Posts Tagged ‘pen and ink’
Rain Crow
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
Rain Crow, art by Amy Crook
A wonderful person who’d just found my site emailed me to ask if I’d done anything with ravens/crows or dragons, and I realized that, despite both of these being themes I really enjoy, I really hadn’t. After doing my little crow sketch the other day, I decided to actually google up what a real crow looks like (yes, still too lazy to look out the window, hush) and used those references to draw this.
All the color in the crow comes from ink pens, which I scribbled with delightful abandon to create the basic shape and color fill on the crow, and then after the salt on the beak had formed, I went back in with plain water and added the gorgeous watercolor-esque wash over the whole crow.
After I put in the ground, I decided it needed something in the sky around it, and the obvious choice for me was salt-pool raindrops in this soft aqua blue pen.
Rain Crow, 7″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and salt on paper, nfs (sold).
The real amazing part of this crow is actually the part you can’t actually see except from a very specific angle, this amazing salt formation right over its eye that’s actually in the shape of a fat little black bird, which I photographed framed by one of the water droplets that would later become a salt pool. This formation is incredibly fragile, so I didn’t even put the piece on the scanner, just took photos and have now put it in a shadow-box frame where it will stay protected.
Rain Crow, detail 1, by Amy Crook
The salt on the crow’s beak and eye formed with a really neat oil-slick sheen, which is totally lost in the closeup above, so I took another one for you below:
Rain Crow, detail 2, by Amy Crook
The frame I found is this soft silver shadow box, though I’m keeping my eye out for another frame that would allow you to pick it up and view the piece from the side, which is the best way to see its amazing secret.
Rain Crow, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: blackbird, crow, nfs, pen and ink, salt, sold, watercolor
Iridescence 3
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Iridescence 3, abstract art by Amy Crook, $333
I admit, I wanted to post both of these in the same week because they feel like different sides of the same coin to me. They use similar color schemes and techniques, but where Iridescence 2 is all soft glowing colors and indistinct shapes, Iridescence 3 is all sharp-edged spirals and visible brush strokes.
Even the haloes of complementary color around each salt pool are sharper and more distinct than in the previous piece, with more areas of pure white paper peeking through as a result. I’m not sure which of the two I prefer, though this is the one I’ve got out on display right now.
Iridescence 3, 7″x5″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
This is a closeup of the green salt pool in the lower left, so you can really see how the paint is layered in distinct circles with watercolor’s characteristic dark, sharp edges.
Iridescence 3, detail, by Amy Crook
The bold black frame works really well with the blue-black and violet-black in the darkest, sharpest of the paint swirls, and protects the fragile salt crystals from damage.
Iridescence 3, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, hibiscus, iridescence, pen and ink, purple, salt, tea, watercolor
Cousin Godiva
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Cousin Godiva by Amy Crook
This idea came to me when I was walking to meet a friend, my (ridiculously) long hair blowing in the breeze. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the idea of Lady Godiva, and of course Cousin It is a theme anyone with long brown hair will find in their life. The combination of Addams Family and legendary lady was irresistible to my cartooning fingers.
With all the cartoons I do, I’m getting to be an old hand at drawing and coloring hair, so Cousin It was pretty easy overall. It’s the first time I’ve tried to weeble-ify a horse, though!
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: addams family, copic marker, hair, lady godiva, nfs, pen and ink, weeble
2 Comments »
Iridescence 2
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Iridescence 2, abstract art by Amy Crook, $333
Going in the opposite direction of yesterday’s art, this one expands the color palette along the entire cool end of the spectrum. I used green, aqua, blue and violet pens for my salt circles. Then I supplemented it with a layer of hibiscus tea in its low-saturation periwinkle shades. After that I used watercolors in matching hues, the dark indigo-black and violet softened by swirls of complementary colors around each salt pool. Finally, I used a little bit of salt to add texture to a few of the darkest places, giving the whole piece a layered complexity.
I decided to continue naming them as a series after one of my favorite of the salt pieces, Iridescence, because they had the same quality of seeming as though they were reflective without anything shiny, other than the sparkling salt crystals.
Iridescence 2, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
You can see one of the wonderfully complex salt structures here, a little lopsided ziggurat of crystal formations saturated with ink and ever overdyed with paint. If you click on the image you can see it even bigger and really get a sense of the detail, though of course the actual circle is barely the size of a dime.
Iridescence 2, detail, by Amy Crook
The piece looks beautiful safely tucked into its frame, the soft lines and cool colors offset by the simple black wood.
Iridescence 2, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, hibiscus, iridescence, pen and ink, purple, salt, tea, watercolor
1 Comment »
Green to Blue
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Green to Blue, abstract art by Amy Crook, $299
This abstract work uses the same soft celadon green Crane & Co. cardstock as Hibiscus Green, but is a much more complex piece. I used a green pen for the salt pools, which ended up with a much less uniform color to them than most of mine, the ink staying more firmly soaked into the paper so that the salt rises pale and shining above the darker green centers. I used watercolor for the surroundings, trying to expand the palette without covering up the gorgeous, subtle hue of the paper completely.
Green to Blue, 6.375″x4.25″ mixed media on paper, $299 with free shipping.
Here you can see a view of one of the formations at the center of the piece, with light shining on the fine line of redistributed salt in the blue paint.
Green to Blue, detail, by Amy Crook, $299
I don’t have a frame for this piece yet, but I’ve made a computer wallpaper and iPhone wallpaper of this piece for you to enjoy.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: blue, crane and co, for sale, green, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
Vine Glory
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Vine Glory by Amy Crook, $333
I wasn’t sure what to do with these glowing green florets after I’d created them on the page, but after looking again at Goth Vines I decided to take a different tack with the same idea. The hibiscus tea I used for the flowers blurred out into softer shapes than I’d originally expected, but it went with the softness of the green florets. I used a the green pen on the vines as inhabits the salt circles, and then signed the piece with the same orange that decorates each blossom with a hint of pollen.
The pink trumpet-like flowers look a bit like morning glories to me, and so I couldn’t resist punning a bit with the title. Since this piece is so decorative, I also made an iPhone wallpaper and computer wallpaper out of it for you.
Vine Glory, 5″x7″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
I used the other side of this paper, which has a different texture, and the result was much softer salt formations, though I still got the haloing effect the crystals aren’t nearly so defined as in Snowflakes or Aglow.
Vine Glory, detail, by Amy Crook
I ended up having to remove the very bottom of this piece in order to make it fit in a frame, just the last, translucent 1/8″ or so where the ink was blurring anyway.
Vine Glory, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Free Wallpapers
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, pen and ink, salt, tea
Hibiscus Blue 4
Monday, August 1st, 2011
Hibiscus Blue 4, abstract art by Amy Crook, $444
This fourth installment of my Hibiscus Blue series is even simpler than #2, with thin, sharp-edged indigo spirals swirling around the lighter blue salt circles. The cool, subdued colors let the lines themselves set the tone. The rhythm of this piece is quite playful, like raindrops in a puddle at the very start of a warm summer storm when only a dozen or so drops have hit.
Hibiscus Blue 4, 7″x5″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $444, framed, with free shipping.
Hibiscus Blue 4, detail, by Amy Crook
The salt circles are very simple this time, no fancy formations, just a soft hint of blue with an echo of the original spiral at the center of each one. When it’s tucked into its simple black frame, you can really get a sense of the motion of the brush in every stroke and swirl.
Hibiscus Blue 4, framed art by Amy Crook, $444
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, hibiscus blue, pen and ink, salt, tea
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
