Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category
Fairytale Sky 10
Friday, July 3rd, 2015
Fairytale Sky 10 by Amy Crook
I haven’t added to this series in a while, but sometimes you just want to paint swirly clouds and a big, bright moon.
I was watching Mulan the other day, and I was inspired by the beautiful way the artists rendered smoke in that movie. I’m still wembling about what to do with the sky in another work in progress, so this little painting let me explore both ideas.
I think the result is lovely, don’t you?
Fairytale Sky 10, 6″x4″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 10, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the moon up close, its softly glowing face full of beautiful texture from the paper. Below, the piece has been put in a tiny frame, perfect to secret in a bookshelf, display on a desk, or add to an array of other art.
Fairytale Sky 10, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, for sale, japanese watercolor, moon, watercolor
Hanged Man
Wednesday, June 17th, 2015
Hanged Man, a Sherlock parody comic by Amy Crook
Sherlock needed some data about upside-down men, so he chose to trap his subject rather than asking.
Sherlock: It’s for an experiment.
John: SHERLOCK!
Sherlock: I knew you’d never agree, so I set this up to get the data. The case depends on these results!
Sherlock seems to think that “it’s an experiment” excuses all sorts of reprehensible behavior.
This little comic is also a parody of the Hanged Man card in the tarot deck, though John’s legs are backwards from the traditional layout, and of course there is not usually an irritating detective measuring toes. I did keep in the usual primary colors, but swapped them around, giving John a red shirt instead of trousers, and putting the yellow shirt onto Sherlock instead.
Also, John has bee socks. Because reasons. (Bee reasons.)
You can send someone this delightfully weird comic on a card and make their day a little stranger, just buy one in my Etsy shop.
Hanged Man, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Hanged Man, a Sherlock parody card by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, etsy, hanged man, john watson, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, tarot, watson
Bilberry
Monday, June 15th, 2015
Bilberry, parody fan art for The Hobbit by Amy Crook
I imagine that whoever Bilbo was walking past thought they were paying him a compliment when they told him he looked just like a bilberry. Unfortunately, Bilbo disagreed despite the fact that he’s dressed in blue and purple with his lovely red waistcoat, just like the inside of a ripe bilberry (a relative of the blueberry).
This grumpy hobbit already has a new home, but you can get a card with which to amuse your friends at my Etsy shop.
Bilberry, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Bilbo the Bilberry blank greeting card by Amy Crook at Etsy
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bilbo baggins, copic marker, etsy, hobbit, nfs, pen and ink, sold
Storm/City
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Storm/City by Amy Crook
A dark storm moves in the shadows of this loosely-painted city, sparkling with contained electricity.
J. Herbin’s lovely anniversary ink, Stormy Grey, gives some really gorgeous depth with its gold highlights and dark, layered greys.
I mostly stuck to more traditional city buildings this time around, brush and ink creating the suggestions of windows and towers against the pale page of the sky. I did include the Gherkin building from London, because it’s just really fun to paint. I put it in a lot of my cities!
Storm/City, 6″x4″ J. Herbin ink on Fluid watercolor paper.
Storm/City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the gold catching the light against the dark grey of stormclouds in the shadows. Below, the piece is tucked into a tiny frame, a tempest in a teapot.
Storm/City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: brush and ink, city, for sale, gold, j herbin ink, storm, zen
Two for Joy
Friday, June 5th, 2015
Two for Joy by Amy Crook
If this painting feels familiar, that’s because it’s a relative of last month’s One for Sorrow 2. The figure this time is more androgynous, and their clothing seems to be blowing against the prevailing winds that bend the trees to their will.
Just like its predecessor, this piece has a lot of soft, pale fog that gets lost when it’s reproduced, but adds a lot of rich texture to the original. You can see it in the trees in the detail photo, a delicate sweep of wind moving across the paper grain.
Two crows sit low on a branch in the lee of the wind, harbingers of some unnamed joy. Whose joy and about what is left up to the imagination of the viewer, or perhaps it belongs to the apparition staring blankly back out of the page.
Two for Joy, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Two for Joy, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the staticky figure staring back at you, his clothing seemingly blown by an opposing wind. Below, I’ve displayed the painting in a temporary frame, where it awaits its new home.
Two for Joy, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bloodstone, counting crows, crow, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Mistwood
Thursday, June 4th, 2015
Mistwood by Amy Crook
This beautiful sheet of Twinrocker Handmade Simon’s Green paper is about 22 years old — I acquired it many years ago when I had a model named Simon, and never found the right use for it. I pulled it out specifically thinking it make an intriguing addition to my Pathways series, and I’m quite pleased with the result.
Strong green spikes rise upward, spreading out into leaves and branches, spreading further into mist and obscurity. Hints of earthy ochre lurk in the depths where surprising blues emerge through the fog. The tops of the trees disappear off the natural deckle edge of the paper, and the whole forest is bowed ever so slightly in some unseen wind.
Mistwood, 24″x18″ watercolor on Twinrocker handmade paper.
Mistwood, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the areas of “mist” where the greens break up and fade out in soft layers of color. Below, you can see the dark “trees” with their rich, strong forest colors still intact.
Mistwood, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, green, handmade paper, pathways, twinrocker, watercolor
Every Step
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015
Every Step by Amy Crook
This painting has a secret! I got some wonderful Noodler’s Blue Ghost UV-reactive ink recently, and unlike the other Aglow paintings, this one hides its message, which reads, “every step that I ran to you.”
The painting itself ranges from the clear blue of a deep lagoon around to the rich greens of jungle plants, with the curl of white sand beach in the middle. Waves of pale paint lap inward until there’s nothing but the paper at the very center. You can’t see a hint of the invisible ink in normal light.
Don’t worry, though, I’ll ship it with a UV keylight so you can always revisit the sweet sentiment.
Every Step, 8″x8″ brush & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Every Step, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a bit of the classified, curving calligraphy lit by the UV glow. Below, the painting is in a frame, the ink truly invisible to the naked eye.
Every Step, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: aglow, brush and ink, for sale, invisible ink, watercolor
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