Archive for the ‘Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths’ Category

The Reaching Tree

Wednesday, June 8th, 2022

The Reaching Tree, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper

It’s a tree of a different color! Deep violet-black and slightly glittery, this amethyst paint uses real minerals to create gorgeous textures. The moon has a little extra shine of its own, as it should, but the painting is otherwise entirely monochrome.

The tree reaches into the sky, always seeking something in the way of trees. Below it, the figure has more hands than seems strictly warranted, reaching just as the tree is, though possibly not for the same thing.

Just in case, perhaps stay out of arms’ reach. If you can figure out how long that is, anyway.

The Reaching Tree, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the way the figure’s ghostly arms reach and reach. Is one of them reaching for you? Well, you can keep it safely behind glass in a frame, should you wish to.

The Reaching Tree, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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District of the Small Gods

Tuesday, June 7th, 2022

District of the Small Gods, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper

This thickly textured paper is porous and absorbent, but brushed tend to skip over the deep valleys in the page and leave fascinating voids in the wash.

A cat-shaped temple holds center court in this strange alien district, with other small gods represented by their own odd architectures. Is the building made of pointy things a god of war or merely one of pointy things? Does the the shape on top of the spire represent a blind eye, or an all-seeing one?

What small gods do you think reside here, waiting for their small offerings?

District of the Small Gods, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see thee way the light glows over and through the Temple of the Cat. Below, the art is properly encased in a frame, ready to bring strange delight to a shelf or wall.

District of the Small Gods, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Concentric 15

Monday, June 6th, 2022

Concentric 15, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper

The joy of experimenting with chaos in art is that sometimes you get happy accidents, and sometimes you get gibbous moons that stare at you like a creeper.

Despite that, the matte black makes a beautiful backdrop for these shimmering bursts of color, each one fading from one thing to another as it echoes out onto the page. Gold and violet, lavender and blue-green, each one is a unique combination that changes as you look at it.

Which is your favorite part of this painting, the spooky, the pretty, or the contrast between the two?

Concentric 15, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, the dots sparkle with tiny flecks of iridescent paint. Below, you can see this moody, colorful piece in a frame, waiting to add some strangeness to your life.

Concentric 15, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Summer 2021 Patreon Sketches

Monday, February 21st, 2022

Sketch cards galore! I have so many that I haven’t posted here, sorry. Last year was full of overwhelm and catch-up and madness, and I’m finally starting to organize things back into a system I can function with.

These little baseball-card-sized sketches are called ACEO (artist card edition only) or sometimes ATC (artist trading card) if being traded around. I standardized all my sketches for Patreon supporters to this size, and it’s made life much easier for me in terms of starting friction. I have all the stuff to start sketching in one little pouch!

ACEO sketch cards by Amy Crook

From the top left:

  • Kim wanted to say no to summer, so she gets images of winter, instead!
  • the abstract dreams of a dying Medusa is for nobody in particular
  • Rebecca S wanted something for Pride, and gets this rainbow of DiversiTea
  • Eric wanted some beetroot and got some fun watercolor on Yupo substrate

ACEO sketch cards by Amy Crook

From top down:

  • Amber asked for Time Flies
  • Jeff asked for “i can’t even right now”
  • Eric asked for the One Ring

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Wyrm

Saturday, July 17th, 2021

a watercolor painting of a green dragon's head with spiral scales

Wyrm, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper

A wyrm is a type of dragon with no legs or wings, basically a giant snake that’s still gonna eat you for breakfast. This one is essentially the result of doodling, playing with shapes formed in a loose wash of paint, building up shadows and lifting highlights until the dragon emerged from the swirling mist.

There’s sparkle throughout but especially in the fog, and my favorite shape features heavily. Spirals in the fog, in the scales, in horns that lay flat against its neck.

Sinuous and menacing, this wyrm looks hangry and you look like a snack.

Wyrm, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of the pearlescent shimmer, and a close-up of our wyrm’s baleful eye. Below, he’s in a frame, awaiting his next snack.

Wyrm, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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March 2021 Patreon sketches

Tuesday, May 18th, 2021

8 sketch cards by Amy Crook

From the top left:

  • Rebecca S asked for “tea time” and got this little test of my new paint palette full of interesting mineral colors
  • Andria asked for “looking forward to graduation” and got this little hedgie admiring itself in the mirror in its grad cap
  • Amber asked for “rage quit” and got this little Posca marker experiment on a tiny card-sized art board (sold)
  • Corinne asked for the obscure combination of lolrus meme and Cap & Bucky (aka Bucket), to which I added the Tsum design for, uh, reasons. Cap kindly modeled. (sold)
  • Eric asked for a cat Pokemon and got Mew doing “I fits, I floats” with its tail (sold)
  • Amy B asked for Big Kitten Energy and got this b&w doofus (sold)
  • Jeff asked for “enjoying retirement” and got his Kobold Curry Chef avatar enjoying someone else’s curry for a change (sold)
  • a view of my tiny cool new palette, from which the tea was painted, because why not
  • And finally, Booskerdu asked for Q’s cats and got these two b&w kitties laying down the law: food before tea.

Thank you to all my lovely patrons, who have been so, so patient and supportive through everything. If you’d like to become one of them and get your own requests interpreted, you can support me on Patreon here!

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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February 2021 Patreon sketches

Wednesday, May 12th, 2021

sketch cards of a cat, a crow, a snorlax, and a bat

4 sketch cards by Amy Crook

From the top left:

  • Booskerdu asked for lilac cats, and got this mostly-monochrome blobcat. I even got the child to help paint the sugilite blob that got turned into a cat! I gave it a few tiny enhancements with some amethyst paint for shading, but I don’t feel I cheated too badly on my b&w commitment.
  • Kim asked for Cigfran and got this shy fellow painted in full flight.
  • Eric asked for Snorlax and got this slightly pop-art colored Posca marker meme.
  • Amy B asked for a wintry bat, and got this little dude in his scarf, chillin’ on a snowman’s head. And yeah, I cheated here, too, and added the tiniest bit of orange watercolor, because reasons.
sketch cards of a wolf, a half dragon, and a kobold with a cat on its head

3 sketch cards by Amy Crook

From the top left:

  • Corinne wanted something inspired by a story we both like, and I felt like making an obscure meme joke, so if you don’t get this, don’t worry — you don’t have to. Remember, they’re not temporary dogs, they’re werewolves.
  • Rebecca S asked for Dragon Tony and gets this ridiculous chibi masterpiece.
  • My BFF Jeff asked for “us” so he gets a stolen joke from a Munchkin card, and his icon plus my inner lazy kitty.

I’m not sure how these didn’t get done until April or put on the blog until May, but time has become meaningless in 2021. I’m getting more caught up, however, so expect to see at least two more sketch card posts in the coming weeks!

As always, you can become a patron to request your own sketches and spin the wheel of creativity.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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