Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category
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
3 Comments »
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
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Mirrors
Thursday, June 20th, 2013
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Mirrors, by Amy Crook
I’ve had a note to start this series on my whiteboard for ages, but I finally sat down and worked on this first installment. A Series of Uncanny Fears will visually explore those things that we, as adults, know we shouldn’t be afraid of. It’s an echo of being a kid, feeling a shiver despite our grown-up logic.
Mirrors have been thoroughly demystified by science and yet hold a certain creepy fascination, especially in the dark. Fiction explores mirror worlds, mirror traps, things lurking behind mirrors or traveling through them, impressions left on them or even messages written.
In my bathroom I have a blue canary in the outlet by the light switch to watch over me (no, really!), but I still sometimes turn the lights on properly at 3am when it’s dark and creepy, because of reasons. Mirror reasons.
How about you, what’s your uncanny fear?
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Mirrors, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Mirrors, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see that I did go out of my way to make the mirror extra creepy with a skull motif as well as the built-in candleholders. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, with my quill pen and ink bottle for ambiance.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Mirrors, 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, gorey, nfs, pen and ink, sold, uncanny fears
4 Comments »
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
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