Periwinkle Flowers, watercolor by Amy Crook, $250

I was thinking more of clouds when I first started painting these little puffs of periwinkle, but they came out so flower-like that I surrounded them with leaves and grass and gave them swirly centers of overlapping yellow and white spirals. I let them sit around in a frame for a few days while I decided if I liked them, and they grew on me (pun acknowledged if not intended).

Periwinkle Flowers, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper, $250 with free shipping.

Periwinkle Flowers, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see a slightly color-shifted detail of one of the soft watercolor flowers, which was blued over a bit by the bright sunshine. Below, the piece is framed and hanging out with my plush of Mei dressed as a Totoro, because it can.

Periwinkle Flowers, framed art by Amy Crook

• Title: Periwinkle Flowers
• 5 in. x 7 in. Japanese watercolor on paper
• $250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
• Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
• Shipping is free anywhere in the world
• Payment plans are available, just email me
• The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

art things for an art week

I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday! In case you missed it or just want to revisit, there was art this week. Shocking, I know. Monday started the week off morbidly with a crowned skull, but Tuesday the tentacles were cheerful enough to make up for it. Thursday there was mysterious dark matter, and Friday a spirally drunk lizard came to hang out. Saturday John and Sherlock were late for your birthday, and of course there’s a sketch for today.

The Tenth Doctor went along with someone’s packet of cards to make sure there was no nonsense with them, and they arrived in plenty of time for the festivities.

It’s even got a TARDIS moo sticker!

He Means He Forgot,
a Sherlock fan cartoon by Amy Crook

I’m slowly continuing to flesh out my actual purpose-made greeting cards, and this time it’s John who’s got belated birthday wishes for you. He’s already embarrassed to be bringing the card so late, and then of course Sherlock has to pipe up with his own two cents.

He Means He Forgot, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold). Get them on a card instead!

He Means He Forgot, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of John’s blushing face. Below, you can see the art hanging out in a frame, reflecting on life in the surface of my phone.

He Means He Forgot, framed art by Amy Crook

Drunk Lizard by Amy Crook, $250

I drew this guy while I was watching Lilo & Stitch, and drinking a nice refreshing gin & ginger ale, so he’s got a looseness to him that I rather enjoy. Both his body and his background are done with pen & ink washed over with a water brush, and then more ink added back in afterward. I really like how multiple passes of pen and brush created layers of color and texture in his otherwise simple drawing.

Drunk Lizard, 5″x7″ pen & ink and water brush on paper, $250 with free shipping.

Drunk Lizard, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the little spiral toesies, which I actually added in the next day, and the various textured layers of spirals that surround and fill the little lizard. Below, he’s in a frame, hanging out with an orange five-tentacled octopus, because that’s what drunk lizards do.

Drunk Lizard, framed art by Amy Crook

• Title: Drunk Lizard
• 5 in. x 7 in. pen & ink and water brush on paper
• $250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
• Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
• Shipping is free anywhere in the world
• Payment plans are available, just email me
• The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Dark Matter by Amy Crook, $199

I started working on this piece intending to experiment with it as a background for something else, and then on a whim I added a sprinkling of pink Himalayan salt to the damp page. The end result is a creepy, beautiful scene that made me think of a green world floating in dark space, with dark matter engulfing it. The salt sparkles subtly in the sun, and in fact I have a detail photo of all the subtle texture as my computer wallpaper right now.

Dark Matter, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper, $199 with free shipping.

Dark Matter, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the textures of salt and paper and paint together, the dark colors and tiny glimmers of salt. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, matted on black to help emphasize the wabi-sabi textures of the hand-torn paper edge.

Dark Matter, framed art by Amy Crook

• Title: Dark Matter
• 5 in. x 5 in. Japanese watercolor and salt on Arches cover white paper
• $199 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
• Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
• Shipping is free anywhere in the world
• Payment plans are available, just email me
• The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Happy Jelly by Amy Crook, $99

I know I’ve painted jellyfish before, but I decided my Wall of Squid needed some variety in its betentacled cuteness. This guy is actually a bit more pale in real life than he looks here, soft subtle pale blue-greens that make him look delightfully translucent. He’s not any specific species of jelly, just a cute one, but I did steal the idea of his heart-shaped markings on top from the lovely moon jellyfish.

Happy Jelly, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, $99 with free shipping.

Happy Jelly, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a slightly better version of the pale coloring, and of course his cute little heart markings and big shiny head. Below, the happy jelly is dancing in his frame with my iPhone and favorite jellyfish plushie.

Happy Jelly, framed art by Amy Crook

• Title: Happy Jelly
• 5 in. x 7 in. pen & ink and Copic markers on paper
• $99 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
• Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
• Shipping is free anywhere in the world
• Payment plans are available, just email me
• The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Crowned Skull by Amy Crook, $250

After drawing yesterday’s bookmark, I decided to draw a big version of the same image. I actually have a Halloween model skull on my bookshelf, wearing the paper crown out of a Christmas cracker, so he’s been the inspiration and model. His name is Sherrinford, because of reasons.

Personally, I think he would appeal to fans of Game of Thrones, given how everyone dies while George RR Martin drinks your tears.

Crowned Skull, 5″x7″ pencil, pen & ink and waterbrush on paper, $250 with free shipping.

Crowned Skull, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the way the black ink separates into greys, blues and browns when I use the water brush to create shading. Below, you can see him in a frame, looking regal and tragic with my iPhone for moral support. Well, and size reference.

Crowned Skull, framed art by Amy Crook

• Title: Crowned Skull
• 5 in. x 7 in. pencil, pen & ink and water brush on paper
• $250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
• Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
• Shipping is free anywhere in the world
• Payment plans are available, just email me
• The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Skull Bookmark 3
by Amy Crook, $13.13

There was originally a skull bookmark in this set, and it wasn’t this one! That one got claimed by someone on my list, and someone else asked me to try to recreate it, so I did two more and she picked her favorite. So here is number three, pen and ink and water brush scribbled and smeared on comic backing board. I ended up also doing a full-sized crowned skull as a result of all this thinking about it, which you’ll get to see this coming week.

Skull Bookmark 3, 2″x6.5″ pen & ink and water brush on paper, $13.13 with free shipping.

Skull Bookmark 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the skull itself up close. This ink tends to bleed out just a bit of blue and brown when it’s wet, so there’s a subtle undertone of color to the pieces that I really enjoy. Below, it’s sitting with my trusty book, and you can see it’s one of the largest of this set.

Skull Bookmark 3, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13
(book not included, book never included in anything)

Harvest Bookmark by Amy Crook

Today’s bookmark started life as a color study for last Friday’s art, Harvest, which in the long run I decided not to color at all. I finished this off with a bit of extra inking anyway, and added it to the pile of bookmarks. I like the warm glow of the big moon and the subtle browns on the figure and background, especially with the bit of added texture on the ground.

Harvest Bookmark, 2″x3″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Harvest Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the texture in the paper, and the crosshatching on the burlap hood. One of the reasons I decided not to color the original piece was to keep the ambiguity as to whether it was a scarecrow or a person being lit by the big harvest moon. Below, the squat little bookmark is resting on the book, looking small and mysterious.

Harvest Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
(book not included, do not harvest the book)

Spiral Bookmark 7
by Amy Crook, $13.13

I couldn’t resist putting #7 on the 7th, so here are three lovely coppery spirals on a background of black paper with dark purple stripes. The paint is a metallic called “duochrome” that shows different colors from different angles, orangey bright from some angles and a more rose-tinted copper from others. I suppose one of these days I ought to do a, “why spirals?” post, but I’m not sure I could adequately answer the question.

Spiral Bookmark 7, 1.5″x4″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper, $13.13 with free shipping.

Spiral Bookmark 7, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see that I took this over to the window so you’d get the full effect of sunlight, making the spirals shine and the purple deep shadows against the paper. This soft paper is actually made for printmaking, and they create the black color with a chemical reaction in the paper pulp so it’s lightfast and won’t ever fade beyond the rich, deep charcoal. Below, you can see it hanging out with my book, being mysterious.

Spiral Bookmark 7, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13
(book not included, book wishes to remain mysterious)

Pattern Bookmark 1 by Amy Crook

I decided that, since I am clearly going to keep experimenting with the imperfect art of hand-drawn repeating patterns, I might as well just call it a series starting with this one. This was drawn with my favorite scribbly fountain pen on archival comic backing board, and then shaded with a waterbrush to carry the ink throughout the pattern. It reminds me of some of the patterns on the dwarves’ clothing in The Hobbit, geometric and individual but not too complex.

Pattern Bookmark 1, 4.5″x1″ pen & ink on paper, nfs (sold).

Pattern Bookmark 1, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close up of the middle section of the pattern, containing almost one whole repeat though it goes off the edges. Below, you can see this bookmark with a hardcover book, looking quite petite.

Pattern Bookmark 1, with book, by Amy Crook
(book not included, do not covet the book)

Daffodils Bookmark
by Amy Crook,
$13.13

Have a bit of sunshine for you Wednesday! This cheerful little bookmark is done entirely with Japanese colored fountain pens on a coated archival inkjet paper. I used a waterbrush to add just a tiny bit of blue shading to the sky, green to the leaves and gold to the flowers by blurring out the ink, but as you can see the coating keeps it from being anything but a very soft, subtle background glow. This cheerful little bookmark is quite small, perfect for a paperback.

Daffodils Bookmark, 1″x4″ pen & ink on paper, $13.13 with free shipping.

Daffodils bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the cute little ladybug adding a bit of delight to this bookmark. Below, you can see it atop a hardcover book, for scale.

Daffodils Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13
(book not included, grow your own)

Tentacle Bookmark 5 by Amy Crook

Scribbly purple tentacles come in from all sides of this bookmark, which has a soft, grainy wash of reddish violet for its background. It’s quite small, drawn on stiff archival comic backing board, and would make an excellent accompaniment to a book by HP Lovecraft.

Tentacle Bookmark 5, 4″x1″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Tentacle Bookmark 5, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the spiraling purple tentacles up close, the ink going from dense to loose around the curls. Below, you can see the bookmark nestled up to a big hardcover book, looking all dainty.

Tentacle Bookmark 5, with book, by Amy Crook
(book not included, tentacles are enough for anyone)