Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category

Dusk Moon

Monday, January 28th, 2013

Dusk Moon by Amy Crook

Dusk Moon by Amy Crook

When I’m avoiding getting things done, I spend a lot of time staring to the east out of the big window in my living room. The other day the sky was this lovely fade right before sunset of a soft dusky purple just starting to reach up to encompass the endless blue sky. A few days later, I saw the moon, waxing and nearly full, hanging in the blue afternoon sky on my way home from errands. I put those two images together here into one quiet, subtle view.

Dusk Moon, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper.

Dusk Moon, detail, by Amy Crook

Dusk Moon, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the opaque white of the moon with its shadows taking on the color of the sky around it. Below, the painting is hanging out in its frame on a shelf in my living room, a little piece of dusk no matter the time of day.

Dusk Moon, framed art by Amy Crook

Dusk Moon, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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W is for Watercolor

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

W is for Watercolor, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

W is for Watercolor, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

The end of the alphabet draws ever nearer. Today’s W is perfect for a Wendy or William, with watery watercolor and sparkly silver in curvy waves. I tried to let the watercolor paint do its own beautiful thing here, letting the shapes and edges form as they would around this swooping, sparkling letter.

W is for Watercolor, 5″x5″ watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.

W is for Watercolor, detail, by Amy Crook

W is for Watercolor, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the light glinting off the silver water-patterned glitter, and the delicate textures of grainy watercolor that separated beautifully as it dried. Below, you can see the W hanging out with the A and Y to make WAY. In or out, that’s for you to decide!

W is for Watercolor, A is for Arabesque and Y is for Yarn, framed art by Amy Crook

W is for Watercolor, A is for Arabesque and Y is for Yarn,
framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Sunrise Crows

Monday, January 21st, 2013

Sunrise Crows by Amy Crook

Sunrise Crows by Amy Crook

The colors of this sunrise will seem familiar from Friday’s post, I hope, with gentler clouds and the birds to bring it out of abstraction. There’s still shimmery spirals in blues and golds, but they’re softer, fluffy clouds instead of stormy ones. The three birds are flying along not really in formation but just hanging out, the sunlight shining on and through their feathers, making them almost ghostly in the morning light.

Sunrise Crows, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Sunrise Crows, detail, by Amy Crook

Sunrise Crows, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sunlight glimmering off the iridescent paint, and the tiny feathery details in the middle crow. The golden clouds get hints of rose and orange, while the blue ones go softly aquamarine. Below, you can see the piece hanging out on my writing desk in a frame, waiting to fly off to their new home.

Sunrise Crows, framed art by Amy Crook

Sunrise Crows, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Halloweentown Holmes

Saturday, January 19th, 2013

Halloweentown Holmes by Amy Crook

Halloweentown Holmes by Amy Crook

I saw someone posting about Sherlock and Mycroft being originally from Halloweentown in the Nightmare Before Christmas universe, with an older, skeletal brother Sherrinford. I couldn’t resist drawing it up with just a bit of my own silly style added in!

Sherlock’s even dead. Well, undead. Well, you know, Halloweentown. I just couldn’t resist the urge to draw them, given how much my cartooning style owes to Jack Skellington. Sherrinford’s even got a bat for his cravat.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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V is for Value

Thursday, January 17th, 2013

V is for Value, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

V is for Value, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

Value is a term for how dark something is, the range from black to white, so I explored that in two ways with this piece. First the V itself is a simple triangle shaded with a brush and pre-mixed black sumi-e ink. Then the background is shaded more like an old-fashioned etching, using the red glitter gel pen and my own wobbly handmade lines to create a fade in the opposite direction.

I have to admit, there’s something very ’80s music video about the result, like the logo for some new wave band. Perhaps there’s a Victor or Virginia in your life that are big fans of Duran Duran and need this in their life.

V is for Value, 5″x5″ sumi-e ink and glitter gel pen on paper.

V is for Value, detail, by Amy Crook

V is for Value, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a bit of the glittery red gel pen making the pen-shaded light-to-dark value in the background, and just the little tip of the V where the ink was determined to mostly stay at a middle tone. Below, you can see the V hanging out with the O and a little preview of X to spell “vox.”

V, O and X, framed art by Amy Crook

V, O and X, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Sherlock Hardcase

Wednesday, January 16th, 2013

Sherlock Gelaskin iPhone Hardcase, art by Amy Crook

Sherlock Gelaskin iPhone Hardcase, art by Amy Crook

As much as I adore my beloved Gelaskin stickers, my iPhone has been dropped enough times that I really needed a bit more protection. Gelaskin has again come to the rescue with my lovely custom hardcase, featuring my drawing of Sherlock in all his glorious ennui. There’s even a secret hedgehog.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Cuppa Tentacles

Sunday, January 13th, 2013

Cuppa Tentacles sketch by Amy Crook

Cuppa Tentacles sketch by Amy Crook

The holiday season meant coloring books, of course, and I even had time to sketch in most of them! This little cuppa’s got something a bit stronger in it than tea, eek.

Happy Sunday!

Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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