Posts Tagged ‘black paper’
GPS
Thursday, September 3rd, 2020
GPS, 6″x4″ watercolor on black paper
If you’re not looking for murder, perhaps some direction will do.
This is a GPS satellite, painted for a calendar cover to represent both technology and direction needed in 2021. The sunrise is just glinting over the curve of the earth in the background, a reminder that the sun continues to rise, and the atmosphere that we breathe is the thinnest of layers between us and the void.
It’s painted in metallic and opaque watercolors on black paper, so the sky is an even, velvety charcoal studded with distant stars.
GPS, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the gold of dawn just starting to glint over the Earth’s horizon. Below, the whole of space is laid out in a frame, just waiting to go to its forever home.
GPS, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, commission, for sale, gouache, japanese watercolor, metallic, space, watercolor
The Skies of Unknown Kadath
Thursday, March 5th, 2020
The Skies of Unknown Kadath, 6″x8″ watercolor on black paper
In this month’s lone abstract painting, shiny paints layer over black paper to get this dreamlike effect.
“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” is a novella by horror writer HP Lovecraft, best known for creating Cthulhu and also being hugely bigoted (even for 100 years ago). It’s a fascinating trip into dreams and obsession and madness, like so many of his works, and the painting’s title is a nod to the surreal descriptions that keep his work in our collective memory.
There’s a lot hiding in this painting, full of pigments that shine at different angles, in different colors, that peek through the less-glittery mineral paints and stand out against the black background.
The Skies of Unknown Kadath, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the shining paints at a close up and oblique angle, the pigments catching sunlight and showing the layers of texture and detail. Below, it’s in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right dreamer.
The Skies of Unknown Kadath, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: black paper, duochrome, interference, iridescent, metallic, nfs, primatek, sold, watercolor
Night Snow
Saturday, November 2nd, 2019
Night Snow, 6″x4″ ink on Arches cover black paper
The last time I saw snow was a freak storm when I was visiting family last year, but the flakes were just like this, fat and fluffy and white against the darkening sky. There’s a very specific kind of snow that looks this way when it’s falling, and is perfect for snowball fights, snowmen, and going inside afterward to drink cocoa.
The white here is ink rather than paint, and its random-seeming spatter has just enough of a direction to it that you can imagine the wind softly blowing the flakes off their course.
Perfect for a winter soul all year round, or as an elegant decoration that’s more seasonal than holiday-related.
Night Snow, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the soft-edged layers of snowflakes, a few so close and big you could almost catch them on a mitten. Below, I’ve trapped this moment in a frame, just waiting to bring a bit of winter wonderland to you!
Night Snow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black and white, black paper, ink wash, nfs, snow, sold
Inktober 2019, week 1 plus
Friday, October 11th, 2019
Normally I do these on Mondays, but I was out of town and then there was some kind of power shutoff madness (mine was supposed to go but did not? whatever, PG&E, you run your public utility like the Muppet Show.) So, anyway, here you go, week one-and-then-some of Inktober!
Inktober 2019 day 1: Ring, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper
Inktober 2019 day 2: Mindless, 5″x7″ pen & ink and ink wash on paper
Inktober 2019 day 3: Bait, 3.5″x2.5″ pen & ink, glitter gel pen, and ink wash on ACEO bristol, nfs
Inktober 2019 day 4: Freeze, 3″x3″ pen and ink on paper, wip
Inktober 2019 day 5: Build, ink wash on paper bookmark, sold
Inktober 2019 day 6: Husky, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper, wip
Inktober 2019 day 7: Enchanted, 5″x7″ ink wash on paper
Inktober 2019 day 8: Frail, pen and ink on a bookmark, wip
Inktober 2019 day 9: Swing, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper, wip
Inktober 2019 day 10: Pattern, 3.5″x2.5″ brush and ink on ACEO card, nfs
Inktober 2019 day 11: Snow, 6″x4″ white ink on black paper
Abbreviation decoder ring!
- wip = work in progress, ie, I’m probably going to color some or all of the drawing before it’s really done
- nfs = not for sale, ie, it’s a Patreon sketch and already belongs to someone else
- ACEO = Artist Card, Edition Original, also known as ATC or Artist Trading Card when traded rather than sold, which is a standard size I use for all my Patreon sketches these days
Want to get your own sketches, dibs on art, or just feel the warm glow of being part of my community of supporters? Head over to Patreon and pick a tier to get started! There’s also bonus cat photos sometimes, if that helps.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, brush and ink, brush pen, cthulhu, futhark, hockey, inktober, mcu, patreon, pen and ink, rey, tony stark, tree, water brush, zelazny
Armor in His Bones
Thursday, September 5th, 2019
Armor in His Bones, 6″x8″ watercolor on black paper
I admit, I just have Marvel on my mind lately. Although he already got his piece in the other series, I had to do a second homage to my problematic fave.
In the comics, when Tony Stark makes himself nanite armor, it lives in the hollows of his bones rather than separate from himself. When this morbid image came to mind, the name slipped in right along with it.
The blue arc-reactor glow at the center of the skeleton’s chest matches its nebula-like halo, while the face and repulsor-swoosh bring the full Iron Man armor to mind.
Armor in His Bones, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the arc-reactor’s blue glow and the gold-titanium mask above it. Below, the painting is in a temporary frame, waiting to fly to its new home.
Armor in His Bones, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: black paper, for sale, interference, iridescent, iron man, mcu, metallic, skeleton
A Shot Away From You
Monday, September 2nd, 2019
A Shot Away From You, 5″x7″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
The Avengers are a huge cultural phenomenon right now, and that first movie is one of my favorites. I decided to round out my original set of MCU abstracts by adding in the missing members of the OG crew. The title is from a Franz Ferdinand song, fittingly.
Hawkeye doesn’t get a lot of love in the movies, but his current comics run is pretty much amazing. Clint Barton is a genius with the bow, and a human disaster the rest of the time but somehow you can’t help but love him anyway.
The color scheme is based a little more on his comics run, but the bullseye is right on target for any version of Hawkeye.
After all, he never misses.
A Shot Away From You, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the swirling rings of violet highlighted by purple. Below, it’s sitting in a frame, waiting to go to its new home to live happily ever after.
A Shot Away From You, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, hawkeye, interference, japanese watercolor, mcu, mcu abstracts, nfs, sold, watercolor
Near and Far
Friday, July 5th, 2019
Near and Far, 7″x5″ watercolor on black paper
It’s been a month for revisiting old ideas in new ways, and this bit of Arches cover black paper just asked to be an abstract sky. The near stars bloom with nebula-like shapes, blue-hot centers limned in shining lilac. Or perhaps it’s snowflakes in someone’s too-bright halogen headlights, fat and fluffy in the near sky and smaller specks of light in the far. Night-blooming flowers might also seem to glow in the right light, petals moving in the wind and centers fragrant with nectar and dew.
Whatever you see in this painting, it’s floating through the darkness of the everyday to light up your imagination.
Near and Far, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the blue-hot center of each near ‘star’ just barely visible with its violet halo. Below, you can see it in its frame, like a window into another galaxy.
Near and Far, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, for sale, interference, stars, watercolor
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