Skully Mini Volant customized Moleskine by Amy Crook

This XSmall Volant is only 4″ tall, making it perfect to tuck into a pocket, purse or pouch. A friend bought the grey set and then tossed this one at me to decorate, and since he bribed me with tea, treats and cocktails, I was happy to oblige. He didn’t give me any direction, so he got skulls and crosshatching, which I’m sure comes as a huge shock.

I’m considering picking up another set of them for my Etsy shop, but we’ll see. Some things just work better when I’m not worried about finding an audience for them.

Skully Mini Volant, 2.7″x4″ Sharpie oil paint markers on Moleskine XSmall Volant, nfs.

Galaxies, abstract art by Amy Crook, $424

From some angles the background of this piece looks as black as the space between galaxies, or at least as black as the paper it’s painted on. Shift it just a little though, and a liberal dusting of silver stars sparkles up in the blackness, making the whole piece shimmer. The iridescent green paint, opaque blue and glittering salt form mysterious shapes floating in the black, broken spirals and strange pools of color.

I was just playing when I made the spirals, wanting some different shapes and enjoying the bigger page, which was more forgiving of the lack of precision from the salt water solution. It sat around for a few weeks after it dried while I decided what to do with it, and in the end I decided a subtle dusting of silver paint would best set off the shapes. I ended up brushing most of the silver particles back off the page, which makes the whole effect much more subtly supporting instead of overwhelming.

Galaxies, 10″x8″ salt and watercolor on paper, $424 framed, with free shipping.

Galaxies, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the golden afternoon light reflecting off the salt and paint in this particular spiral formation. Below, the strange little frost that formed where the water flowed off the edge and then soaked into the corner of the paper.

Galaxies, detail 2, by Amy Crook

And of course I’ve taken a photo with frame, desk and iPhone, to give you an idea of how big it is in real life.

Galaxies, framed art by Amy Crook, $424

I’m all out of words for this Weds, regular posting will resume tomorrow as usual with more art.

Words are hard, man.

Tentacle Deeps 35, watercolor by Amy Crook, $333

Someone asked me at the gallery on Saturday why I like tentacles, and I didn’t have a really good answer. I like painting them a lot, in part because it’s an interesting combination of spontaneous and planned art, in that the tentacles can go all over the place but keep a certain smooth taper to them while they do, and I always try to get a certain distribution of shapes and sizes in so that the piece itself is aesthetically pleasing as well as creepy.

This particular paper isn’t really meant to be watercolor paper, and it absorbed the paint without letting it float on top at all, giving a stripey quality to the blue gradation in the background. The paper itself has a lot of little dotted inclusions that add texture to the piece, and the tentacles themselves are painted in Japanese sumi-e ink rather than watercolor to take better advantage of the paper’s absorbency.

Tentacle Deeps 35, 8″x10″ ink and watercolor on paper, $333 framed, with free shipping.

Tentacle Deeps 35, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the shine off the very base of the tentacles where the black sumi-e ink is the thickest. Below, the piece waits in its frame, taking up nearly my whole tiny writing desk as it poses with my iPhone for scale.

Tentacle Deeps 35, framed art by Amy Crook

Silver Moon, watercolor by Amy Crook, $333

It’s been a while since I gave you a new moon for Monday, so I thought it was about time. I did the salt pools for this one in a variety of sizes, using the clear salt water I made so even the smallest droplet left some salt behind when it dried. I used some powdered silver watercolor I have on hand to create a lovely colorless sky this time, with haloes around the biggest star and an outward-fading spiral for the moon.

The reason I talk about the process so much is that’s what I’m mostly thinking about as I work, trying to get the effect I want out of the materials I’m using. I thinned out the silver paint to a specific thickness for the outer two circles on the moon, wanting there to be a delineation between the moon itself and the light that shines from it the way there is with the stars. I went for one big spiral this time because it seemed to fit with the rest, even though the star field is more complicated than in some similar pieces.

I try not to overthink these decisions as I’m making them, because the pieces work best when they’re not too fussy, with swooping paint strokes and not-quite-random scatterings of salt.

Silver Moon, 6″x4″ salt and watercolor on paper, $333 framed, with free shipping.

Silver Moon, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the light reflecting off the silver paint where it’s most opaque, as well as highlighting the smaller, un-haloed stars in the black. Below, the piece is framed and sitting next to my trusty iPhone for scale.

Silver Moon, framed art by Amy Crook, $333

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

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

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

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

Be the Change Bookmark by Amy Crook, $13.13

For Words Wednsday this week, we have a very popular and, I think, applicable quote. I decided I wanted more beauty (and spirals!) in my world, so I finally stopped pining after the art I wanted to make and started making art instead.

I’m still working on some of the other changes, like seeing the complexity hiding in seemingly simple issues, but those can be a lot harder. Still, I think this bookmark would make an excellent reminder for someone wanting to see a change in their lives, that the only person who can move your life towards a better one is you.

Be the Change Bookmark, 8″x1.5″ mixed media on paper, $13.13 with free shipping.

Be the Change Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, spirals! Below, the bookmark on my awesome free hardcover graphic novel from Free Comic Book Day this year. Another good reminder that art and words don’t have to be exclusive.

Be the Change Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13

Tentacle Bookmark 2
by Amy Crook, $13.13

Tentacle Tuesday meets Bookmark Week once again! Zoisite green and a satiny black combine with thick textured paper to make a very nice bookmark. This one should stand up to all sorts of abuse, though the soft hand-torn edges might get even softer as time goes on.

Tentacle Bookmark 2, 2.25″x8″ mixed media on paper, $13.13 with free shipping. Due to the size of this one, international might be a dollar or two extra for your shipping, just email me.

Tentacle Bookmark 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the light shining off the thick black paint at the base of the tentacles. Below, a standard-sized hardback book shows you just how big the tentacles are. Definitely not tentacles for the faint of heart!

Tentacle Bookmark 2, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13

Salt Bookmark 3 by Amy Crook

As you’ve no doubt correctly surmised, it’s Bookmark Week again! I’ve sold almost all of the bookmarks from last time, and since May is Get Caught Reading month, I figured that the time was right for another week of tiny, inexpensive originals to tempt you.

This one and Friday’s were done sort of simultaneously, but since I started this one first it got to be number 3 in the series. I’m using the same mix of paint and salt water as I did for last week’s Blue Planets, but this time in dots and spirals instead. Then I crosshatched the background in a complementary green, which brought out the blue and gave the whole thing a nice visual texture.

Salt Bookmark 3, 2″x6″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).

Salt Bookmark 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the sparkle of salt, the shimmer of iridescent paint and the shine of glitter gel pen, offset by velvety black paper and opaque blue paint. Below, the bookmark rests on a book for scale, though I’m not honestly sure this one would do that well as a bookmark — I’ve found the blue paint doesn’t bind to the paper as well as one might hope when mixed with the salt. Chemistry at work, I suppose.

Salt Bookmark 3, with book, by Amy Crook

Ridiculous Cat sketch by Amy Crook

More coloring book sketches! It’s been a while since I scanned some of these, so here you go. A completely absurd little cat to make your Sunday just that much weirder.

Have you scritched someone today?