Posts Tagged ‘calligraphy’

Plant This Acorn

Saturday, January 3rd, 2015

Plant This Acorn by Amy Crook

Plant This Acorn by Amy Crook

Speaking of adventures and inspiration, this piece was inspired by The Hobbit movies, especially the newest one, though the quote is my own.

I would plant this acorn in your name, but I’d rather grow old with you.

I went for simplicity in this painting, layering glazes in shades of brown, gold, and a little red in the leaf, a little green in the body of the acorn. The writing is a version of my own handwriting. It is meant to evoke both nature and sentiment, a connection to the earth and trees but most of all a connection to a loved one.

Plant This Acorn, 4″x6″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Plant This Acorn, detail, by Amy Crook

Plant This Acorn, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the acorn with its little touches of green in the brown, against the red-brown of the oak leaf. Below, I’ve slipped the piece into a warm wooden frame, all ready for its new home.

Plant This Acorn, framed art by Amy Crook

Plant This Acorn, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Words Words Words
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Ignite

Friday, January 2nd, 2015

Ignite by Amy Crook

Ignite by Amy Crook

Some fireworks to start off 2015!

This is the third in my Aglow series, taking the hues completely away from purple and black and setting them alight.

I want this painting to inspire you to coax the spark of hope and creativity in yourself to a proper bright bonfire. Ignite your passions, ignite your career, ignite yourself.

Ignite, 8″x8″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Ignite, detail, by Amy Crook

Ignite, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the rich red with the gorgeous metallic word both catching the sunlight and looking like they’re on fire. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, with perhaps the most accurate colors of the three images.

Ignite, framed art by Amy Crook

Ignite, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Step Into the Light

Monday, September 8th, 2014

Step Into the Light by Amy Crook

Step Into the Light by Amy Crook

I challenged myself with this piece to start with pink instead of blue, and still make something that spoke to me visually the same way Invent the Universe does. The light ended up in the center, more of a tunnel than a pathway, inviting you to step through and see what it’s like out in the light.

Step Into the Light, 8″x8″ Japanese, traditional, and metallic watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Step Into the Light, detail, by Amy Crook

Step Into the Light, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the gold lettering catching the sunlight and putting the white of the paper to shame. Below, you can see the painting in its frame, waiting for the right wall.

Step Into the Light, framed art by Amy Crook

Step Into the Light, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Words Words Words
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That Thing You Love

Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

That Thing You Love, calligraphy by Amy Crook

That Thing You Love, calligraphy by Amy Crook

“Don’t let anyone tell you that the thing you love is a thing you can’t love.”

-Wil Wheaton

I created this piece as part of a gift for my awesome email list people, but I wanted to make the actual artwork available, too. Like any watercolor, there’s detail that gets lost in the print, plus it’s just awesome to know that yours is the one and only original.

This quote is from an impromptu, impassioned diatribe on “why it’s awesome to be a nerd” that Wil Wheaton gave when asked at a con for some advice for their baby girl to grow up geek, and it’s really good advice. The whole speech is pretty awesome, actually.

That Thing You Love, 9″x12″ pen & ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

That Thing You Love, detail, by Amy Crook

That Thing You Love, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the little cheesy ’70s sunrise face in the middle of the word ‘anyone,’ and below you can see the piece laying on my desk with my iPhone for size, because it turns out I don’t actually own a frame the right size. Oops.

That Thing You Love, calligraphic art by Amy Crook, quote by Wil Wheaton

That Thing You Love, calligraphic art by Amy Crook,
quote by Wil Wheaton

Categories: Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
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Invent the Universe

Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

Invent the Universe by Amy Crook

Invent the Universe by Amy Crook

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

– Carl Sagan

Whether you see a big bang for just the light at the end of the tunnel, this painting feels full of possibility. If you wish to succeed at any endeavor, you have to invent inside yourself the universe in which it can happen. What’s amazing to me is that you can do it, that people can bring whole worlds to life inside themselves and then make them a part of our world, as well.

What do you want in your Universe?

Invent the Universe, 8″x8″ Japanese and metallic watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Invent the Universe, detail, by Amy Crook

Invent the Universe, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the silver paint picking up the light as it curves around the central vortex. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, glowing with sunlight and possibility.

Invent the Universe, framed art by Amy Crook

Invent the Universe, framed art by Amy Crook

This painting will be available in July’s Floating Gallery; join my list to get an early chance at it.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Words Words Words
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Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; a calligraphic triptych by Amy Crook

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; a calligraphic triptych by Amy Crook

Three small words and a simple illustration of a plant going from seed to flower in three panels. A metaphor for creating. A reminder of what it takes to get the beauty of a flower.

Gestate. The tiny green curled in the heart of brown seed.

Uncurl. The plant braves the world, straightens up, spreads its leaves wide.

Blossom. The beauty that can’t exist while the plant is still safe in its seed.

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom, a triptych of watercolor artworks on 4″x6″ Fluid watercolor paper.

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; three details by Amy Crook

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; three details by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the three tiny watercolor illustrations up close: seed, curled-up sprout, and flower. Below, the trio in frames, lit by warm spring sunshine.

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; framed art by Amy Crook

Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Words Words Words
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True Story

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

True Story, calligraphic art by Amy Crook

True Story, calligraphic art by Amy Crook

A small reminder of the other sides to everything:

Just because a Story is true, that doesn’t make it the Whole Story

We spend a lot of time telling ourselves our stories, whether it’s that time your favorite thing got discontinued because nobody likes what you like, or the time you couldn’t even make your cable box work because you’re no good at technology, or the time you missed a car payment because you’re terrible with money.

A single story becomes the whole story, especially in the negative. We tell ourselves the story and call it the truth, instead of remembering the 37 car payments you did make, the favorite products that have been on the shelves since childhood, or the tech you take for granted every day.

True Story, 6″x4″ pen & ink and glitter gel pen on Fluid watercolor paper.

True Story, detail, by Amy Crook

True Story, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the light shining off the glittery color, highlighting a few important words. Below, the piece waits in a frame to grace someone’s home or workspace, accompanied by a little matching bookmark.

True Story, framed art by Amy Crook

True Story, framed art by Amy Crook

This piece was in last month’s Floating Gallery — if you’d like to get the inside scoop on my art, join my list.

Categories: Floating Gallery, Words Words Words
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