Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday
Monday, July 15th, 2013
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, watercolor by Amy Crook
Another watercolor sky, this one dreamy and just a bit odd, with the stars out in full force and a strange planetary-atmosphere glow of color. This is one of those which my scanner just cannot get right, but the framed photo at the bottom gives a really nice sense of the colors involved.
I think of this as secret Doctor Who art, actually — I imagine him standing in the doorway of the TARDIS with his latest companion, pointing up at the stars and making a Peter Pan joke. To the very right you can see the edge of something, planet or satellite or moon, which is completely hidden when it’s in the frame, like a little secret between the artist and collector, or perhaps that’s where the Doctor means to take us after all.
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and silver watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the softly textured sky and bright, twinkling silver stars, and a bit of the fade from turquoise to blue to black. Below, you can see it in a frame, with a sonic screwdriver and much more accurate colors.
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, for sale, japanese watercolor, sky, stars, watercolor
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Not Dead Yet
Saturday, July 13th, 2013
Not Dead Yet,
Captain Jack Harkness fan art by Amy Crook
After doing all three of the new Doctors, I decided that Captain Jack Harkness needed a card of his own! It’s sort of a get well card, but could really be used to cheer up anyone who’s a bit down. Just don’t try to use it as a sympathy card.
I did, you will notice, get his cheeky wink this time.
Not Dead Yet, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).
Not Dead Yet, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a detail of his face, from cheeky wink to cleft chin. Below, he’s in a frame with a naughtily borrowed Sonic Screwdriver, and my iPhone for scale of course.
Not Dead Yet, framed Doctor Who fan art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: captain jack harkness, copic marker, doctor who, naomi dunford, nfs, pen and ink, sold
Silver Filigree
Friday, July 12th, 2013
Silver Filigree by Amy Crook
At this point, I have to conclude that not only do I love to draw it, I just adore the word filigree. This one’s a little different from its predecessors, though, with the filigree fading from silver into mist as it pours down into the dark, strange painting. Not a single speck of glitter was used!
Silver Filigree, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor and salt on Arches cover black paper.
Silver Filigree, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see how the spirals grow fainter and more transparent as they travel away from their origin. Below, you can see the painting in a frame on my bookshelf, where it lived all through Sharpie week.
Silver Filigree, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, filigree, for sale, japanese watercolor, salt, silver
Horace
Monday, July 8th, 2013
Horace, an illustration from The Courtship of Julian St. Albans,
by Amy Crook
So, this is Horace! He’s a character from The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, which is a novel I wrote. I decided that one high-stress, low-paying creative career was enough, so rather than go through the normal channels of submission-rejection-etc, I just self-published it using Amazon’s CreateSpace platform. It’s available on Kindle or as a real, physical book, and you can even “borrow” the Kindle file if you’ve got Amazon Prime.
Even better, it’s available for free on Kindle today and tomorrow (July 8 & 9) as a special promotional thing! I’m also going to give away a copy of the physical book tomorrow, so if you covet a signed copy, that’s one way to get it.
The Courtship of Julian St. Albans is something of a hybrid book, a murder mystery in an urban fantasy setting, with a gay romance all wrapped up in the central plot.
Alex Benedict is the main character, and the mage who created Horace. Alex makes his living consulting on magical murders with the Agency, and he’s called in to consult on the murder of Julian St. Albans’ husband-to-be. Alex ends up a part of Julian’s formal Courtship, treading a deadly dance of manners, murder and magic. Horace is a magical artefact, rather than a clockwork machine. He’s hollow in the middle; he carries letters back and forth between the suitor and courted. He might just be my favorite character in the book, and was definitely the most fun to draw!
Horace, 4″x6″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Horace, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of Horace’s details, both the filigree making up his body, and the runes that help him function magically. Below, you can see the bird with the book, and my phone makes three.
Horace and The Courtship of Julian St. Albans,
both by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: consulting magic, copic marker, courtship, filigree, for sale, i made this, julian st albans, pen and ink
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Fairytale Sky 7
Friday, June 28th, 2013
Fairytale Sky 7 by Amy Crook
So, instead of painting the moon and mist and stars on black paper, this time I painted a mysterious sky of nearly-black colors, then added in the silver mist and stars and milk-white moon. I love the way the moon and mist picked up the background colors, especially the bloody cast to the moon’s shadows. A subtle addition to the series, with shine on the metallic mist and stars but not too much fancy paint this time around.
Fairytale Sky 7, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Fairytale Sky 7, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see brush strokes in the silver paint, which ranges from thick enough to stand off the paper, to thin enough to barely be visible on the dark background. Below, the painting is hanging out with my iPhone, showing off its spirals.
Fairytale Sky 7, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: fairytale sky, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, silver, spirals, watercolor
Captain Jack Harkness
Thursday, June 27th, 2013
Captain Jack Harkness cartoon by Amy Crook
I’ve been meaning to do a Captain Jack Harkness card for ages, and this is not that! This is basically the doodled-up character design I did for him, which I decided to ink and color. I was reminded that this specific paper, which is wonderful for inkjet printing, doesn’t take the markers nearly so well, alas. Still, he looks quite handsome in his not-quite-right coat, heh.
Captain Jack Harkness, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).
Captain Jack Harkness, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see his crooked little smirk and spiky hair up close and personal. I’m amused at how much practice I already have drawing a greatcoat with a turned-up collar, though this one’s double-breasted, so the detailing is more complicated, but I don’t have to ink that wretched fabric texture, so I’m happy. Below, you can see him all framed up and ready to visit his new home.
Captain Jack Harkness, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: captain jack harkness, copic marker, doctor who, nfs, pen and ink, sold
Sherlock Bookmark 8
Saturday, June 22nd, 2013
Sherlock Bookmark 8
by Amy Crook
This bookmark was one of the first to sell when I sent my list a preview for last Bookmark Week, so I swapped it out for the Harvest Bookmark during posting. It qualifies for a Saturday cartoon now, however, so you can all covet what you can’t have, or something.
I often use the bookmarks to experiment with things I want to do in proper paintings, and in this case I was seeing if the opaque white would work for highlights over a toned paper. The white picks up the tone a bit too easily, I think, but it still made for a fun little Sherlock sketch.
Sherlock Bookmark 8, 2″x5″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Sherlock Bookmark 8, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of Sherlock’s unimpressed face. The highlights worked fine on hair and coat, but got lost in the blue on his face. Below, you can see it hanging out with a book, showing off its shapely dimensions.
Sherlock Bookmark 8, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bookmark, nfs, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watercolor
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