series of uncanny fears, crosshatching, edward gorey, for sale, gorey, pen and ink, uncanny fears
Mercy House
Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Mercy House by Amy Crook
“Sometimes one feels that it would be merciful to tear down these houses, for they must often dream.”
-H.P. Lovecraft, “The Picture in the House”
I’ve been wanting to paint a house to go with this quote for a while, and October seemed the perfect month for a fretful, unhappy wreck of a house to emerge from the cool green background. There’s a quality to the paint that’s hard to capture on film, an unnatural wash watery green across the whole thing that slips it sideways into the world of Lovecraft’s special brand of madness.
Mercy House, 8″x10″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Mercy House, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the tiny glints of sunlight off the blindly staring window, and the black gap where the door once was. I never did decide if those fragments of sun are on shattered glass, or merely filtered through the encroaching leaves surrounding the house. Below, I’ve put the piece in an antiqued gold frame, the better to emphasize the sense of decay.
Mercy House, framed art by Amy Crook
This piece always puts Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “The Mercy Seat” in my head. Because of reasons.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: house, lovecraft, nfs, sold, watercolor
Trick or Treat & a new Cthulhu Book
Wednesday, October 30th, 2013
Trick or Treat, Cthulhu parody art by Amy Crook
I’ve finally finished my Cthulhu Holiday Fun Book, a handmade coloring and activity book themed around holidays from Halloween to Father’s Day (zombie style). The above art is lovingly dedicated to Goomi’s Unspeakable Vault, my favorite Cthulhu webcomic of all, since he had the idea of dressing Cthulhu up for Halloween and did it much more cleverly than I.
This image and 11 more are waiting in the book for you to color, along with 5 original maddening puzzles and activities. I don’t promise some of them won’t drive you insane, but hopefully you’ll enjoy the journey.
Get a copy at my Etsy shop today!
Cthulhu Holiday Fun Book, a Lovecraftian activity and coloring book by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: cartoon, coloring book, copic marker, cthulhu, for sale, halloween, lovecraft, pen and ink, weeble
A Series of Uncanny Fears: The Dark
Friday, October 4th, 2013
A Series of Uncanny Fears: The Dark
pen and ink art by Amy Crook
Those shapes you see in the dark, those are just shadows. Just reflections and illusions made up of your imagination and your eyes straining to make sense with very little light.
I’m sure there are no monsters lurking at the foot of your bed, no ghosts floating up near the ceiling, no faces peering in from the dark outside.
That scratching at the glass is getting louder, but it’s not necessarily from the dark. It could be the mirror. It could be inside your head.
You never really know, do you?
A Series of Uncanny Fears: The Dark, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: The Dark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the details hiding in the darkness. I especially like this pair of eyes, because they seem as distressed to be looking in at you as you are to be looking out at them. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, yet another pane of glass between you and the darkness.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: The Dark, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: a series of uncanny fears, crosshatching, edward gorey, for sale, gorey, pen and ink, uncanny fears
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Your Shadow
Thursday, October 3rd, 2013
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Your Shadow
pen and ink art by Amy Crook
I’m not certain what my favorite thing about this piece is, but it’s risen to the top of A Series of Uncanny Fears for me. I love the Gorey-esque fur coat on the figure just passing out of the frame. I adore the wallpaper pattern you can see showing through the shadowy figure. And I think the overlong, many-jointed fingers of the shadow are delightfully creepy.
I’m sure your shadow doesn’t hunger to steal the life you live, to step into the light, to slip into your skin and live looking out of your eyes. There’s nothing to worry about at all.
You could make sure you always know where it is, just in case, though.
Just in case.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Your Shadow, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Your Shadow, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up shot of the wallpaper pattern both bare and hiding under the shadow. Below, you can see the piece happily ensconced in a frame, safe behind the glass. That sound you hear isn’t claws against the inside of the glass, I’m sure of it. After all, there’s so much glass in your home, you can’t really pinpoint where the sound is coming from.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Your Shadow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: a series of uncanny fears, crosshatching, edward gorey, for sale, gorey, pen and ink, uncanny fears
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