Posts Tagged ‘blue’
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
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
Blue Planet 4
Friday, May 4th, 2012
Blue Planet 4, watercolor by Amy Crook
Here we are at the end of both our week and the series, and you can see now the interesting secret of this particular mix of paints. Rather than floating to the top edges, the iridescent green paint sinks to the bottom and then the ultramarine settles in on top of it in a rather unsteady marriage. The blue is denser in the middle because it settles there as the day goes on, not because the green is on top. With this paper more than the black, the iridescent paint prevented the salt from bonding to the paper itself so the crystals just formed on top, and a little bit of rubbing pulled away both the salt and the blue paint it was adhered to, leaving us with a fascinating crackled surface at the center.
Like all the salt pieces, this one’s the most interesting if you pick it up and play with it in the sunlight. The blue paint is really very matte and opaque, so the cracks where the green shines through are especially interesting.
Blue Planet 4, salt and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Blue Planet 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see all the rich, subtle variations in color, from the edge-in fade to the sharp crackles where the salt and paint flaked away in the center. Below, the piece is safely tucked into its frame, so the remaining salt, well, remains.
Blue Planet 4, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
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Blue Planet 2
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Blue Planet 2, watercolor by Amy Crook
Of all the Blue Planets, this one is a bit like the control in the group. I didn’t have the issues I did with the first one because I very sneakily put the paper on a small plate, so all its edges were raise and the big pool stayed pooled in the center. I didn’t make tentacles, or use a different paper (that’s tomorrow’s). It’s just a simple abstract idea of a blue-green planet floating serenely in the star-studded blackness.
I really like how each of the stars is its own tiny echo of the planet, with salt at the edges, then the green and finally blue in the center. The whole thing feels both familiar and alien at once, and the salt gives it a bit of twinkling light of its own, if only by reflection.
Blue Planet 2, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Blue Planet 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the big, square crystals that formed all through the planet’s surface, as well as the darker edge crystals and the soft transition from green to blue. Below, you can see it happily tucked into its frame and reflecting onto the shiny iPhone hanging out to show size.
Blue Planet 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
Blue Planet 3
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Blue Planet 3, watercolor by Amy Crook
I know this is only the second day of posting and the third piece in the series, but Tentacle Tuesday is a tradition by now! After I watched the first two Blue Planets form, I wondered if it would be possible to make the green at the edges slither tentacle-like toward the center.
It turns out it was, but they’re very subtle, so I ended up going in later to add the outer tentacles, making this one a color-inverse of Tentacle Planet with the blue-green planet and black paper. The iridescent tentacles inside the planet’s blue surface show more at certain angles, but the salt crystals on top obscure the images a little, making it more of a secret for those who pick up the frame and look closely.
Blue Planet 3, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Blue Planet 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can just see the subtle transition of a tentacle inside where it meets up with one of the outer tentacles. Below, the piece sits happily in its frame, just waiting to invade its new home… with tentacles, of course.
Blue Planet 3, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
Blue Planet 1
Monday, April 30th, 2012
Blue Planet 1, watercolor by Amy Crook
This week I’m posting a series of 4 similar paintings, though slightly out of order out of respect for Tentacle Tuesday. I was revisiting some of my more scifi-themed work to decide what if anything I wanted to put in the art show at BayCon this year, and I decided that it had been too long since I painted one of my planets. I added some iridescent green paint in with my remaining mixture of salt and French Ultramarine and got to work.
I’ve numbered them in the order they were painted, this one first. As you can see, the salt crystals are tiny and fine, and the shape runs off the edge of the paper, which is totally what the salt water did. I think it looks a bit like a comet, or some shadowy binary planet, floating in space.
Blue Planet 1, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on Arches cover black paper.
Blue Planet 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the tiny sparkle of salt crystals, the subtle shimmer of the green paint and the sheen of opaque, matte blue that rests between the two. The paint and salt settle out on their own, once I apply the solution and some patience, giving me something unique each time. Below, of course, is the painting tucked into its frame, hanging out with my iPhone for size reference.
Blue Planet 1, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
Tentacle Deeps 34
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Tentacle Deeps 34, watercolor by Amy Crook
I love the way these experimental tentacles came out, with the rich blue at the core fading to iridescent green and then finally the salt that looks almost coppery compared to the cool interior. These are tentacles reaching out from some sort of translucent blob, perhaps a Shoggoth resting at the bottom of his cell, trying to get out and eat his creators.
Omnomnom!
Tentacle Deeps 34, 4″x6″ salt and watercolor on paper.
Tentacle Deeps 34, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a detail of the tentacles forming out of their base and reaching upwards and away from you. I think this image is quite nifty, so I made an iPhone wallpaper for you to share it with me. Below, the usual frame-up job, with my iPhone for scale only.
Tentacle Deeps 34, framed art by by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: black paper, blue, for sale, green, iridescent, salt, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
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