Archive for the ‘Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things’ Category

The Skull Inside of Us

Friday, March 2nd, 2018

The Skull Inside of Us, original watercolor by Amy Crook

The Skull Inside of Us, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

There’s a skull inside all of us, waiting for its chance to get out. A skeleton of finger bones, ribs, kneecaps and vertebrae, tiny wrist bones and huge thigh bones hiding buried in the reality of us. We’re bound together by meat and nerves and souls, but underneath the surface, our skulls are always smiling.

This small painting packs a lot of punch with its iconic imagery and painterly execution. A wealth of color lives in the greys, purples and blues and golden browns mingling together to create eerie shadows.

The Skull Inside of Us, detail, by Amy Crook

The Skull Inside of Us, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the image dissolve into abstraction when it’s up close, colors separating and shapes blurring into spookiness. Below, the piece is in a black frame, making it feel more like a scrying-glass look at the future.

The Skull Inside of Us, framed art by Amy Crook

The Skull Inside of Us, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Seven for a Secret 2

Tuesday, February 6th, 2018

Seven for a Secret 2, spooky watercolor by Amy Crook

Seven for a Secret 2, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

This moody series of Counting Crows paintings has its seventh addition!

The tree here has clearly been through quite a bit of storm-tossing or other rough handling, with broken branches and even the top pointing jaggedly to the sky while it spreads itself as well as it can with what remains. A murder of crows alights, and a ghostly figure awaits in the fog.

Where would you show this seventh secret?

Seven for a Secret 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Seven for a Secret 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a couple of the crows, a fraction of the full murder. Below, they’re in a frame like looking through a window into another, spookier reality.

Seven for a Secret 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Seven for a Secret 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Shining Apocalypse

Monday, February 5th, 2018

Shining Apocalypse, watercolor ruins by Amy Crook

Shining Apocalypse, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Mood: The end of the world, but sparkly.

This painting is full of warm colors and sparkling mineral paints, despite the ghostly city half-destroyed against a burning sky. Carrion birds dot the sky above, circling for their dinner. The buildings have a loose, alien quality to make you wonder just where this city was, and who once lived among its now-abandoned streets.

Shining Apocalypse, detail, by Amy Crook

Shining Apocalypse, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the secret sparkle hiding in the simple palette. Below, you can see the painting framed and ready to let your imagination roam the landscape.

Shining Apocalypse, framed art by Amy Crook

Shining Apocalypse, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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The Autumn of Ashes

Monday, November 6th, 2017

The Autumn of Ashes, ink art by Amy Crook

The Autumn of Ashes, 8″x4″ ink on Fluid watercolor paper

A ghostly apparition, white fog, and a leaf-crowned tree.

A bright pop of color slowly embraced by the fog, warm red-brown bark supporting the green and gold foliage of early fall. A cool grey figure that might be a spirit or might just be hidden by the mist.

What stories can you write for this image?

This is the perfect painting for someone with a head full of fairy tales who just needs a starting point to get their fingers moving.

The Autumn of Ashes, detail, by Amy Crook

The Autumn of Ashes, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the way the tree fades into the fog, and the tiny bit of mysterious shimmer hiding in the red-brown bark. Below, the piece floats in a frame, full of subtle detail the scanner can’t capture.

The Autumn of Ashes, framed art by Amy Crook

The Autumn of Ashes, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Inktober 2017, day 24-31

Tuesday, October 31st, 2017

Happy Halloween!

I can’t believe it’s already NaNoWriMo time. Here’s the final eclectic mix of commissions, Patron sketches, and spoopiness — next month I’ll be locked in a closet writing solarpunk, haha.

Inktober day 24: Dancing Disco

Inktober day 24: Dancing Disco

Inktober day 17: Inspiration Island

Inktober day 25: Inspiration Island

Inktober day 26: Otter Blep

Inktober day 26: Otter Blep

Inktober day 27: Poison Apple

Inktober day 27: Poison Apple

Inktober day 28: Spoopy Crow

Inktober day 28: Spoopy Crow

Inktober day 29: Zero

Inktober day 29: Zero

Inktober day 30: The Good Candy

Inktober day 30: The Good Candy

Inktober day 31: Knucklebones

Inktober day 31: Knucklebones

Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Inktober 2017, day 17-23

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017

How is October almost over? Halloween is coming up so fast this year. Enjoy this week’s mix of commissions, Patron sketches, and weird doodles!

Inktober day 17: Shiny Pumpkaboo (sold)

Inktober day 17: Shiny Pumpkaboo (sold)

Inktober day 18: Quick Skull

Inktober day 18: Quick Skull

Inktober day 19: Thyme, Sage, Mint, & Rosemary bookmarks

Inktober day 19: Thyme, Sage, Mint, & Rosemary bookmarks

Inktober day 20: That Fall Feeling

Inktober day 20: That Fall Feeling

Inktober day 21: Dill, Parsley, Chives, & Basil bookmarks

Inktober day 21: Dill, Parsley, Chives, & Basil bookmarks

Inktober day 22: Collard Greens recipe, for Sekrit Patron

Inktober day 22: Collard Greens recipe, for Sekrit Patron

Inktober day 23: Hermione & Luna, for Disco

Inktober day 23: Hermione & Luna, for Disco

Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Inktober 2017, day 10-16

Tuesday, October 17th, 2017

October marches on, and so do my pens and brushes. Enjoy this week’s mix of commissions, Patron sketches, and weird doodles!

Inktober day 10: I've Got the Keys to Your Horse, for Jeff

Inktober day 10: I’ve Got the Keys to Your Horse, for Jeff

Inktober day 11: Ink Spirals

Inktober day 11: Ink Spirals

Inktober day 12: Autumn Ghost

Inktober day 12: Autumn Ghost

Inktober day 13: You Made Me Ink

Inktober day 13: You Made Me Ink

Inktober day 14: To Have Ambition is My Ambition

Inktober day 14: To Have Ambition is My Ambition

Inktober day 15: Hmm? First Doctor for Ian

Inktober day 15: Hmm? First Doctor for Ian

Inktober day 16: Needs More Caffeine

Inktober day 16: Needs More Caffeine

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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