Archive for the ‘Whimsical and Strange’ Category
Butterfly
Monday, February 3rd, 2014
Butterfly, watercolor by Amy Crook
Pink! Bright colors! Happy little hearts! What is the world coming to?
I was working on something on the other side of this that was just not going well, and when I flipped the paper over there was this Rorschach-like butterfly just waiting for me in the white space. I decided to let go of perfectionism and use a peacock feather and bold, painterly lines to flesh out the whimsical butterfly.
Bright, bold, and flying free. Isn’t that a lovely thing to aspire to?
Butterfly, 7″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Butterfly, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the whimsical details, from the textured background to the bold spirals and delightful little heart. Below, you can see the butterfly flying in a frame, as though you’re looking through a window out onto a field of brilliant flowers.
Butterfly, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: for sale, watercolor
Fairytale Sky 8
Monday, January 13th, 2014
Fairytale Sky 8 by Amy Crook
It’s the last day of the Floating Gallery, and I’m rounding up a week of art with another Fairytale Sky.
I used a different palette this time, a rich orange harvest moon that lights up the mist below in swirls of the same color. There’s a soft silvery green shimmer in and around those orange spirals, and a few little silver stars manage to peek out above the thick fog.
Everything about this painting is better in person, of course, from the shimmer of paint that changes color when the light hits to the soft texture of the black paper.
Fairytale Sky 8, 6″x4″ duochrome watercolor and Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 8, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the mist lit up with golden sparkles by the last rays of a sunset. Below, you can see the painting in a frame, with the phone that took the picture above. It’s quite a small piece, and could go on a desk, cubicle wall, or tucked into an odd corner of architecture to bring a smile whenever you glance into that little hidden place.
Fairytale Sky 8, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, duochrome, fairytale sky, for sale, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, orange, spirals, watercolor
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers
Saturday, January 11th, 2014
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, comic by Amy Crook
The fates are conspiring to keep these two lovers apart, but they’ve used their shrimp treats to express their devotion. Will someone buy them both and put them in the same tank, or are they doomed to live forever alone?
You can get a Valentine at Etsy to show that long-distance love how much you miss them. With shrimp.
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers Valentine at Etsy by Amy Crook
Categories: Card Design, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, etsy, nfs, octopus, pen and ink, sold, squid, valentine
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good
Friday, November 15th, 2013
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good,
a Sherlock parody comic by Amy Crook
I’m still hard at writing with NaNoWriMo, but yesterday’s card demanded a companion.
Mycroft Holmes is Santa Claus. It makes perfect sense, in a creepy sort of way, he’s already got Minions to do the work and everything. I’m especially partial to the candy cane striped tie, an everyday acknowledgement of his very special secret role. Even more powerful than being the British Government, sort of!
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. Buy this as a holiday card at my Etsy shop!
two Sherlock holiday cards and a spooky pen made of bone
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: christmas, copic marker, etsy, holiday, john watson, nfs, parody, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watson
Secret Santa
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Secret Santa, a Sherlock parody comic by Amy Crook
Despite NaNoWriMo taking over my brain, the holiday cards continue to trickle out of my pens! This one ended up inspiring tomorrow’s comic, in the way that these things do.
It’s Christmas morning at 221B Baker Street, and John’s a bit mystified by the extra gifts that have appeared under the tree overnight from “Santa.” Sherlock is merely disgusted that Mycroft can’t seem to keep his fingers out of Sherlock’s life for one single holiday.
Secret Santa, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. Buy this as a holiday card at my Etsy shop!
two Sherlock holiday cards and a spooky pen made of bone
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: christmas, copic marker, etsy, holiday, john watson, nfs, parody, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watson
Misty Moon 2
Friday, November 8th, 2013
Misty Moon 2 by Amy Crook
A black crow flies against the darkest part of the sky, while mist swirls and floats all around, obscuring the shining moon. The mist drifts in wispy tentacles that light up into spirals when the light hits them just right.
Misty Moon 2, 6″x4″ watercolor and iridescent watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Misty Moon 2, detail, by Amy Crook
The scanner captures the painting in an in-between state, but you can see above how the stars light up violet and the mist glows blue when the sun hits it. Below, the painting in its frame appears more like it does to the naked eye, with the shimmering spirals hidden, and only the slithering tentacles of mist show through.
Misty Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: crow, fairytale sky, iridescent, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
Red, Gold, and Green
Wednesday, November 6th, 2013
Red, Gold, and Green, watercolor still life by Amy Crook
That’s right, I painted a still life. On purpose.
I wanted something for my personal holiday cards this year that was in the colors of the season but without too much of the seasonal hype, so I pulled out a few of my Pilot Petit fountain pens and then painted a quick still life. The original was for sale in November’s Floating Gallery, but I won’t be putting the cards for sale. You have to be on my holiday card list to get one.
Red, Gold, and Green, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Red, Gold, and Green, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a little close-up of the green and orange (only the pen body is really gold) pens. They have a plastic support behind each nib that’s colored to match the ink, and you can see the green one here, and a little sliver of the orange one in the background. Below, I’ve put it in a frame, with my phone and the not-gold pen in question (the color is called “apricot”).
Red, Gold, and Green, framed art by Amy Crook
If you don’t know what song this piece puts in my head, I can’t really help you.
And yes, I used Oxford commas in the title just for you.
Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: christmas, holiday, nfs, watercolor
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