Posts Tagged ‘sold’
Insomnia City
Friday, July 27th, 2012
Insomnia City, watercolor by Amy Crook
I couldn’t sleep the other night, so I pulled out some paper and my new palette of almost-black paints and painted. It started out with similar spiral clouds as Dirigible, but instead of filling up the whole image, I created a stormy blue-grey sky and then painted the city below in a deep, dark plum color. I wanted to give the whole thing a but of surreal whimsy while keeping the feel of a proper skyline, and keeping the buildings from actually running into the clouds. I kind of like how the lower right ended up shadowed by its incoming cloud bank there, too.
Insomnia City, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Insomnia City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above I turned up the saturation a little so you could see the subtle purple and blue and the contrast between them. Below, you can see the piece in all its muted glory, tucked into its temporary frame and hanging out with my iPhone in the sunshine.
Insomnia City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: blue, city, clouds, nfs, sold, spirals, watercolor
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Filigree Planet
Friday, June 29th, 2012
Filigree Planet by Amy Crook
And here we have the final piece with the spirals of doom. I was really in love with the planet itself before I got out the pens, and then I was so delighted by the filigree look on Monday’s piece that I decided all the space around this one needed it. It’s slightly less masochistic than the piece I’m still working on with the black pen-and-ink spiral texture, which means it actually got done whereas that one’s back on hold until my wrist forgives me in a few more days.
The warm, bright purple of the glitter stands out much more clearly on the black paper, in the way of these things, framing this richly textured planet with whimsical spirals. There’s a very subtle bit sheen to the dark salt crystals that formed as the piece dried, but it’s very subdued compared to the bright glittery “stars” surrounding the planet.
I first painted the actual periwinkle wash, then I took a darker, warmer violet and dripped it wetly onto the still-damp wash. Finally, I added a few drips of salt water to the mix and, after a bit more interference, let the whole thing dry. The spirals came last, and in stages over the course of a couple of days.
Filigree Planet, 5″x5.25″ Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.
Filigree Planet, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the sun lighting up the glittery spirals and just glinting off the salt at the center of the piece. Below, I tilted the piece away from the light so you can see the difference in color. It’s interactive!
Filigree Planet, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Finally we have it loosely tucked into a 5″x5″ frame, though it doesn’t really fit as it’s just a wee bit too wide. It’ll need to be matted into a bigger frame for final display, which I can do for you if you like for an additional fee.
Filigree Planet, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, filigree, glitter gel pen, nfs, periwinkle, planet, purple, salt, sold, spirals, violet, watercolor
Mario’s Cave
Friday, May 25th, 2012
Mario’s Cave by Amy Crook
This piece owes its origins firstly to my childhood spent playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo, and more recently to Steph of nerdJERK and Lawrence Yang, both of whom make awesome pop-culture-inspired art. I was feeling a bit down about this and that, and I’d had this abstract, cave-like background sitting around for a long time. I decided it was time to just do something silly to amuse myself, so I made the cave from whence the Mario mushrooms originate. There’s mostly blue Mini Mushrooms (they make Mario small) and red Power Ups (that make him big), but there’s a few sneaky purple Poison Mushrooms and a trio of green 1ups.
Mario’s Cave, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper.
I put it in its usual frame-with-iPhone shot so you can see just how tiny the shrooms are.
Mario’s Cave, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: mushroom, nfs, sold, super mario, tiny fandom, watercolor
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Squiggle Bookmark
Sunday, May 13th, 2012
Squiggle Bookmark by Amy Crook
And here we have the perfect bookmark for sketch Sunday, or, ridiculous squiggles like I used to draw on all my notes back in school (you know, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth). I used one of those incredibly silly gel pens with the ink that changes color, and you can see the variations in the color from a bright blue at the top through midnight and ending up a distinct violet shade.
I’m pretty sure I did this whole thing over the course of two conference calls, but yes, it took just as long as you think it did. While I find this sort of pattern makes for a good “fake embroidery” on collars and cuffs in drawings, I don’t think I’ll ever use it for anything quite this big again. Too much squiggling!
Squiggle Bookmark, 1.5″x8″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Squiggle Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the teeny tiny pattern up close and personal. Below, the bookmark is nestled with a book to show you that no, it’s not small, I’m just slightly mad, as is appropriate for an artist.
Squiggle Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, bookmark, nfs, pen and ink, sold, violet
Doctor Who Bookmark 1
Saturday, May 12th, 2012
Doctor Who
Bookmark 1
by Amy Crook
I’ve optimistically numbered this 1, assuming I’ll get the urge to do more Doctor Who bookmarks in the future. The Eleventh Doctor is contemplating his lot with his TARDIS parked a bit precariously on a hill, and not liking his options at the moment. But don’t worry, he’ll figure some way out.
He’s the Doctor. It’s what he does.
Doctor Who Bookmark 1, 1.5″x7″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Doctor Who Bookmark 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, a close-up of our pouting Doctor. Below, he’s hanging out with my Free Comic Book Day book from last Saturday’s outing, an excellent reminder that I love sequential art and ought to do more of it.
Doctor Who Bookmark 1, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bookmark, doctor who, nfs, pen and ink, sold
Salt Bookmark 4
Friday, May 11th, 2012
Salt Bookmark 4
by Amy Crook
The second smallest bookmark for your Friday viewing, this one’s a little shorter but wide enough to win the by a nose on total surface area. (What? You knew I was a nerd.)
This one echoes the flaked-off salt textures in Blue Planet 4, but in miniature, with the smallest pools keeping all of their paint and only the larger four pulling away to show the iridescent green beneath. I gave this one a meticulous background of blue lines radiating outward without ever quite intersecting thanks to the stopping points I snuck in at the start.
Salt Bookmark 4, 1″x5″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Salt Bookmark 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the textures of salt and paint, ink and paper, and how they all interact on a tiny level (given that the bookmark is barely and inch wide). Below, it’s snuggled up with a book for size perspective, though I’m not sure I’d want to risk leaving blue powder in my books by actually using this one for reading.
Salt Bookmark 4, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, bookmark, nfs, pen and ink, salt, sold, 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
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