Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category
Sunlit Stingray
Monday, June 24th, 2013
Sunlit Stingray, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper
I finally decided what to go on this background, which made me think of clear, sunlit tropical waters. This little guy looks a bit melancholy, but i like the sense of movement and shimmer in him, and I seem to remember all the rays we saw at the aquarium kept their smiles hidden underneath.
Sunlit Stingray, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the actual sunlight catching on the shimmery paint, both the silvery body and odd little golden-green highlights on the stingray, and just a tiny bit on the coppery-gold water. Below, you can see it hanging out with one of my awesome new tentacle critters from under the sea or possibly Arizona.
Sunlit Stingray, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: iridescent, nfs, sold, stingray, underwater, watercolor
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A Trio of Dancing Squid
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
A Trio of Dancing Squid by Amy Crook
I had originally thought of doing fatter, cuter, cartoony squid on this lusciously bright green background, but then when googling around for inspiration I found some pictures of swimming squid that were sleek and small with big golden eyes. And so we have this little trio, swimming past some big, mossy rock or perhaps a wall in some ruins somewhere. They’re painted in a shimmery turquoise with green-yellow eyes, and a scribble-painted dark teal for shadows and outlines. I imagine them cheerfully unaware of their audience, just twirling and dancing around as they swim on by.
A Trio of Dancing Squid, 7″x5″ watercolor, Japanese watercolor, and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
A Trio of Dancing Squid, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sun shining off the iridescent paint. Below, you can see them in their frame, hanging out with some aquatic friends.
A Trio of Dancing Squid, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, duochrome, green, iridescent, japanese watercolor, nfs, sold, squid
Happy Jelly
Tuesday, June 11th, 2013
Happy Jelly by Amy Crook
I know I’ve painted jellyfish before, but I decided my Wall of Squid needed some variety in its betentacled cuteness. This guy is actually a bit more pale in real life than he looks here, soft subtle pale blue-greens that make him look delightfully translucent. He’s not any specific species of jelly, just a cute one, but I did steal the idea of his heart-shaped markings on top from the lovely moon jellyfish.
Happy Jelly, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Happy Jelly, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a slightly better version of the pale coloring, and of course his cute little heart markings and big shiny head. Below, the happy jelly is dancing in his frame with my iPhone and favorite jellyfish plushie.
Happy Jelly, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, for sale, jellyfish, pen & ink
Crowned Skull
Monday, June 10th, 2013
Crowned Skull by Amy Crook
After drawing yesterday’s bookmark, I decided to draw a big version of the same image. I actually have a Halloween model skull on my bookshelf, wearing the paper crown out of a Christmas cracker, so he’s been the inspiration and model. His name is Sherrinford, because of reasons.
Personally, I think he would appeal to fans of Game of Thrones, given how everyone dies while George RR Martin drinks your tears.
Crowned Skull, 5″x7″ pencil, pen & ink and water brush on paper.
Crowned Skull, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the black ink separates into greys, blues and browns when I use the water brush to create shading. Below, you can see him in a frame, looking regal and tragic with my iPhone for moral support. Well, and size reference.
Crowned Skull, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: for sale, pen and ink, pencil, skull, water brush
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Goldfish
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
Goldfish, watercolor by Amy Crook
Last Thursday I finally got around to tearing some big sheets of paper I had into smaller, more Amy-sized sheets. Then I just had to play with the results, so I asked a friend to pick a color, and she said gold.
After a bit of playing and a bit of waiting, I ended up with this very bright red-orange-yellow background. Then I flipped it over, and found a fish in the shapes. I used a dark red and my lovely duochrome orange-gold paint to bring out the shape of this little guy, just a few strokes of paint to make a fishy.
Goldfish, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Goldfish, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of the paint I used to put some of the gold in the goldfish. Below, the piece is sitting in a frame, and you can see how vibrant the colors really are.
Goldfish, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: duochrome, fish, for sale, orange, portfolio, watercolor
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One for Sorrow
Monday, May 27th, 2013
One for Sorrow by Amy Crook
I hope you’re enjoying your Memorial Day weekend! This little crow is painted with ink and watercolor on some soft Japanese “sketch” paper which warps the moment I look at it damply. It’s soft and nicely textured, but won’t stay flat to save my life. I like the crow, though, and the bits of rainbow oil-slick color in his feathers. The wrinkles in the paper form a sort of halo around him, little harbinger of sorrow that he is.
One for Sorrow, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor and sumi-e ink on Japanese paper.
One for Sorrow, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the texture in the paper and the wibbly wobbly warping from the ink wash. I discounted his price a bit to account for the strange paper, and you can see below how it fits fine into a frame but still refuses to flatten out.
One for Sorrow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, for sale, japanese watercolor, sumi-e ink
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Angler Fish 1
Friday, May 24th, 2013
Angler Fish 1 by Amy Crook, $250
After I painted this bloody red background, deliberately deep and dark, I thought that a glowing blue Angler fish would be the perfect thing to go on top of it. I love the contrast between the abstract, color-field-like painting in the background, all matte and dark Japanese watercolors that sank into the textured black paper, and the drawing-like simplicity of the fish on top. She’s got deceptive amounts of detail, from the subtle shading on her creepy blank eye to the deliberate comic “shine” marks around her phosphorescent lure. The paint itself is a little bit shiny, with some duochrome Aquamarine mixed in with the white and turquoise to create a shiny paint that sits on top of the background rather than blending in.
Also, she’s magnificently creepy. Win!
Angler Fish 1, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper, $250 with free shipping.
Angler Fish 1, work in progress, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the murky background painting along with the little pre-sketch I did to fix the design in my head. I didn’t want to pencil directly onto the paint, so I just doodled it on a bit of scratch paper instead. Below, you can see a close-up of the angler’s lure and her shiny paint looking very bright against the matte depths behind her.
Angler Fish 1, detail, by Amy Crook
And finally, you can see the fish in her frame! I keep saying her because, of course, male angler fish are wee, pathetic little things doomed to die in the service of their species. I feel comfortable putting these links off my site here, because none of you ever read this far down, anyway.
Angler Fish 1, framed art by Amy Crook
- Title: Angler Fish 1
- 7 in. x 5 in. watercolor, Japanese watercolor, and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper
- $250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
- Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
- Shipping is free anywhere in the world
- Payment plans are available, just email me
- The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: angler fish, black paper, fish, for sale, iridescent, japanese watercolor, watercolor
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