Posts Tagged ‘s’

Church of the Mind

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

Church of the Mind by Amy Crook

Church of the Mind by Amy Crook

When I originally drew this, I had considered coloring the stained glass window, but I found the image so striking in black and white I left it.

A few astute people among you might recognize the model as one I’ve used a few times before, though the stark chiaroscuro led to his face being obscured. If you click to see the larger view, you can just make out the subtle skull shadowing the figure’s face.

There’s some sort of statement in the juxtaposition of images, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide what.

Church of the Mind, 12″x18″ brush and ink on paper, $599 with free shipping.

This image is on paper, and will require matting or framing to be suitable for display; I’m happy to frame it for you for a small additional fee.

Categories: Daily Art, Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces
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Animal Instincts

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Animal Instincts by Amy Crook

Animal Instincts by Amy Crook

Photo etching is an interesting process where you start with a photograph, have film negatives made, and then use that to control exposure of a light-sensitive material to, well, light. Then it’s done like normal etching, except the parts where the light hit are more solid, so they don’t dissolve, and you’re left with the positive image eaten away, all ready to take ink.

My model at the time asked to have his back painted to try out his idea for a tiger stripes tattoo, so I got ink and a sumi-e brush and painted him up and took photos. I’ve had a chance to use those images for several things, including this piece.

Animal Instincts, 3″x3″ photo etching, $199 with free shipping.

This was printed in an edition of 26, of which I still have 4 + 1 with tea stains (oops).

These prints are on thick watercolor paper, but aren’t really suitable for display as is. I’m happy to frame it for you for a wee extra fee, though.

Categories: Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces
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Red

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Red by Amy Crook

Red by Amy Crook

I actually have two pieces with this same title, and I’ll try to post the other one (an oil painting) next week. I considered renaming this one, but the red is really the thing that calls to me about the piece. The red is dark and rich, and the figure is a fuzzy shadow that hides in the complex fibers. The ink of this print adhered irregularly to the handmade Thai paper, giving it a ghostly appearance.

One of the reasons I love the monoprint process so much is that it adds an element of randomness, making the art a collaboration between me and the process instead of me trying entirely to control what goes on.

Red, 22.5″x30″ monoprint and chine colle on watercolor paper, $499 with free shipping.

Here’s a close-up of the figure’s face, so you can see the other colors that are hiding amongst all the red, the black and white and a barely-there glow of golden yellow.

Red, detail, by Amy Crook

Red, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
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Torn

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Torn by Amy Crook

Torn by Amy Crook

This is another large monoprint that involves many layers of paper and ink. I had originally done the face as part of a larger figure, but wasn’t happy with the result, so I tore up the sheet of paper to make more interesting shapes and re-used parts of it in the top layer of this print. The red is actually all ink rather than another sheet of paper, a large printing plate covered in it. The bottom shape was layered with the torn paper under the ink, and then on top another layer of paper and ink was laid down, this time with large sheets of acetate for the medium rather than a plate.

These prints are all one of a kind, and I no longer have access to the press I did them on, so they’re not something I can make again. Each one involves a unique process of things coming together, ink and ideas, paper stock and plates, to create an individual work of art.

Torn, 22.5″x31″ monoprint and chine collé on imported handmade and watercolor paper, $499 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, People, Figures and Faces
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Not Late for Anything

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Not Late for Anything by Amy Crook

Not Late for Anything by Amy Crook

This print uses several techniques, layering the two sheets of imported paper, black on a creamy natural white, and then adding silver ink in the form of 4 separate images — 3 rubber stamps around the borders, and the central monoprint. All of the images were printed in silver oil-based etching in, because the black paper wouldn’t allow the translucent water-based monoprint inks to show up. In addition, the paper didn’t allow the image to fully print, some of the fibers rejecting the ink entirely, leaving the figure with a shadowy, deaths-head appearance.

In the upper right, I re-used the same silver sun from Sea, and then we have the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland on the lower left, and a Winnie the Pooh stamp on the lower right. Pooh stands hand-in-hand with Christopher Robin, along with the quote, “The Forest will always be there… and anybody who is Friendly with Bears can find it.”

I wanted to give the image of someone basking in the sun, eyes closed, taking a moment before moving on to whatever the next thing is, whether it’s another day’s work, the Red Queen’s Court, the Forest, or whatever lies beyond the fields we know.

Not Late for Anything, 31″x23″ monoprint, rubber stamp & chine collé on imported paper, $499 with free shipping.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Am I Blue?

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Am I Blue? by Amy Crook

Am I Blue?, 5″x5″ pastel on bristol board

This is another piece done using S as a reference, I think off one of the photos I took of him. I swear I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to draw people from below without it becoming all about their nostrils, heh. This was also a practice in not-quite-monochrome, using only various shades of blue, from blue-violet hair to blue-green lips to soft powder blue skin. The darkest shadows are the only true black.

This piece is done with soft chalk pastels on a thick bristol board, and really ought to be framed. I’m sure I’ll get to it one of these days!

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
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Green Angel

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Green Angel by Amy Crook

Green Angel, 10″x8″ oil painting on canvas, 11.5″x9.5″ framed

This is yet another painting done off a model, from a photo this time of him lounging in bed. I wanted to imagine an angel with butterfly wings, not a tiny fairy but a full man-sized creature, fallen to earth to partake of the pleasures only to be found here. His wings are tattered from his fall but, I hope, still functional, still able to carry him up above if not all the way back from whence he came.

This small oil painting is on stretched canvas and framed in an antiqued silver wooden frame. I have it hanging by the light in my bedroom where I see it as I enter and exit, flicking the switch off and on.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
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