Posts Tagged ‘glitter gel pen’

F is for Flourish

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

F is for Flourish, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

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

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

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
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Glitter Sketch Bookmark

Sunday, August 19th, 2012

Glitter Sketch Bookmark by Amy Crook

Glitter Sketch
Bookmark
by Amy Crook

The final bookmark for this week is a silly little doodle made while I was testing out my various colors of glitter gel pen. On the blue-to-white faded background, we’ve got gold filigree, red flame spirals, a purple half of a spiraled crescent moon, more sketchy blue filigree, and swooping green arabesques, plus of course my silver signature. The paper has one natural edge where it came out of the paper mold, called a deckle, and three cut edges to set it off.

Glitter Sketch Bookmark, 1″x6″ glitter gel pen and watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Glitter Sketch Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook

Glitter Sketch Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the light shining off the various colors of glitter – the green got a bit too much sunlight there. Below, the bright white of the paper takes the stage when it’s on the dark blue of this week’s book.

Glitter Sketch Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook

Glitter Sketch Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
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E is for Emboss

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

E is for Emboss, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

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

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

B is for Blackletter & E is for Emboss, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Tentacle Deeps 41

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 41 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 41 by Amy Crook

These shimmering tentacles are subtle in dim light but glitter brightly in the sun, waving in their periwinkle pond. They’d add the perfect touch of Cthulhu to any girl’s desk or living room.

Tentacle Deeps 41, 5″x7″ Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.

Tentacle Deeps 41, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 41, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the tentacles shining in the sunlight, bright in the the depths of their watery habitat. Below, you can see them in their frame, turned away from the direct light.

Tentacle Deeps 41, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 41, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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The Stars Are Right 3

Friday, August 3rd, 2012

The Stars Are Right 3 by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 3 by Amy Crook

This time the connection to Monday’s art is, I hope, very clear indeed. This piece is larger, with the space around the unfortunately doomed planet littered with stars in mysterious configurations. Some of the groups are brilliantly yellow or green in hue to suggest constellations, what do you see in the stars?

I had fun repeating my mad alphabet in a much more subtle manner on the planet’s surface, running shimmering green runes over and around the shapes beneath.

The Stars Are Right 3, 10″x8″ salt, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.

The Stars Are Right 3, work in progress by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 3, work in progress by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sun shining off the future constellations and the swirls of toxic green in each little bubble of salt water, as well as the pool of color that will dry into the mysterious texture of the planet’s surface. Below, a view of the same constellation after everything, including a close-up of some of the runes. I like to think of this little succession of green dots as “The Tentacle,” personally.

The Stars Are Right 3, detail 1, by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 3, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Next, I’ve photographed the planet in the sunlight so you can see how the runes flare to life when they’re properly lit. The Tentacle lurks in the shot once again, ominous and ever-present.

The Stars Are Right 3, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 3, detail 2, by Amy Crook

And finally, I’ve taken a photo with my iPhone so you can see how much bigger this piece is, a fitting decoration for any office wall or living room. Perhaps not the bedroom, though, I make no promises about what dreams it might bring.

The Stars Are Right 3, framed art by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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The Stars Are Right 2

Monday, July 30th, 2012

The Stars Are Right 2 by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 2 by Amy Crook

I went to a whole bunch of galleries a while ago, and one of them had these great pieces in them that looked like decaying pages of ancient texts, written in incomprehensible languages. My brain, of course, immediately went to the Cthulhu Mythos, and I thought how cool would it be to put the strange text in the stars instead. I put lines around my salt constellation to show how right the stars have become, and wended the alien language through and around both the planet and constellation. I think perhaps this is how the world would look if Cthulhu did rise above the waves, a single mass of green-slimed water dotted with the cities of the dead.

The Stars Are Right 2, 7″x5″ salt, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.

The Stars Are Right 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Above you can see a close-up of the salt crystals on the planet, their quieter glimmer outshone by the silver glitter of the strange ancient language. Below, the fateful constellation nestles among the incomprehensible words, spelling out doom for those who know how to read the stars.

The Stars Are Right 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook

And finally you can see the piece in its frame. Although it’s very different than the original The Stars Are Right from last year, I felt like the name was just too obvious to ignore.

The Stars Are Right 2, framed art by Amy Crook

The Stars Are Right 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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C is for Counter

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

C is for Counter, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook

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

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

C is for Counter & G is for Gothic, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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