Posts Tagged ‘japanese watercolor’

Concentric 14

Friday, June 3rd, 2022

Concentric 14, 7″x5″ watercolor on yupo

The Floating Gallery is open and ready for you, my darlings!

A change of pace for the Concentric series, this painting has a shimmering blue background with opaque, matte designs atop.

The translucent yupo paper lets the light glow through, but also makes it hard to photograph with any kind of color accuracy. Although the palette is all blues and purples and shining silver, it’s hard to tell which shade of which is there when they shift with the light.

These feel more like flowers than fireworks to me, like bursts of color atop a shimmering pond or strange flocks against a cloud-flocked sky. What do you see?

Concentric 14, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see up close the way the paint sparkles and shifts in the light, and the way the yupo seems to glow with its own translucency. Below, it’s sequestered in a frame, waiting for its new home.

Concentric 14, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Concentric 9

Monday, July 12th, 2021

an abstract watercolor painting of a series of concentric circles of dots on a green background

Concentric 9, 5″x5″ watercolor on paper

A fitting start for a gallery full of abstract artwork and reclaimed images, here’s an old painting that gained a lot more cowbell.

This mostly-green painting had some sneaky color-changing shine to it already, so I doubled down on that palette and brought in some blue to go with the gold, green, and surprising pops of red. There’s just one big set of Concentric bursts that fade through the palette, and finally trail off and fade out into nothingness.

This is a painting I wish I could show you in person, since it looks different from every angle and has a lot more to offer than I can capture in photos. A very familiar complaint, sadly!

Concentric 9, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sunlight reflecting off the green-gold and green-red paints, turning everything into new colors and showing off hidden details. Below, the painting is in a frame, ready to bring a bit of peace and beauty into your life.

Concentric 9, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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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
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The Most Venomous Feminist

Tuesday, September 10th, 2019

The Most Venomous Feminist by Amy Crook, abstract watercolor of a red hourglass on black paper in spattered blood-red paint

The Most Venomous Feminist, 5″x7″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper

The title for Black Widow’s abstract comes from an Ice T song, “Big Gun,” which in turn is from Tank Girl. Badass superheroes all around!

The background on this one has some very subtle texture and sparkle to it, much like the weave of Natasha’s uniform. The iconic logo has been splattered in with a rather bloody red, a little messy but still the unmistakeable warning of the red hourglass.

This piece would make an excellent statement that your favorite Avenger takes no crap from anyone, and neither do you.

The Most Venomous Feminist, detail, by Amy Crook

The Most Venomous Feminist, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the slightly glossy blood red in all is layered, drippy glory. Below, the painting is in a frame, ready to creep into its new home.

The Most Venomous Feminist, framed art by Amy Crook

The Most Venomous Feminist, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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A Shot Away From You

Monday, September 2nd, 2019

A Shot Away From You, abstract art by Amy Crook, an abstract purple bullseye on black paper

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

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

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
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Marvel

Tuesday, July 16th, 2019

Marvel by Amy Crook, an abstract representation of Captain Marvel's logo because reasons

Marvel, 8″x10″ watercolor on paper

After the success of Thirteen, a lovely patron suggested that Captain Marvel’s uniform might do well with the same treatment, and I couldn’t help but agree.

Dark red and navy blue hide under the soft pattering rain of brighter colors, giving depth to the fields of rich color. Bright metallic golds layer over softer burnt orange in a familiar pattern, a bit less abstract than the Doctor’s sweater but still with that feeling of calling up an idea as much as a character or film.

What do you marvel at, my darling readers?

Marvel, detail, by Amy Crook

Marvel, detail, by Amy Crook

Aboe, you can see the shimmering two-tone gold and the richly textured mix of watercolors. below, the painting is in a frame for the moment, waiting to fly to its new home.

Marvel, framed art by Amy Crook

Marvel, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Thirteen

Thursday, March 14th, 2019

Thirteen by Amy Crook, an abstract painting in TARDIS blue with 13th Doctor stripes

Thirteen, 8″x10″ watercolor on paper

One of my patrons suggested that something related to the new Doctor Who, specifically the 13th Doctor’s sweater, would make a fun abstract in the same style as the trio styled after Marvel characters from last year. They then claimed it when the preview went up on Patreon, so clearly it was a good suggestion.

Bright TARDIS blue offsets the not-quite-rainbow stripes, color bubbling up through the image in drops and drips and drabs.

Which Doctor’s your favorite?

Thirteen, detail, by Amy Crook

Thirteen, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the stripes on the sweater, with all its texture and swirls of color. Below, the painting is in its frame, waiting for its new owner to retrieve it.

Thirteen, framed art by Amy Crook

Thirteen, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of
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