Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category

Sea

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Sea by Amy Crook

Sea by Amy Crook

I finally got a better photo of this print that showcases the muted, subtle colors. The paper is such a pale blue, and the other colors so muted, it can be quite difficult to photograph, and even worse to try to work with in Photoshop.

I love the teal-grey waves with their scribbled-in echo of the etching plate, and slow fade from dark to light. It’s nearly two feet tall and over two and a half wide, and would look gorgeous floated on a piece of matte board in a simple frame.

You can see where I also used one of my etching plates, the same one that shows up in very different contexts in Ogdred Weary and Elements. Instead of inking into the deep grooves of the plate, I used the same brayer (ink roller) that I used to make the larger patterns, to roll ink only onto the surface of the plate, leaving the actual etching free of ink. (Click any image to see it larger.)

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

You can see here how there’s echoing linework hiding in the main part of the image. First ink was laid down on the main plate using the brayer, and then the back of a paintbrush was used to scrape away the ink to add texture.

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The whole pattern of waves and seaweed, or tentacles, or just more eddies and currents, is topped off with a shining sun rubber stamp in silver ink.

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

The print itself is quite large, the imported paper soft with beautiful natural edges. It really needs to be matted and framed for proper display, perhaps floated on a white or black background.

Sea, 31″x23″ monoprint, etching and rubber stamp on paper.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Translucent Pelagic Octopus

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Translucent Pelagic Octopus tiny painting by Amy Crook

Translucent Pelagic Octopus tiny painting by Amy Crook

Today’s tiny painting is a Translucent Pelagic Octopus, a deep-sea creature that floats ghostlike in the dark ocean. They have some phosphorescence in blues and reds and even a bit of gold to go with the white, and seem to be sculptures of living glass. Iridescent paint gives the image a big of shimmer, adding to the effect.

He’s giving you a cheerful hello wave from his tiny canvas, which is about the size of a postcard. He comes with a small wooden easel to easily display him on a flat surface such as a bookshelf, mantelpiece, desk, cubicle, or very patient cat.

Pelagic Octopus, 4″x5″ oil painting on canvas board.

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Bobtail Squid

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Bobtail Squid sketch by Amy Crook

Bobtail Squid sketch by Amy Crook

Today’s art is a startled little bobtail squid, who clearly wasn’t expecting to have his portrait sketched this morning. I’ve got a tiny painting of one of his cousins in the works, actually, which I’ll be getting back to once my last houseguest of the summer leaves and life returns to some value of normal.

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Pink Octopus

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Pink Octopus by Amy Crook

Pink Octopus by Amy Crook

A few years back (2006 says the signature!), we visited the Baltimore Aquarium when they had their octopus. He was just so adorable, pink and friendly, and he had this little puzzle-box full of shrimp that we declared was his purse. I spent a long time watching him, studying the way his limbs met his body and the decidedly un-graceful curls and squiggles of his long tentacles, especially the way they attenuated at the very ends.

So, when I got home, I had to draw him! I gave him a purse full of shrimp, and used my “Prawn” copic marker to color him. I ran across him while I was looking for some other files, and I thought I’d share him with you as a lazy Saturday post.

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Tattered Koi

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Tattered Koi sketch by Amy Crook

Tattered Koi sketch by Amy Crook

Just a little sketch for the weekend, this fish looks like he’s seen better days. His eyes came out a bit evil, so he’s rather like a zombie koi, lurking in your pond, craving your delicious brains.

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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If Wishes Were Fishes

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

If Wishes Were Fishes by Amy Crook

If Wishes Were Fishes by Amy Crook

This doodle springs from a conflation of two sayings my Mom used to use, “If wishes were fishes, we’d live in the sea,” and “If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.” Somehow my brain mixed the two up, and we have this doodle — “If wishes were fishes, then beggars would ride.” I went Seussian with the fish, giving the whole thing a cheerful, if surrealistic, feel.

Click the image to see it bigger!

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
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Cartoon! Wendy & Me

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Wendy and Me by Amy Crook

Wendy and Me by Amy Crook

Today’s art is another cartoon, this time of me and Wendy Cholbi, tech mermaid. Wendy wanted to expand her WordPress Installation offerings to include a package with some design included, and so I drew up this image to go with our bios on the sales page. It was fun not only to make Wendy into a mermaid, but to give my hair a bit of extra color (in real life that color would be so hard to maintain!) as well as the bunny ears, and a couple of t-shirts from ThinkGeek that neither of us actually owns — yet.

We’re also doing a free Website Color Clinic call on Wednesday to help people pick their own web palettes. Come join us and listen to me babble nervously about color!

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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