Posts Tagged ‘green’

Sharpie Week: Green Bear

Friday, June 15th, 2012

Sharpie Green Bear sketch by Amy Crook

Sharpie Green Bear sketch by Amy Crook

I saw some plushies a bit like this in Japantown the other day, so I was inspired to scribble this little guy.

Look out! Rawr!

Categories: Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange
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Tentacle Deeps 37

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 37 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 37 by Amy Crook

Today I bring you, in a completely unsurprising move, more tentacles! My computer really hates the color of these tentacles, so if you’re hoping for accuracy the framed photo is the closest. Photoshop and I just couldn’t come to an agreement here for some reason. Madness!

Anyway, these tentacles are painted with watercolor onto canvas board, which gives them an intriguing texture both in the background and the tentacles themselves, and causes the paint to dry slightly muted from what I expect, so that the blacks are soft and matte.

Tentacle Deeps 37, 8″x10″ watercolor on canvas board.

Tentacle Deeps 37, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 37, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see how the paint sinks into the texture of the canvas. Below, the framed shot for scale and color closest to the reality. Which is to say, not very, heh.

Tentacle Deeps 37, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 37, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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Flow

Monday, May 28th, 2012

Flow, abstract art by Amy Crook

Flow, abstract art by Amy Crook

This holiday Monday brings a piece that’s ironically about work, and getting into the flow of things. I actually painted the background for this upside-down, but I decided I liked the way it looked better the other way around once I got in the flow of working on it.

It reminds me a little of those desk toys with the two unmixing fluids that rock back and forth meditatively, creating waves where the two fluids meet. Something to put up at work to remind you that sometimes, all you have to do is look at things another way to get into the groove again.

Flow, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Flow, detail, by Amy Crook

Flow, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see some of the crosshatching up close, and the subtle variations in color and texture throughout the piece. Below, it’s been temporarily put in a 10″x8″ frame for scale. And now, by request, it’s also a computer wallpaper.

Flow, framed, by Amy Crook

Flow, framed, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
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Tentacle Towel 2

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Tentacle Towel 2 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Towel 2 by Amy Crook

I’ve finally decorated another of my cotton floursack dish towels, and shockingly, it’s more tentacles! This time sinuous green with blue like waves in the background. I’ll put the lot up on Etsy eventually, but for now the only way to get them is to donate $25 or more to HALP PLS, my “buy the artist a computer that’s not about to die” fund.

These are an interesting challenge because I don’t really want to oversaturate the cloth with the ink (wasteful!), but it’s hard to do any kind of precision work on the wubbly surface (that’s totally a technical term). I suppose I could get an iron and stuff, but since the markers recommend machine wash cold and hang dry, no ironing, it seems silly.

I’ve started a third towel but it’s of the tiny masochistic crosshatching sort and entirely tentacle-free, so who knows when you’ll see it. I do vaguely plan to do a few that have cartoons on them, but you know me, I always have ideas for tentacles.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Blue Planet 4

Friday, May 4th, 2012

Blue Planet 4, watercolor by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 4, watercolor by Amy Crook

Here we are at the end of both our week and the series, and you can see now the interesting secret of this particular mix of paints. Rather than floating to the top edges, the iridescent green paint sinks to the bottom and then the ultramarine settles in on top of it in a rather unsteady marriage. The blue is denser in the middle because it settles there as the day goes on, not because the green is on top. With this paper more than the black, the iridescent paint prevented the salt from bonding to the paper itself so the crystals just formed on top, and a little bit of rubbing pulled away both the salt and the blue paint it was adhered to, leaving us with a fascinating crackled surface at the center.

Like all the salt pieces, this one’s the most interesting if you pick it up and play with it in the sunlight. The blue paint is really very matte and opaque, so the cracks where the green shines through are especially interesting.

Blue Planet 4, salt and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.

Blue Planet 4, detail, by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 4, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see all the rich, subtle variations in color, from the edge-in fade to the sharp crackles where the salt and paint flaked away in the center. Below, the piece is safely tucked into its frame, so the remaining salt, well, remains.

Blue Planet 4, framed art by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 4, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Blue Planet 2

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Blue Planet 2, watercolor by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 2, watercolor by Amy Crook

Of all the Blue Planets, this one is a bit like the control in the group. I didn’t have the issues I did with the first one because I very sneakily put the paper on a small plate, so all its edges were raise and the big pool stayed pooled in the center. I didn’t make tentacles, or use a different paper (that’s tomorrow’s). It’s just a simple abstract idea of a blue-green planet floating serenely in the star-studded blackness.

I really like how each of the stars is its own tiny echo of the planet, with salt at the edges, then the green and finally blue in the center. The whole thing feels both familiar and alien at once, and the salt gives it a bit of twinkling light of its own, if only by reflection.

Blue Planet 2, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Blue Planet 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the big, square crystals that formed all through the planet’s surface, as well as the darker edge crystals and the soft transition from green to blue. Below, you can see it happily tucked into its frame and reflecting onto the shiny iPhone hanging out to show size.

Blue Planet 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Blue Planet 3

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

Blue Planet 3, watercolor by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 3, watercolor by Amy Crook

I know this is only the second day of posting and the third piece in the series, but Tentacle Tuesday is a tradition by now! After I watched the first two Blue Planets form, I wondered if it would be possible to make the green at the edges slither tentacle-like toward the center.

It turns out it was, but they’re very subtle, so I ended up going in later to add the outer tentacles, making this one a color-inverse of Tentacle Planet with the blue-green planet and black paper. The iridescent tentacles inside the planet’s blue surface show more at certain angles, but the salt crystals on top obscure the images a little, making it more of a secret for those who pick up the frame and look closely.

Blue Planet 3, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Blue Planet 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can just see the subtle transition of a tentacle inside where it meets up with one of the outer tentacles. Below, the piece sits happily in its frame, just waiting to invade its new home… with tentacles, of course.

Blue Planet 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Blue Planet 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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