Posts Tagged ‘jellyfish’
Delicate Jellyfish
Friday, November 2nd, 2012
Delicate Jellyfish, watercolor by Amy Crook
This is one of those pieces it’s really impossible to get a feel for without seeing it in person, alas. All the paint on it is “duochrome,” which means the green background changes to gold, the pink turns purple and the green in the tentacles goes a totally different shade of purple when it’s tilted into the light just right, giving the piece almost an inverse feel as things that were darker become lighter and vice versa.
Delicate Jellyfish, 4″x6″ duochrome watercolor on green Crane & Co. paper.
Delicate Jellyfish, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a little of the color-changing effect, though it’s very hard to capture on film. Below, I’m including the frame with this painting because I found the perfect complement. The frame’s made of mother-of-pearl that shimmers just like the painting without detracting from it.
Delicate Jellyfish, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: crane and co, duochrome, for sale, green, iridescent, jellyfish, purple, watercolor
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Jellyfish Deeps 2
Thursday, June 7th, 2012
Jellyfish Deeps 2 by Amy Crook
Jellyfish, jellyfish everywhere! Well, okay, just here and on my phone, but still. Somehow getting Jellyfish Deeps put onto my phone as a custom Gelaskin inspired me to make a sequel. I rescued another paper from the pile of awful, added another layer of watercolor and salt, and then let that dry into something far more pleasing. Once that was done, it was time for the white gel pen and jellyfish.
I like drawing these jellyfish, too, they’re like happy little aliens floating serenely amidst the currents and formations in the deep of ocean or maybe outer space. Also, tentacles.
Jellyfish Deeps 2, 5″x7″ pen & ink, salt, gel pen and watercolor on paper.
Jellyfish Deeps 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see that the salt on this piece is just a scattering of texture and sparkle rather than solid formations like some of the pieces. Below, the piece is cuddled up in my desk with my phone for size reference.
Jellyfish Deeps 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: crosshatching, for sale, gel pen, jellyfish, pen and ink, salt, tentacles, watercolor
Jellyfish Bookmark 2
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Jellyfish Bookmark 2
by Amy Crook
More tentacles for Thursday! This bookmark is extra thick, drawn on black mat board rather than the paper I usually use. I drew a rainbow of jellyfish on here, and saved the gold for mysterious floating motes of something in the black depths.
This is the smallest of this week’s offerings, though the paper’s quite thick, making it a very solid little piece of art.
Jellyfish Bookmark 2, 0.75″x6″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Jellyfish Bookmark 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the sparkle of the glittery pen I used for this set of jellyfish. Below, they’re hanging out with a book to show you how small and unassuming this bookmark is. Just the thing for a small and unassuming book full of secret awesome.
Jellyfish Bookmark 2, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: bookmark, glitter gel pen, jellyfish, nfs, sold, tentacles
Jellyfish Bookmark 1
Friday, February 17th, 2012
Jellyfish Bookmark 1
by Amy Crook
The second-to-last day of Bookmark Week is upon us! I’ve already got a few ideas for next time, too, so I hope you’re enjoying the shift from small to super-small art this week.
This one I actually just doodled idly while I was on the phone, thinking of my larger piece Jellyfish Deeps as I worked. I thought about going back in to try to add a little color, but I liked the slight reddish cast the mat board gave to the white gel pen. I’m sure I’ll do another of these sometime, though, the jellyfish are just too entertaining.
Jellyfish Bookmark 1, 0.875″x5.875″ white gel pen on black mat board, nfs, sold.
Jellyfish Bookmark 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see how the black mat board bled red into white of the ink, though it’s made much more pink by my camera here. The mat board is quite thick, but it would still slip easily into a book as long as you don’t shove it all the way to the spine. Below, I have the jellyfish hanging out with a hardcover, for size comparison.
Jellyfish Bookmark 1, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
Tags: bookmark, crosshatching, gel pen, jellyfish, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tentacles
Jellyfish Deeps
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
Jellyfish Deeps by Amy Crook
Most of my salt pieces come together in an almost Zen-like way, with the long wait for the salt crystals to form and then a quick flurry of activity as I work with the results. This piece started out with the watercolor background, which took a long time to dry, giving the mixed paint time to separate out into its component colors in some places, while staying a murky purple-black in others. Pen and ink and salt came next, and then the jellyfish in their white gel pen currents swam in last.
It’s interesting how sometimes you can keep adding things to a piece until you ruin it, but other times you have to keep going until it gets past a certain point and turns itself around into something worthwhile. My friend Jeff (who paints wargaming miniatures) calls it “the ass point,” where the piece looks like total ass until you get it to a certain point, and then suddenly all its potential starts to shine through.
I find this point more intimidating than the blank page, since it represents a lot of lost work if it never gets past that point, but there’s a certain satisfaction to having pulled a piece past the ass point and turned it into something I’d want to admit I created.
Jellyfish Deeps, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper, nfs, (sold).
Jellyfish Deeps, detail, by Amy Crook
This one has a lot of detail that just doesn’t show up until you really look at it, from the colors glowing through the white gel pen to the strange salt pools and their range of crystal sizes and densities. You can see it in its frame, below, with my iPhone for size reference.
Jellyfish Deeps, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
Tags: crosshatching, for sale, gel pen, jellyfish, pen and ink, salt, tentacles, watercolor
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Dance of the Octopi – Fabric!
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Dance of the Octopi fabric by Amy Crook
You may remember a while back I posted a design called Dance of the Octopi and contemplated how it would make good wallpaper or fabric pattern? Well, I’ve finally gotten around to putting it up on Spoonflower for sale! You can see my little sample above, which is a fat quarter of unironed quilting weight (I don’t own an iron, haha) gathered into a pretty swath for the photo.
I love the dreamy, blue and purple creatures and vibrant green seaweed against the soft blue background, and am still contemplating whether I want to get a few yards and try to sew myself a tentaclicious pair of pajama pants. I suppose I’d have to buy an iron, though…
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: fabric, fish, jellyfish, octopus, squid
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Dance of the Octopi
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Dance of the Octopi by Amy Crook
I can almost imagine sleeping in a room with one wall papered with dancing octopi, squid and jellyfish, all swimming in their Victorian frame of swaying seaweed. Though, actually, once I get the colors adjusted to my satisfaction, I may upload the design to Spoonflower and see about making some pyjama pants out of it, so I can sleep cool in my underwater dreams.
I drew the individual pieces up with pen and ink, and then scanned them in simple black, adding color as I worked with the design. There’s no original per se for this one, just a bunch of sketches in a couple of sketchbooks. At some point I’ll need to crop just one panel out for repeating properly, but I want to adjust the blue background and purple squid first.
Now you can better imagine the Octopi as wallpaper/curtains: Click here!
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: fish, jellyfish, octopus, pen and ink, photoshop, squid, wallpaper
3 Comments »
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