japanese watercolor « Antemortem Arts | Fine Art & Custom Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘japanese watercolor’

Red 3

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Red 3, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook, $250

This piece is all about courting chaos. I made some artistic choices at the start, and then once it got to a certain point, I stood back and let the process take over, making it a weird collaboration between artist and entropy. There’s an amazing wealth of detail and nuance in the way the paint, paper, and water interacted as they dried. I considered doing something more with it, like tentacles or tiny fandom, but I didn’t want to cover up all that lovely nuance.

Red 3, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper, $250 with free shipping.

Red 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the upper lefthand corner in detail, the way the different colors flowed and pooled and settled as the paint dried in one of the wettest parts of the painting. Below, the painting is hanging out with my iPhone, making it look cool.

Red 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Title: Red 3
7 in. x 5 in. Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper
$250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
Shipping is free anywhere in the world
Payment plans are available, just email me
The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Tags: black paper, for sale, japanese watercolor, red
Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books, Shop - Abstract and Just Plain Weird | No Comments »

Instagram Food

Friday, March 8th, 2013

Instagram Food by Amy Crook, $79

After I made my little Instagram Valentine, I wanted to make another card that had that same soft, abstract feeling and expressed a bit of what I love about the service. This time, though, I went for a more “missing you” approach, so instead of a person we get one of the other most-Instagrammed things — food! I painted it in warm yellows, oranges and browns with just a touch of green, to give the feeling of a filtered picture, and put it in a distressed photo “frame” as well.

Instagram Food, 5″x5″ pen & ink and Japanese Watercolor on paper, $79 with free shipping for the original.

The card says, “I like seeing your food on Instagram, but I’d rather see your face in person,” with the words framing the art.

Instagram Food greeting card by Amy Crook

Tags: etsy, for sale, instagram, japanese watercolor, pen and ink, yellow
Posted in Daily Art, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange | 1 Comment »

Ghost Moon

Monday, March 4th, 2013

Ghost Moon by Amy Crook, $250

I can’t honestly remember now which came first, the Ghost Spirals Bookmark or the trees in this piece. I definitely painted them on the same day, but then I came back to this later and added in the moon, and then in a third pass I added iridescent blue stars with the purple meteor, a shine of subtle iridescent green to the treetops, and silver on the moon.

I’m sometimes torn about using so much iridescent and metallic paint. On the one hand, it feels a bit gimmicky (and can’t be made into prints effectively), but on the other hand I think the pieces are more beautiful with the shimmer and shine. And since the real point of my art is to put more beautiful things into the world, I’ve decided to go with what feels right.

Ghost Moon, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor on paper, $250 with free shipping.

Ghost Moon, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a bit of the green shimmer on the trees, the silver shine of the moon, and the blue and purple stars, shooting and otherwise. Below, I’ve got the piece in a frame, so you can see how it sizes up to my iPhone.

Ghost Moon, framed art by Amy Crook

Title: Ghost Moon
7 in. x 5 in. Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper
$250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
Shipping is free anywhere in the world
Payment plans are available, just email me
The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Tags: black paper, for sale, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, shooting star, spirals, trees, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Shop - Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Shop - Whimsical and Strange, Whimsical and Strange | 1 Comment »

Ghost Spirals Bookmark

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Ghost Spirals Bookmark by Amy Crook, $13.13

It’s always interesting to me to see the way the Japanese watercolors sink and fade into the black paper as they dry, losing some of their opacity and leaving behind a complex texture of paint and paper. These spirals looked ghostly to me in the way some of them faded almost to translucency, which is where they got their name.

Ghost Spirals Bookmark, 4″x1.5″ Japanese watercolor on paper, $13.13 with free shipping.

Ghost Spirals Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the delicate traceries of dried paint within the thick, translucent spirals. Below, you can see this bookmark hanging out with my book, just waiting to find a new book and a new home.

Ghost Spirals Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13
(book not included, you wouldn’t want it anyway, it’s a boring book)

Tags: black paper, bookmark, buy a bookmark, for sale, japanese watercolor, spirals
Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books | 1 Comment »

Fairytale Sky 6

Monday, December 24th, 2012

Fairytale Sky 6 by Amy Crook

This sixth Fairytale Sky painting was another Christmas gift, it seems to be a trend this year! This one’s for a good friend and patron of mine who bought the 1st and 5th paintings out of the series, so it seemed only fitting to paint one specifically for her (as she puts it) “Wall of Amy.” The swirling clouds in this one go from pink to purple depending on the angle, shimmering with a mysterious iridescence that’s just faintly echoed in the moon.

Fairytale Sky 6, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper, nfs.

Fairytale Sky 6, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the way the colors shimmer on the black paper, silver for the stars and pink-purple for the spiraling clouds.

Happy Christmas Eve, or at least Happy Monday. Watch out for wayward Skellingtons impersonating Sandy Claws tonight. ♥

Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange | No Comments »

Demonsreach

Friday, December 14th, 2012

Demonsreach by Amy Crook, $350

When I was reading Dresden Files recently, there was a description in one of the books of the island of Demonsreach being a darker black against the black water and black sky. Between that and the misty half-hidden moon in the cloudy sky the other night, an idea was born. Other than the white, all the colors here are from my palette of “black” Japanese watercolors, from the blue-black water to the purple-black clouds and greens and browns on the island itself. The piece isn’t any less subtle in person, and in fact in some lights is quite a bit more so, which I thought was appropriate given the island in question.

Demonsreach, 10″x8″ watercolor on paper, $350 with free shipping.

Demonsreach, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the edge of the trees on the shore, the horizon between blue water and purple sky, and the glowing moon peering up over a break in the swirling clouds. Below, the piece is in a frame in nice bright sunlight, highlighting the detail rather than obscuring it.

Demonsreach, framed art by Amy Crook, $350
(framing is $50 additional)

Title: Demonsreach
10 in. x 8 in. Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper
$350 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
Shipping is free anywhere in the world
Payment plans are available, just email me
The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out

Tags: black paper, dresden, for sale, japanese watercolor, moon, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Shop - Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Things I'm a Fan Of | No Comments »

Fairytale Sky 5

Friday, December 7th, 2012

Fairytale Sky 5 by Amy Crook

Friday’s always a good day for fairytales, don’t you think? Fairytale Sky 5 makes me think of those times when the clouds are just starting to break up and the moon is peeking through, wreathed in mysterious mists.

I used water to add lighter places to the blue-black background, then swirled clouds in interference violet, that look silver from one angle and vivid purple the next. The moon, too, is limned with silver, adding shine to this bit of deep night.

Fairytale Sky 5, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Fairytale Sky 5, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the light shining off the silver moon and violet clouds on a background of velvety midnight blue. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting for the right wall. You can even see Pod lurking in the background, waiting for me to stop all my foolish picture-taking and pet him.