Posts Tagged ‘pen and ink’

Cthulhu Waits

Thursday, August 7th, 2014

Cthulhu Waits, pen and ink art by Amy Crook

Cthulhu Waits, pen and ink art by Amy Crook

Three colors of pen, three different inking techniques, and one creepy drawing. Cthulhu glares balefully out of his cave, surrounded by strange growths and bathed in darkness. He waits for the stars to be right, for the summoning that will bring him from his sleep of death and up into the world once again.

Cthulhu Waits, 6″x4″ pen & ink on Fluid watercolor paper.

Cthulhu Waits, detail, by Amy Crook

Cthulhu Waits, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see all three inking techniques up close, the roe-like stalactites hanging down above the fine-inked blackness, with Cthulhu in his scribbly, tentacled glory. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting to drive you mad with its strange details.

Cthulhu Waits, framed art by Amy Crook

Cthulhu Waits, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Growth 3

Wednesday, August 6th, 2014

Growth 3, abstract art by Amy Crook

Growth 3, abstract art by Amy Crook

I took the theme of Growth a step further this time, layering the growths themselves in three sets of increasingly light blue, and then blurring them out with water to add a strange spin to the structure of circles within and without.

Growth 3, 5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.

Growth 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Growth 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the corona up close, the three layers of ink mixing and blending, but still some of the white central spaces from inside the circles remain. Below, you can see the painting in a frame. It’s small, but it’s fierce!

Growth 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Growth 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Uncertain Boundaries

Tuesday, August 5th, 2014

Uncertain Boundaries, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook

Uncertain Boundaries, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook

I spend way too much time explaining how much better my artwork looks in real life, but it’s always true. This piece has much richer jewel tones of purple, teal, and green that have all sort of washed out into a vague blueness when converted to rgb.

There’s rich layers of color, with some of the boundaries outlined and some erased, and some only vaguely visible. It makes me think of a map of some strange world that has evolved along with the history of the place, borders drawing and redrawing themselves as alien politics shift and change.

Uncertain Boundaries, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Uncertain Boundaries, detail, by Amy Crook

Uncertain Boundaries, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see one of the places where new color obliterates the old, and the boundary lines stutter and fade. Below, you can see this small piece in a frame, small enough to add its bright color to any number of surprising spaces.

Uncertain Boundaries, framed art by Amy Crook

Uncertain Boundaries, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down

Monday, August 4th, 2014

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down by Amy Crook

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down by Amy Crook

I’ve painted lots of skies full of crows, but today I decided to go a different way with my dark Halloween heart and paint bats. Because bats!

There’s a tiny hint of nighttime violet in the upper left, but it’s being chased away by the sunrise glowing at bottom of the painting, where seven winter-barren trees peek up into the frame. There’s 13 flying bats (of course) and 3 already sleeping in the lightning-split tree they call their home.

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, detail, by Amy Crook

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the bats coming in for a landing, and the three sleepers at the very top of the tree. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right wall to hold it.

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, framed art by Amy Crook

Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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That Thing You Love

Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

That Thing You Love, calligraphy by Amy Crook

That Thing You Love, calligraphy by Amy Crook

“Don’t let anyone tell you that the thing you love is a thing you can’t love.”

-Wil Wheaton

I created this piece as part of a gift for my awesome email list people, but I wanted to make the actual artwork available, too. Like any watercolor, there’s detail that gets lost in the print, plus it’s just awesome to know that yours is the one and only original.

This quote is from an impromptu, impassioned diatribe on “why it’s awesome to be a nerd” that Wil Wheaton gave when asked at a con for some advice for their baby girl to grow up geek, and it’s really good advice. The whole speech is pretty awesome, actually.

That Thing You Love, 9″x12″ pen & ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

That Thing You Love, detail, by Amy Crook

That Thing You Love, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the little cheesy ’70s sunrise face in the middle of the word ‘anyone,’ and below you can see the piece laying on my desk with my iPhone for size, because it turns out I don’t actually own a frame the right size. Oops.

That Thing You Love, calligraphic art by Amy Crook, quote by Wil Wheaton

That Thing You Love, calligraphic art by Amy Crook,
quote by Wil Wheaton

Categories: Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
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007 & Q bookmarks

Saturday, June 28th, 2014

007 & Q bookmarks by Amy Crook

007 & Q bookmarks by Amy Crook

These are already spoken for, but you can get them printed on bookmarks at my Etsy shop, along with the figures from Monday’s James Bond comic.

007 is in a classic pose with his little snub-nosed Walther and a knowing smirk, while Q’s got a tablet computer and his own little half-grin. According to IMDB, Bond is a mere inch taller than Q, but looking at them together in Skyfall I think Q’s hair makes it up through sheer messy floof.

007 & Q bookmarks, pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

4 Bond bookmarks by Amy Crook at Etsy

4 Bond bookmarks by Amy Crook at Etsy

Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia

Thursday, June 26th, 2014

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia, pen and ink art by Amy Crook

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia
pen and ink art by Amy Crook

It’s been a while since I drew one of my Series of Uncanny Fears, and clowns seemed like a natural choice to bring them back. This happy guy just wants to bring joy and laughter to the world. Joy, laughter, and murder.

Definitely murder.

If you’re not too scared, you’ll have a chance to take him home in July’s Floating Gallery, which opens next Tuesday!

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia, detail, by Amy Crook

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a detail of his cheerful face with its lopsided, toothy grin and big, happy red nose. I’m sure he’s not thinking about eating you, honest. Below, you can see him safely tucked away in a frame, just waiting to come sit quietly in a corner of your home.

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia, framed art by Amy Crook

A Series of Uncanny Fears: Coulrophobia, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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