Archive for the ‘Whimsical and Strange’ Category
G is for Gothic
Thursday, August 30th, 2012
G is for Gothic, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I have to admit, I went for the pun a bit here, combining the Gothic capital with my own Goth sensibilities. The silver spiderwebs are half-seen until they catch the light, and the burgundy G floats in murky gloom, hanging out with the stripey little spider responsible for its extra decoration.
G is for Gothic, 5″x5″ pen & ink, Japanese watercolor, and glitter gel pen on paper.
G is for Gothic, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the silver details shining in the bright summer sunlight. Goths in hot weather, anyone? Below, it’s hanging out on a little shelf with the C and my collection of Endless pewter figurines.
G is for Gothic & C is for Counter, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, black, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, goth, illumination, pen and ink, red, silver, spiderweb, watercolor
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F is for Flourish
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
F is for Flourish, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
While my embossed E was all warm green and gold, and this week’s F is cool greens and lemon yellow instead. I knew F was going to be flourish from the start, and boy, did I get flourishy! This illuminated letter would look great on the wall of a Fiona, the desk of a Frank or the bookshelf of a Ferdinand.
F is for Flourish, 5″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and glitter gel pen on paper.
F is for Flourish, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the sun really shining off the green glitter flourishes. Below, F is hanging out with D is for Dada in one of my bookshelves.
F is for Flourish and D is for Dada, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, green, illumination, pen and ink, watercolor, yellow
Fairytale Sky
Monday, August 20th, 2012
Fairytale Sky watercolor by Amy Crook
This piece exists in the intersection of realism and whimsy. It started with a white crescent moon that fades mysteriously to its dark side with a pitted, rocky texture. Then the cheerful periwinkle clouds spiral through the field of silver stars that shine out in the dark black of the paper. It’s an image that brings to mind the magic of bedtime stories and fairy tales, even the ones with happy endings.
Fairytale Sky, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper, nfs (sold).
Fairytale Sky, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the silver stars catching the light against the paper – Arches makes this soft black paper for printmaking, but I like it because the black is chemical rather than dyed, so it never fades from its original velvety charcoal color. Below, you can see how this painting might look on your desk, well, if you’ve got the kind of desk I do, anyway. It’s bigger than a lot of my skies, so it would also work well on a bedroom wall or above someone’s bed to help assure sweet dreams.
Fairytale Sky, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, periwinkle, silver
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Parseltongue
Saturday, August 11th, 2012
Parseltongue, Harry Potter fan art by Amy Crook
Wee Harry’s made a friend! Since he’s a Parselmouth and speaks Parseltongue, the language of snakes, he had no problem convincing this one that he’s not lunch.
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, Harry Potter, parseltongue, pen and ink
E is for Emboss
Thursday, August 9th, 2012
E is for Emboss, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I did so much measuring and line-drawing for my E I decided to leave in the pencil lines as a sort of underpainting, a decorative structure underlying the letter. Though it’s hard to see in the scan, the whole square is embossed, with gold coloring the embossed edges as well as providing the decoration on an otherwise plain capital. The two greens remind me of marble or malachite, but the gold filigree design really elevates the whole thing to the realm of beauty.
E is for Emboss, 5″x5″ pencil, pen & ink, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.
E is for Emboss, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the raised edges and shining gold both on the edge itself and in the filigree decoration. Below, I’ve put the piece in a frame with B is for Blackletter. It spells BE! Yes, I’m a dork. You knew that.
B is for Blackletter & E is for Emboss, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, green, illumination, pen and ink, pencil, watercolor
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D is for Dada
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
D is for Dada, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I was thinking of cheating and using Art Deco for my D but some googling around reminded me of the Dada art movement and all its wacky semi-political cut-and-paste collage. I got some 5-cent BART tickets from my roommate, who is a great source for all sorts of useful things, and dug through my own art supply hoard for a sheet of Chinese New Year paper. The letter itself echoes my original intent, using an Art Deco-esque font, but in a very Dada manner.
I’m thinking of trimming all of these down to 5″x5″, doing an ampersand, and then displaying them in a 3×9 grid of square black frames. What do you guys think?
Just remember, insert this side up.
D is for Dada, 5″x5″ collage, Sharpie marker and Japanese watercolor on paper.
D is for Dada, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can really see the soft torn edges of the Chinese paper contrasted with the sharp, thick, plastic-like material of the BART ticket, which really stands out against the backdrop of mismatched stamping and gilding. Below, you can see this piece tucked into a frame and hanging out with the F, just waiting for a new home. Derek, Dave, Danielle, who will take it home and keep it for their very own?
D is for Dada & F is for Flourish, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, bart ticket, blue, calligraphy, collage, for sale, gold, illumination, red, sharpie marker, watercolor, yellow
3 Comments »
C is for Counter
Thursday, July 26th, 2012
C is for Counter, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
Counter space is the space inside of a letter, whether open or closed. No, I didn’t know that before I started this project, either, don’t worry, but once I heard the term I became fascinated with the idea of fitting an old-school moon in the curve of the C for this alphabet.
C is for Counter, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor, pen & ink and glitter gel pen on paper.
C is for Counter, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shining silver stars in the blue sky, and also a better sense of the shading, which my scanner blew out completely in the yellows. Below, the C is hanging out with the Endless (whose names all start with D, ironically) and the G as well. It’s all ready for a Catherine or Carl to take it home, or perhaps a Mr. Cunningham. I think the framed photo actually has the most accurate color, too.
C is for Counter & G is for Gothic, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, blue, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, illumination, moon, pen and ink, silver, stars, watercolor, yellow
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