Posts Tagged ‘crow’

Crow Bookmark 2

Monday, January 7th, 2013

Crow Bookmark 2 by Amy Crook

Crow Bookmark 2 by Amy Crook

My BFF’s birthday is in January, on the same day as JRR Tolkien’s, which always amuses us since mine’s the same day as Frodo & Bilbo Baggins. In addition to the gift he hasn’t gotten yet because I’m a slacker, I made him a bookmark all his own, with black ink crows flying against a blue marker sky.

Crow Bookmark 2, 7″x2″ pen & ink and Copic marker on scrap paper, nfs.

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Crows Fabric

Monday, December 10th, 2012

Crows fabric design by Amy Crook

Crows fabric design by Amy Crook

I decided at some point that it would be neat to have some polka-dot crows fabric in my Scribble Goth line, and I finally got around to doodling up some crows with a fountain pen, and then turning them into a pattern. The basic four birds can be seen above, and below there’s the two fabric designs. They’re not for sale yet (I have to buy a $5 test swatch of each before they can be), so if you’re interested in having some crows of your own, just let me know!

I think my favorite part is how 3 of them are looking right, but one crow is like “no, the interesting stuff is over here.”

Scribble Goth - Crows

Scribble Goth - Albino Crows

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
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A Murder of Crows 2

Friday, October 5th, 2012

A Murder of Crows 2 by Amy Crook

A Murder of Crows 2 by Amy Crook

This piece is visually and thematically related to A Murder of Crows, but this time instead of swirling around calligraphy these pen-and-ink crows are coming to rest on some power lines. They were inspired by the convocation of crows that’s often outside my window, including the loud fellow who woke me up this morning by scolding my cat, who just chittered excitedly right back.

I had a tiny frame I got from who knows where that I wanted to make something just to fit, and this murder of seven crows seemed like the perfect flock for the small space.

A Murder of Crows 2, 3.5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

A Murder of Crows 2, detail, by Amy Crook

A Murder of Crows 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, there’s a little detail of one of the crows, who was scribbled in with a fountain pen and then smoothed out with a paintbrush and water to give him a soft, almost glowing quality. Below, you can see the piece in the frame that inspired it, nearly as small as my iPhone.

A Murder of Crows 2, framed art by Amy Crook

A Murder of Crows 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Hello City

Friday, August 31st, 2012

Hello City watercolor landscape by Amy Crook

Hello City watercolor by Amy Crook

This one’s a bit of an amalgamation of Insomnia City and Seven for a Secret, with the seven crows spiralling up into the endless sky above the funky city. The seventh crow up at the top is dim and distant, barely seen against the vast blue. The city itself is a purplish grey-black with a soft warm yellow glow. This piece would fit nicely into an 8″x10″ frame on a desk, cubicle wall, or in amongst the other art and photos in your home, don’t you think?

Hello City, 4″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Hello City, detail, by Amy Crook

Hello City, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the crows fading upward into the bright blue sky, growing harder to see as they become more distant. Below, I’ve temporarily tucked this piece into a frame to show you scale.

Hello City, framed art by Amy Crook

Hello City, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Seven for a Secret

Friday, August 10th, 2012

Seven for a Secret, watercolor landscape by Amy Crook

Seven for a Secret, watercolor landscape by Amy Crook

One for sorrow, two for joy,
Three for a girl and four for a boy,
Five for silver, six for gold,
And seven for a secret never to be told.

Seven for a Secret, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Seven for a Secret, detail, by Amy Crook

Seven for a Secret, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, the seven crows flying in the gloaming. Below, I slipped them into a temporary frame for scale, where they got to hang out in my desk with my iPhone for a bit.

Seven for a Secret, framed art by Amy Crook

Seven for a Secret, framed art by Amy Crook

  • Title: Seven for a Secret
  • 8 in. x 4 in. Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
  • sold

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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A Murder of Crows

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

A Murder of Crows, art by Amy Crook

A Murder of Crows by Amy Crook

This piece uses several different techniques together but really just one pen, although I did go back in and add just a hint of color to the shadowy, sunlit crows in their flight. I’m very pleased with the overall effect, which makes me think of a cover or title page to some mystery novel or horror story. There’s even 13 crows in my murder to make it extra spooky.

A Murder of Crows, 6″x6″ pen & ink and salt on watercolor paper.

I like the way the salt is nearly invisible until the sunlight hits it, adding sparkle and color to an otherwise monochrome image.

A Murder of Crows, detail 1, by Amy Crook

A Murder of Crows, detail 1, by Amy Crook

The curving edges on each bird were partially created by the puddles of inky salt water, an imprecise process at best, which helps to give them a sense of being backed and blurred by strong sunlight.

A Murder of Crows, detail 2, by Amy Crook

A Murder of Crows, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
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Rain Crow

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Rain Crow, art by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, art by Amy Crook

A wonderful person who’d just found my site emailed me to ask if I’d done anything with ravens/crows or dragons, and I realized that, despite both of these being themes I really enjoy, I really hadn’t. After doing my little crow sketch the other day, I decided to actually google up what a real crow looks like (yes, still too lazy to look out the window, hush) and used those references to draw this.

All the color in the crow comes from ink pens, which I scribbled with delightful abandon to create the basic shape and color fill on the crow, and then after the salt on the beak had formed, I went back in with plain water and added the gorgeous watercolor-esque wash over the whole crow.

After I put in the ground, I decided it needed something in the sky around it, and the obvious choice for me was salt-pool raindrops in this soft aqua blue pen.

Rain Crow, 7″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and salt on paper, nfs (sold).

The real amazing part of this crow is actually the part you can’t actually see except from a very specific angle, this amazing salt formation right over its eye that’s actually in the shape of a fat little black bird, which I photographed framed by one of the water droplets that would later become a salt pool. This formation is incredibly fragile, so I didn’t even put the piece on the scanner, just took photos and have now put it in a shadow-box frame where it will stay protected.

Rain Crow, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, detail 1, by Amy Crook

The salt on the crow’s beak and eye formed with a really neat oil-slick sheen, which is totally lost in the closeup above, so I took another one for you below:

Rain Crow, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The frame I found is this soft silver shadow box, though I’m keeping my eye out for another frame that would allow you to pick it up and view the piece from the side, which is the best way to see its amazing secret.

Rain Crow, framed art by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, framed, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
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