Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category

Five for Silver

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013

Five for Silver, watercolor by Amy Crook

Five for Silver, watercolor by Amy Crook

Tuesday seems like a good day for some crows flying through the gloaming. The moon has risen early, gibbous and pale above the evergreens. Soft clouds curl and five black birds fade ghostlike into the shimmering twilight sky.

This is a mix of very different paints that all fall under “watercolor,” with the trees done in pine-scented Christmas paint, the sky textured layers of shimmering Iridescent Moonstone, the moon made of opaque Japanese watercolor, and the birds a translucent black.

Five for Silver, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Five for Silver, detail, by Amy Crook

Five for Silver, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of the delicate shimmer on the sky, and the painterly brush strokes in the trees and birds. Below, I have it temporarily matted into a frame so you can get a feel for the unusual size.

 

Five for Silver, framed art by Amy Crook

Five for Silver, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Misty Moon 2

Friday, November 8th, 2013

Misty Moon 2 by Amy Crook

Misty Moon 2 by Amy Crook

A black crow flies against the darkest part of the sky, while mist swirls and floats all around, obscuring the shining moon. The mist drifts in wispy tentacles that light up into spirals when the light hits them just right.

Misty Moon 2, 6″x4″ watercolor and iridescent watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Misty Moon 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Misty Moon 2, detail, by Amy Crook

The scanner captures the painting in an in-between state, but you can see above how the stars light up violet and the mist glows blue when the sun hits it. Below, the painting in its frame appears more like it does to the naked eye, with the shimmering spirals hidden, and only the slithering tentacles of mist show through.

Misty Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Misty Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Sharpie Jellyfishies

Saturday, July 6th, 2013

Sharpie Jellyfishies by Amy Crook

Sharpie Jellyfishies by Amy Crook

See, what happens when I prompt myself is that you end up with more tentacles! I used some of my more pastel Sharpie markers to doodle these guys, pairing up complementary colors of fine-point and regular Sharpies.

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Houseplants of Cthulhu

Tuesday, June 25th, 2013

Houseplants of Cthulhu by Amy Crook

Houseplants of Cthulhu by Amy Crook

I was noodling around on Google Images, looking for some sort of phosphorescent creature to paint onto this background with its subtle washes of not-quite-black colors, and I came across some nifty sea anemones. They had squat, coppery bodies and phosphorescent green tentacles, and so I got out the shiny duochrome paint and got my tentacle mojo on. Somehow, they ended up looking rather houseplant-like when all was said and done.

And then I thought, well, in underwater R’lyeh, phosphorescent anemones would make the perfect sort of houseplant for slumbering Cthulhu.

Houseplants of Cthulhu, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover white paper.

Houseplants of Cthulhu, detail, by Amy Crook

Houseplants of Cthulhu, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the various duochrome paints catching the sunlight, turning to ruby and gold and green instead of the copper and green and, well, darker green. Below, wee plushie Cthulhu is tending to his houseplants like a Great Old One should. Except with less death and doom.

Houseplants of Cthulhu, framed art by Amy Crook

Houseplants of Cthulhu, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Sunlit Stingray

Monday, June 24th, 2013

Sunlit Stingray by Amy Crook

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

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

Sunlit Stingray, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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A Trio of Dancing Squid

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

A Trio of Dancing Squid by Amy Crook

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

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

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
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Happy Jelly

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013

Happy Jelly by Amy Crook

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

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

Happy Jelly, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
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