Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category
Houseplants of Cthulhu
Tuesday, June 25th, 2013
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
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
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
Tags: anemone, cthulhu, duochrome, japanese watercolor, nfs, watercolor
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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