Posts Tagged ‘intaglio’

Ogdred Weary

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Ogdred Weary, detail, by Amy Crook

Ogdred Weary, detail, by Amy Crook

This print combines two printing techniques for a singular layered result. First the colors were painted onto a blank acrylic plate with monoprint inks and the  piece was run through the printing press. Then, a deep-bite etched intaglio plate was inked and the already-printed page was run through a second time, which left the textured black impression overlaying the color. It can be a very precise process, but I never was a very precise artist, so you can see that the two plates don’t quite align on the page, which accents the loose style of the print itself.

I only ever made one print like this one, but it’s one of my favorite images to have come out of my explorations with printmaking. I named it after an Edward Gorey pseudonym, because the image reminded me of some tentacled beast that might live in a pond in one of his delightfully morbid picture books. My favorite of his is The Gashlycrumb Tinies, because it opens with, “A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.”

Ogdred Weary, 3″x3″ etching and monoprint on 7″x10″ watercolor paper.

Ogdred Weary by Amy Crook

Ogdred Weary by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Tentacles
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The Tree Breathes

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

The Tree Breathes, detail, by Amy Crook

The Tree Breathes, detail, by Amy Crook

This is another one-of-a-kind print done using my tiny etching plates. I almost forgot completely about it, ironically because it’s framed from having been in a juried show once long ago. I gently pulled it out of its matte, and then used more archival corners to re-attach it to the matte after I scanned it, and then put the whole thing back in its frame.

I think the tiny tree is my favorite of all the tiny plates I made, though I only used it (or any of them) a few times.

The Tree Breathes, 1″x2″ etching on 8″x10″ watercolor paper, $499 framed with free shipping.

The Tree Breathes by Amy Crook

The Tree Breathes by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Symbols

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Symbols by Amy Crook

Symbols by Amy Crook

This is another print that combines tiny etching plates with double-inking to make a unique print. The 3 images in the middle column were all inked once, wiped clean,a nd then inked carefully a second time to give them a duochrome look, while the two plates to the left and right were inked just once in the same pure colors that are used on the others. Really there’s four colors present: blue, yellow, red and black, very primary.

Each plate has its own symbolism that, when combined with the others, invites the viewer to construct their own narrative. Do your eyes start in the golden sand dunes, or up with the floating cruciform figure? Do you puzzle out the dancer on the left first, or the ankh on the right? The central image is completely abstract, drawing the imagination to fill in why it’s surrounded by these other, smaller satellite images.

Symbols, 10″x10″ etching and monoprint on watercolor paper, $399 with free shipping.

Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Endless: Delirium

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Endless: Delirium, 1/2 by Amy Crook

Endless: Delirium, 1/2 by Amy Crook

Today’s print is the last in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and the only one that I printed twice, once in a single color (below) and once in a sickly rainbow of shades (above).

Delirium was once Delight, though the story of how she went from one to the other remains untold. To represent this dual nature, there’s two intertwined sections of the plate, with butterflies fluttering in the light and — though they’re nearly impossible to see now — frogs hopping around in the darker sections of the image. Delirium was in many ways the most whimsical of the Endless, but at the same time represented a social loss of innocence.

Delirium, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, edition of 2, $199 each with free shipping.

Edition

Endless: Delirium, 2/2 by Amy Crook

Endless: Delirium, 2/2 by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Endless: Despair

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Endless: Despair by Amy Crook

Endless: Despair by Amy Crook

Today’s print is the third in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

This plate represents one of a pair of “twins,” Despair, the sister to desire. I went entirely abstract with this one, as Despair wears no clothing, squatting in her domain of mirrors, listening to people’s murmurs as they look at themselves. The dripping aquatint shading grows dark and darker as it goes down the image, layer upon layer of the illusions we build to cover up the darkness inside.

Despair, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Endless: Desire

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Endless: Desire by Amy Crook

Endless: Desire by Amy Crook

Today’s print is the second in a series of 4 which were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

This plate represents one of a pair of “twins,” Desire — whose sister is Despair. This time I used delicate lace to give texture to the top half of the plate, and below we have a pile of shiny, discarded hearts. The face of Desire is reflected in the largest, central heart, vague yet compelling as it represents the secret desires hiding in us all.

Desire, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Endless: Dream

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Endless: Dream by Amy Crook

Endless: Dream by Amy Crook

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series has inspired thousands of artists of all sorts since it began in 1989. I made a total of 5 of these small etching plates for the Endless, though for some reason I never printed the Death plate by itself, although it’s used in one of my larger pieces, Red Death.

This plate represents the series’ main character, Dream. His dark robes, at times, showed the faces of infinite dreamers around the hem, and so I used a tattered piece of silk to create the impression of cloth at the top of the plate. Then I drew the faces in by hand, young and old, male and female, each of them dreaming with their eyes shut tight.

Dream, 2″x2.75″ etching on 6″x6″ watercolor paper, 1/1, $199 with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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