Abstract and Just Plain Weird « Antemortem Arts

Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category

Red Orange Yellow

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Red Orange Yellow by Amy Crook, $199

Another experiment with salt and watercolor, this time the salt picked up just a touch of the colour, turning the salt crystals a sort of transparent pale red that manages not to be very pink at all. I stuck to the warm, sunny end of the spectrum, with swooping zen circles of gold, complementary swishes of orange and just little hints of red creeping back in and blending into the orange at the edges.

I’ll frame it in an 8″x10″ frame with a mat, but right now I’m busy with a big website launch for a client (I can’t wait to show you the header painting!), so anything that needs matting is on the back burner — unless it sells, of course!

Red Orange Yellow, 4″x8″ watercolor and salt on paper, $199 framed, with free shipping.

Cold winter sunlight casts the paper in blue, but the warmth of the paint can’t be dampened in this detail photo.You can really see how the salt is tinged with red from this angle, too.

Red Orange Yellow, detail, by Amy Crook

If you think you’d like to brighten up your home or office with this piece but you’ve got questions, or if you’d just like to chat but don’t want to comment, feel free to drop me a line!

Tags: for sale, orange, red, salt, watercolor, yellow
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Drifting Down

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Drifting Down by Amy Crook, $277

Another salt experiment, this time using pen and ink in a different way. The spirals inside the salt pools are actually watercolor, which the water didn’t really pick up at all this time, and then the grass and vines are both pen-and-ink that’s been brushed with water to give it a different texture.

I really like the peaceful, floating quality of this piece. The little salt pools seem weightless as they rest like the barest fluff on the upright grass. Actually it reminds me a bit of Horton Hears a Who — I wonder if there’s any Whos hiding there?

Drifting Down, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper, $277 framed, with free shipping.

Drifting Down, detail, by Amy Crook

The meagre winter sunlight this time of year doesn’t catch the sparkle on the salt very well, but you can really see the texture of the paper and the watercolor-like quality of the curling ink vines. Below you can see it in a frame (with my iPhone for scale – not included, heh). It would fit nicely on a desk at work, for anytime you needed a moment of peace and weightlessness, growth from above and below and the effortless connection between them.

Drifting Down, framed art by Amy Crook, $277

If you think you’d like to bring this piece into your life, or are just too shy to comment, feel free to email me! I’m always happy to help find the right home for my art, or just chat.

Tags: brush and ink, for sale, pen and ink, salt, vines, watercolor
Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Shop - Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Shop - Flowers, Trees and Landscapes | No Comments »

Moon Dark

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Moon Dark by Amy Crook, $333

I really love how stark and simple this piece is. I was tempted to add more color to it, but in the end I think the copper moon and golden, salt-haoled stars are best on their own. In a simple black frame, it’s really striking, a slice of night for a desk, wall or bedside table.

Moon Dark, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper, $333 framed, with free shipping.

Moon Dark, detail, by Amy Crook

Here you can see how the salt picked up a tiny bit of the iridescence from the paint, though mostly it sparkles all on its own.

Moon Dark, framed art by Amy Crook, $333

Tags: black, copper, for sale, gold, moon, salt, spirals, stars, watercolor
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By Starlight

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

By Starlight by Amy Crook, $499

Another piece inspired by the iconic blue-gold-white of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, there’s a different textural feel to this one on every level, despite being similar in many ways to Midnight Blue. The paper is thicker and of a much softer texture, the salt pools are saturated with bright yellow paint but the spirals are still visible, and the ‘starlight’ is sharp-edged and fragmented instead of a soft glowing circle.

I really just like the feel of it, the swoop of bright stars across the deep blue sky, each one surrounded by its own halo of color.

By Starlight, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper, $499, framed, with free shipping.

This piece is just a bit wider than square, so I’ll have to matte and frame it in a larger 8″x8″ frame when it ships.

By Starlight, detail 1, by Amy Crook

There hasn’t been a proper sunny day for photographing these salt pieces in a while, at least not one that’s warm enough to open the back door for the extra light that always makes them shine. Still, you can see the far pool catching a bit of light, as well as the rich texture the paint makes on the paper.

By Starlight, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Here you can see the tiny bit of spreading the salt did on the paper this time, not full snowflakes like some of the pieces I’ve done with this paper, but softened, creeping edges trying to expand beyond the water droplets’ original boundaries.

By Starlight, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper, $499, framed, with free shipping.

If you’re interested in this piece and would like to talk, you can comment here or email me, my inbox is always open.

Tags: blue, for sale, salt, stars, watercolor, yellow
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Autumn Breeze

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Autumn Breeze by Amy Crook, $333

I wanted to revisit the autumnal color palette of Autumn Winds, so I created this piece with different materials. The paper is a thick, soft cream-coloured printing paper, and the little spirals use quinacridone burnt orange paint instead of the less lightfast pen ink, though the pigment doesn’t infuse as well into the salt. Instead of tea there’s all watercolor paints for the rest, breezy spirals gathered around each salt pool like strange seeds tossed on a light fall breeze.

Autumn Breeze, 8″x6″ watercolor and salt on paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.

Below you can see how the salt crystals spread a little into the textured paper without going too far outside their original pool. The actual color of the piece is somewhere in between the two images, more saturated than the scan but less so than the detail photo.

Autumn Breeze, detail, by Amy Crook

Tags: brown, for sale, gold, orange, salt, watercolor
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Rhymes With Orange

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Rhymes With Orange by Amy Crook, $222

Another orange piece! Two in one week! It’s madness!

Or, perhaps I did them on the same day? Well, I suppose it could be so.

The salt pools on this one are colored by salt that was used previously to create texture in other watercolor pieces — I chose a range of warm colors from orange to yellow, and then put in the swirls and spirals to match.

Rhymes With Orange, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $222, framed, with free shipping.

Rhymes With Orange, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Reusing “dirty” salt is always a risk, because sometimes the paint doesn’t distribute very well in the salt, as on the left, and sometimes it gets so diluted you can’t see it at all, as on the right. But either way, the salt always seems to retain its sparkle.

Rhymes With Orange, detail 2, by Amy Crook

I thought the black frame really brought out the brightness of the orange. I might try it in a warm brown, too, just for variety.

Rhymes With Orange, framed art by Amy Crook

Rhymes With Orange, framed, by Amy Crook, $222

Tags: for sale, orange, salt, watercolor
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Orange Paisley

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Orange Paisley by Amy Crook, $169

I was experimenting twice over with this piece, first by using different paints in each set of 7 paisleys (for 21 total), and then by drawing the salt pools out into shapes. Finally the background seemed to need a good, strong orange, giving the whole thing a wacky ’70s feel.

Orange Paisley, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $169, framed, with free shipping.

Orange Paisley, detail 1, by Amy Crook

In the above detail, you can see the sparkle of the subtle duochrome paint and the way it interacts with the salt. Below, a simpler gold color that’s densest where the salt, too, gathered as they dried together.