Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category
Old Friends Who’ve Just Met
Tuesday, August 6th, 2013

Old Friends Who’ve Just Met, Muppets fan art by Amy Crook
I was watching The Muppet Movie the other day, and if there was every a Muppet to get himself in a friendly situation with a tentacle monster, it’s Gonzo. The title comes from Gonzo’s big song, where he sings, “There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met.” Given his penchant for putting starfish in his pants in Muppet Treasure Island, I think Gonzo and the tentacle monster are going to get along just fine.
Old Friends Who’ve Just Met, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Old Friends Who’ve Just Met, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see Gonzo up close, along with the spot where my inks smeared, ironically while I was specifically trying not to smear them with my hand and so I put a pencil board over them. I’m just having a bad week with inks, man. Below, you can see it in a frame, just waiting to go back there someday. I feel I should point out that I had my choice of tentacle monsters and Muppet action figures, Pez dispensers and plushies to choose from for this photo. Gonzo in his cannon won because he was closest.

Old Friends Who’ve Just Met, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, for sale, gonzo, i'm going to go back there someday, muppets, pen and ink, tentacles
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Say Thanks, John
Saturday, August 3rd, 2013

Say Thanks, John,
parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook
Another Saturday, another card! I decided I needed a trio of Sherlock thank-you cards, so you’ll see another next week just to round out the set. This time it’s John who’s rather begrudging the social niceties, which means it’s probably all Sherlock’s fault, somehow.
Say Thanks, John, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).

Say Thanks, John, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the rather detailed cables on John’s sweater, and his grumpy pose. Below, you can see it in a frame, hanging out with a skull, a hedgehog, and my iPhone. And you thought you kept weird company.

Say Thanks, John, framed art by Amy Crook
PS – If it ever frustrates you that certain sorts of fan art are always sold when they go up, you can always commission your own.
Categories: Card Design, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, etsy, john watson, nfs, parody, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watson
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Under the Bed
Thursday, August 1st, 2013

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Under the Bed
by Amy Crook
My Series of Uncanny Fears is actually a series now, yay! I found it extra challenging to draw the pattern on the duvet with the monster glaring at me from under the bed all the while. Not that there is a monster, mind you, I’m sure it’s just shadows, and reflections. Nothing to fear. Nothing at all.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Under the Bed, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Under the Bed, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can get a closer look at that space under the bed and the inexplicable shadows that are totally not reaching toward you now. Not at all. Below, it’s safely behind glass in a frame, just waiting to find the perfect owner.

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Under the Bed, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: a series of uncanny fears, crosshatching, edward gorey, for sale, gorey, pen and ink, uncanny fears
Growth 2
Monday, July 29th, 2013

Growth 2 by Amy Crook
I was playing around with my watercolors, and the deep green circle reminded me of the blue-black center of Growth. Before I knew it, I’d grabbed my dark green fountain pen and started making two rows of circles this time, inside and out, and then filling in the inner set while the watercolor was still slightly damp, before moving to the outside. This paper is very absorbent, which gives a softness to the pen lines even on the white.
I had to resist the urge to try to create randomness, and instead just stick with something that was interestingly varied to me. Humans do randomness terribly, and I always have to remember that. I found it interesting that the growths came out differently shaped than the original, more towers and less floaters, no long strands of growth reaching out or in.
Growth 2, 5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper.

Growth 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the paired-up circles of growth going in and outward from the double row at the border. Below, you can see both pieces together in their frames, making a diptych with endless visual interest.

Growth and Growth 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, green, growth, pen and ink, planet, watercolor
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Lunch With a View
Saturday, July 27th, 2013

Lunch With a View, Doctor Who fan comic by Amy Crook
I rewatched “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” recently, and I just couldn’t resist the idea of drawing this peaceful moment with Rory’s Dad sitting on the edge of the TARDIS, suspended over Earth, eating his little packed lunch and looking content. He was kind of hard to draw without his very characteristic nose to help me out, but in the end I’m pretty happy with him. The stars are tiny painted dots of silver watercolor, which is the one thing I have that won’t absorb the black marker pigment and turn grey.
Lunch With a View, 5″x7″ pen & ink, Copic marker, and metallic watercolor on paper. On a whim, I also made him available as a blank card on Etsy.

Lunch With a View, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a silly little bottoms-up view of Mr. Williams’ feet dangling off the edge of the TARDIS and over the distant Earth. Below, you can see it in a frame, with my iPhone and my Sonic Screwdriver.

Lunch With a View, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, doctor who, for sale, pen and ink, stars, tardis, watercolor
Flowers for Bilbo
Friday, July 26th, 2013

Flowers for Bilbo, a Hobbit parody commission by Amy Crook
“Tears, Gandalf. Tears and murder.”
Yes, this is related to a fic. No, I’m not going to tell you where to find it. Just be amused by poor Bilbo getting courting bouquets by two infamous dwarves, Dwalin and Thorin. Don’t worry, I’m sure it all turns out all right in the end, no murder required.
Flowers for Bilbo, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).

Flowers for Bilbo, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see Bilbo’s worried expression and pink blush, and some of my carefully-researched flowers. I had to look up what most things actually looked like, though I did know how to draw Lily of the Valley already. Below, you can see it hanging out in a temporary frame, looking spiffy before it gets shipped off to its new home.

Flowers for Bilbo, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: bilbo baggins, commission, copic marker, dwalin, dwarf, hobbit, nfs, pen and ink, sold, thorin
Convergence
Thursday, July 25th, 2013

Convergence, watercolor by Amy Crook
There is a distinct feeling of motion to this piece in person, the sparkling salt stars coming in from above and below, the inky black sweeping on on the sides, all converging in the center of the page. I kind of wanted to add a TARDIS to the picture, but I couldn’t figure out the right place to put it that wouldn’t ruin the sense of forces converging in the vastness of space. You can just imagine it’s floating there in the center with its shields up, the invisible force drawing everything inward.
The salt-crystal “stars” are a bit lost to my scanner, but you can see them much better below, along with a slightly better sense of the colors, though the rich, deep royal purple is just not coming through on my monitor, alas. This is definitely a piece that’s better in real life.
Convergence, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor and salt on Arches cover white paper.

Convergence, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the texture of salt crystals studded over the paper, and the swirling nebulae of color they swim in. Below, the piece is in a frame, hanging out with my iPhone and looking awesome.

Convergence, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: for sale, japanese watercolor, salt, stars, watercolor
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