Archive for the ‘Whimsical and Strange’ Category
Blood Moon
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Blood Moon by Amy Crook
Tonight I got out some watercolor paper and my paints and sat down to just play. I painted a number of washes for future use. This red-pink circle had dried just enough that, once the paints were put away, I sat with a red fountain pen and just started shading. Once I’d put in a small section of red on red, I started to see the moon shape forming, so I finished it up deliberately. Then, at the end, I took a darker red pen and put in the little spirals, over the places I’d dripped in a bit of blue-black when the wash was still wet.
I used a simpler texture than the one from my Texture Experiment 1, which let the work go faster and less precisely. In general, however, I’m finding a heretofore-unknown penchant for obsessive detail and crosshatching. I must be maturing; the last time I tried it with etching, I hated the fine, tedious work.
Blood Moon, 5″x5″ watercolor, pen and ink on reused watercolor paper, sold.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: blood moon, crosshatching, moon, nfs, pen and ink, sold, spiral, watercolor
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Victorian Wallpaper
Friday, February 25th, 2011
Victorian Wallpaper 1 by Amy Crook
After doing my hatboxes for the window display, and reading way too much Edward Gorey and Arthur Conan Doyle, I’ve been itching to try my hand at a Victorian-style wallpaper pattern. This is my first attempt, a little wonky but I like the way my scribbled inks work with the ornate scrollwork. Below I’ve done a few mock-ups of what it might look like in different color patterns. (more…)
Categories: Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: pen and ink, wallpaper
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S is for Sherlock
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
S is for Sherlock by Amy Crook
Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies is my absolute favourite of works — I get to die first, after all — and so when I was experimenting with my Micron pens the urge to parody BBC’s new Sherlock by mashing up the two was irresistible.
Click the image if you’d like to really see the ridiculously obsessive line work, or just enjoy the smaller version where it all blends into a texture.
I decided to combine the pose from “S is for Susan who perished of fits” and the caption and setting from “N is for Neville who died of ennui” in order to capture the essence of modern Sherlock in his state of utter boredom. The window isn’t precisely true to the show (there’s an ornate railing of some kind outside, and curtains), but I really liked the boring brickwork from the N page, so I copied that faithfully and tediously.
I never really thought I’d learn to like shading in such a time-consuming style, but I’m already thinking about other ways I can make use of it. I’ve already got plans to do a companion piece to this for poor John, since Gorey set me up so very well with “J is for James who took lye by mistake.”
S is for Sherlock who died of ennui, 8.5″x6.5″ pen and ink on sketchbook paper, sold.
You can still get the pair of them as handmade blank greeting cards on Etsy, though!
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: baker street tinies, crosshatching, edward gorey, nfs, pastiche, pen and ink, sherlock, sold
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Moleskine Volant: Dragonflies
Monday, February 14th, 2011
Dragonflies Volant by Amy Crook
A while back I picked up a 5-pack of Sharpie oil-based paint markers, wanting to experiment with the medium a little bit, and then (like so many such purchases) I totally didn’t make the time. We were talking on Twitter last night about the issue of buying supplies for new media and it inspired me to pull out some blank Moleskine Volants (a blue 2-pack) and play around.
I have a few pieces of dishware from Japan with dragonflies on them, and I’ve always found them fascinating, maybe because we didn’t really have them where I grew up. I have a really limited palette here, so I just toyed around with the various possible color combinations on the three big guys, then added in the little guys for some extra interest. The notebook in this case is a really dark blue that’s nearly black, so it provided a dramatic backdrop for the bright primary dragonflies.
Dragonflies, 5″x8.25″ Sharpie oil markers on a 96-page blank Moleskine Volant, nfs (sold).
Categories: Daily Art, Moleskines, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: dragonfly, moleskine, nfs, oil markers, sharpie, sold, volant
Weeble Wednesday: Wolfman Hearts You
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
Wolfman + Heart by Amy Crook
This guy’s a little fuzzy on some things, but his heart is warm and furry and all for you! Werewolf, wolfman, lycanthrope, whatever you want to call him, he’s not on anyone’s team.
This Wolfman is the last of the new illustrations for my Monster Heart Coloring Book, aside from the bonus brides. He’s such a classic movie monster I had to include him.
Wolfman and Wolfman’s Heart, both 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: coloring book, copic marker, for sale, heart, monster, pen and ink, weeble
Weeble Wednesday: Ghost Hearts You
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
Ghost + Heart by Amy Crook
My spooky ghost is another of the new illustrations for my Monster Heart Coloring Book. I decided to reverse color him, giving him a subtle blue glow around his edges and then fading to darkness out to the margins of the paper. I haven’t made him into a Valentine, though, so if you want to take him home, you’ll have to just get the original.
Ghost and Ghost’s Heart, both 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper. $129 for the pair in a double frame, with free shipping.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: coloring book, copic marker, for sale, pen and ink, weeble
Weeble Wednesday: Cthulhu Hearts Tentacles
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Cthulhu + Heart by Amy Crook
Cthulhu has brought you a bouquet of cultists! He just wants to be loved, see how he’s baring his heart for you?
This is another of the new illustrations for my Monster Heart Coloring Book. I couldn’t resist putting a Cthulhu in, and of course he’s also available as a Valentine.
Cthulhu 3 and Cthulhu’s Heart, both 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: coloring book, copic marker, cthulhu, etsy, for sale, lovecraft, pen and ink, weeble
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