Posts Tagged ‘etching’

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, color edition, by Amy Crook

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, color edition, by Amy Crook

One of the easiest way to etch a printing plate is called dry point, where you basically draw on the softer metal of the plate with a sharp steel point, creating grooves in the plate. These never last very long, I only got half a dozen prints out of it (I did 2 editions, 3 each of the black and white, below, and the color, above), but there’s something very satisfying about working directly with the material this way.

The color edition was created by carefully rubbing the inks just into the parts of the plate where I wanted them, and then taking care not to overly clean off the excess, leaving the soft glow of yellow on Pooh bear, as well as the gentle shading on the greenery.

This was actually my very first attempt at printmaking, and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I drew two of my most favorite characters. I’ve given away the rest of the edition so I only have the two examples left, which I’m choosing not to sell because of the copyright still surrounding A. A. Milne’s wonderful characters.

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, 10″x6″ etching on watercolor paper, not for sale.

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, black and white edition, by Amy Crook

Pooh and Piglet Picking Violets, black and white edition, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Shadows and Balances

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Shadows and Balances by Amy Crook

Shadows and Balances by Amy Crook

This is another monoprint created with layer upon layer of ink, running the paper through the press several times. I inked some of my small etching plates with the monoprint ink, which obscures the actual image etched on the plate and turns it into just another abstract shape in the composition. A total of 7 plates were used in this piece, some of them blank and some etched.

Shadows and Balances, 18″x26″ monoprint on 22″x30″ watercolor paper, $399 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
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Red Death

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Red Death by Amy Crook

Red Death by Amy Crook

This piece has a bit of a story to it. It’s a large monoprint, with a very small etching plate near the center of the paper. The two more random images were created by mixing up the blood-red ink and then smushing it between two plates, and then printing the result. I love the way the bottom image looks a bit like a heart (of the anatomical sort), while the left image seems to hold a whole world of secrets, a landscape of crimson mystery.

The etching plate is part of a series I started and never finished, depicting Neil Gaiman’s Endless from his Sandman comic series — but not the people, the ideas they represented. This plate was, I think, the most successful, the image for Death. I did print a single edition of the plates by themselves, and I’ll post those next month sometime (very Halloween appropriate).

Together the 3 images seem to tell a story, or to invite the viewer to tell their own story. I think every piece of art has something to say to the viewer, but not every person gets the same message. I’m always curious what a piece says to other people — what does this one say to you?

Red Death, 22.5″x16″ etching and monoprint on watercolor paper, $699 with free shipping.

Red Death, detail, by Amy Crook

Red Death, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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The Texture of Faith

Monday, September 6th, 2010

The Texture of Faith by Amy Crook

The Texture of Faith by Amy Crook

This print uses 3 of my little etching plates, two of which have been double-inked so that there’s a primary color in the actual etching, and a secondary red on the surface of the plate. The top two plates are both found objects of a sort, the smaller one is actually part of a larger plate that I cut up and kept pieces of to use in other prints. The paper has a beautiful texture of its own, lending an extra dimension to the abstract images, and giving a rich desert for the tiny cruciform figure to wander in.

The Texture of Faith, detail, by Amy Crook

The Texture of Faith, detail, by Amy Crook

There’s a lot of meaning that could be inferred here, but this is one of those pieces that’s hard to quantify for me — I can talk about this technical aspect or that process, but the end result was something unexpected. There’s hints of stories and ideas hiding in the abstract, brought out by the smallest image at the bottom.

The Texture of Faith, 15.5″x23″ intaglio and monoprint on imported Mexican bark paper, $499 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
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Sea

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Sea by Amy Crook

Sea by Amy Crook

I finally got a better photo of this print that showcases the muted, subtle colors. The paper is such a pale blue, and the other colors so muted, it can be quite difficult to photograph, and even worse to try to work with in Photoshop.

I love the teal-grey waves with their scribbled-in echo of the etching plate, and slow fade from dark to light. It’s nearly two feet tall and over two and a half wide, and would look gorgeous floated on a piece of matte board in a simple frame.

You can see where I also used one of my etching plates, the same one that shows up in very different contexts in Ogdred Weary and Elements. Instead of inking into the deep grooves of the plate, I used the same brayer (ink roller) that I used to make the larger patterns, to roll ink only onto the surface of the plate, leaving the actual etching free of ink. (Click any image to see it larger.)

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

You can see here how there’s echoing linework hiding in the main part of the image. First ink was laid down on the main plate using the brayer, and then the back of a paintbrush was used to scrape away the ink to add texture.

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The whole pattern of waves and seaweed, or tentacles, or just more eddies and currents, is topped off with a shining sun rubber stamp in silver ink.

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

The print itself is quite large, the imported paper soft with beautiful natural edges. It really needs to be matted and framed for proper display, perhaps floated on a white or black background.

Sea, 31″x23″ monoprint, etching and rubber stamp on paper.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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What You See

Monday, August 9th, 2010

What You See by Amy Crook

What You See by Amy Crook

This etching plate was cut from a larger “found” plate. When I found the abandoned piece, this particular image jumped out at me, so when I cut the plate into smaller pieces, I saved this one out. It’s printed onto a piece of handmade paper with little strands of human hair (a lock cut from a classmate, iirc). The paper has gorgeous natural edges, and would look great floated on a black matte and framed, though right now it’s just loose.

I feel like it would be giving something away to tell you what I see when I look at the piece, instead of letting you find your own images. I will say that there’s an element of anima, of the manitou, in it for me. What do you see?

What You See, detail, by Amy Crook

What You See, detail, by Amy Crook

What You See, 2″x2″ etching on 6″x9″ handmade paper, $349 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
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Patterns and Symbols

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Patterns and Symbols by Amy Crook

Patterns and Symbols by Amy Crook

These three tiny etching plates were hand inked and arranged to go through the printing press together, creating a one-of-a-kind print. Each etching plate is only an inch or an inch and a half square, the images floating in the center of the white page.

The top plate was painstakingly inked so that each aquatinted curl of “smoke” got its own colour, and then the two subsequent plates — both etchings with added aquatint — were inked with the same colors to complement the first. Together the three separate decorative motifs give a different meaning and presentation than any one piece would singly.

Patterns and Symbols, 8″x12″ etching on watercolor paper, $299 with free shipping.

Patterns and Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Patterns and Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
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