tree « Antemortem Arts | Fine Art & Custom Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘tree’

Seven for a Secret

Friday, August 10th, 2012

Seven for a Secret, watercolor landscape by Amy Crook

One for sorrow, two for joy,
Three for a girl and four for a boy,
Five for silver, six for gold,
And seven for a secret never to be told.

Seven for a Secret, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Seven for a Secret, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, the seven crows flying in the gloaming. Below, I slipped them into a temporary frame for scale, where they got to hang out in my desk with my iPhone for a bit.

Seven for a Secret, framed art by Amy Crook

Title: Seven for a Secret
8 in. x 4 in. Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
sold

Tags: crow, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes | No Comments »

I swear, this commission took all the time in the world, but I will admit I’m happy with the results. I was pretty sure I would be once I got it past the ass point, but you never really know until it’s all done. Molly is very happy indeed, and I hope she gets well soon so she can come collect it!

“All I had was the idea of a dragon in a forest and I was so lucky to have Amy bring what I really had in mind to life. And with the snap shots of the progress along the way I got to be more and more excited by the final result. The details of the scales are my favorite part.”

Forest Dragon, 24″x18″ oil paint on canvas, nfs (commission).

I’ve taken a bunch of detail shots for you, just so you can appreciate the awesomeness.

Forest Dragon, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the sun shining through the Dragon’s spines and onto the texture, iridescent scales. Below, another shot of sunlight, this time streaming through the trees and making the leaves appear translucent.

Forest Dragon, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Sunlight and shiny things are a bit of a theme, which is apropos for a dragon, I think.

Forest Dragon, detail 3, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the wings, which are translucent and let the trees behind them show faintly through, as well as the dragon’s ridges. Below, an oblique close-up of the tail so you can see the physical texture of the scales, and the more visual texture on the hoard of gold.

Forest Dragon, detail 4, by Amy Crook

If you’re considering a commission of your own, email me! I’ve got a few things in the queue already, but I’d be happy to talk about putting your painting next in line.

Tags: all rights reserved, commission, dragon, iridescent, nfs, oil paint, oil painting, tree
Posted in Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange | 1 Comment »

Summer Reading

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Summer Reading by Amy Crook, $299

I started this piece during the recent Playshop call with Melissa Dinwiddie, then went back and finished it up later. The tree and figure are painted with just two colors, quinacridone gold and amazonite genuine, and then I added in a bit of soft cadmium yellow when I went back and did the sky, and added in the fuller foliage. I especially like the way some of the leaves have little haloes of gold, and the rich greens and browns that came out of just those two colors mixed in different proportions.

Summer Reading, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper, $299 with free shipping.

I think this would make a great piece to put in a bookshelf, nestled between books to remind you of the joy of reading. The frame isn’t included, but I’d be happy to frame it for you for an additional fee.

Summer Reading, framed, by Amy Crook

Tags: for sale, playshop, reading, tree, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Shop - Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Shop - People, Figures and Faces | No Comments »

Glow Fruit

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Glow Fruit by Amy Crook, $199

This cheerful little painting is another tree using salt, this time to make fruit instead of leaves like the Mod Tree. I added a happy little blue bird at the top of the tree to balance out the image. I used pencil to put texture down on the paper and outline where the branches would be before adding any paint, so the tree has a bark-like look. Each little glow is like a Zen circle of its own, surrounding a glittering pool of salt.

Glow Fruit, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper, $199, framed, with free shipping.

Each salt piece I make is completely unique, the salt crystals forming based on dozens of factors from the weather to the texture of the paper, how much ink is in each little spiral and how much salt and water go into each pool.

Glow Fruit, detail, by Amy Crook

I have to admit, something about this reminds me of the creepy trees in Beast Master, which just goes to show that I’m old and had terrible taste in movies as a kid. I may have to do another one with a midnight look in homage.

Glow Fruit, framed, by Amy Crook, $199

Tags: bird, for sale, pen and ink, pencil, salt, tree, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Shop - Flowers, Trees and Landscapes | No Comments »

Twisted Tree

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Twisted Tree by Amy Crook

Today’s art combines a number of techniques into one unusual piece. The base is a heavy, handmade postcard from India, part of a set I bought years ago with irregular, natural edges. The wash was made with strong black tea, and the texture comes from salt crystals placed on the wet paper. Then, I added a touch of blue paint and a little more salt to create the shape of the bird.

I have to admit, once I saw a bird in the blue, I couldn’t help but think of Twitter, but I think that’s just a sign I spend too much time on social networks.

I broke out my fine-point sharpies in brown and black to create the tree and the detail on the bird, using a loose, scribbly style to create an organic shape that fit with the background.

Twisted Tree, 4″x6″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).

The bird ended up with a bit of an attitude, and I rather imagine him saying something like, “Yeah, yeah, tweet, whatever.” Despite that, he’s got a bit of sparkle to his personality, as you can see here.

Twisted Tree, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Actually, there’s salt crystals in a fine layer all along the lower part of the painting, giving it texture and a subtle glimmer.

Twisted Tree, detail 2, by Amy Crook

It looks quite nice in a simple black frame, and this painting, like always, will ship wrapped up safely and ready to display.

Twisted Tree, framed, by Amy Crook

Tags: bird, nfs, salt, sharpie, sold, tea, tree, twitter
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes | No Comments »

Mod Tree

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Mod Tree, framed, by Amy Crook, $222

This piece was an experiment in making something less abstract out of the salt pools. I really like the way the arrangement of dots suggest a tree without ever actually forming the shape of leaves. The circles remind me of abstract Mod art from the ’60s, hence the name.

When I make these pieces, I can only line three or four up on the bookshelf at a time, and they have to dry anywhere from half a day to a full 24 hours. I can’t always take good progress photos if I start something at night, but when the sun’s shining in the window I do try to make sure I get some shots.

Mod Tree, 5″x7″ salt, pen and ink and watercolor on watercolor paper, $222, framed, with free shipping.

In the first detail shot, the lighter colors got washed out a bit but you can see the biggest salt crystals rising up off the paper.

Mod Tree, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Here you can see how the minimalist tree trunk gently supports the sparkling arrangement of leaves above.

Mod Tree, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Here you can really see the salt inside each water droplet, before it dissolved. I love how the light just glows through the water at the start, an ephemeral moment of beauty in the process of making art.

Mod Tree, in progress, by Amy Crook

The scanned version doesn’t have the same sparkle and dimension as the photos, but you can see the shape and color really clearly. It’ll ship in its frame so it stays nice and safe on its journey to your home.

Mod Tree by Amy Crook, $222

Tags: for sale, green, pen and ink, salt, tree, watercolor
Posted in Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Shop - Flowers, Trees and Landscapes | 1 Comment »

The Tree Breathes

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

The Tree Breathes, detail, by Amy Crook

This is another one-of-a-kind print done using my tiny etching plates. I almost forgot completely about it, ironically because it’s framed from having been in a juried show once long ago. I gently pulled it out of its matte, and then used more archival corners to re-attach it to the matte after I scanned it, and then put the whole thing back in its frame.

I think the tiny tree is my favorite of all the tiny plates I made, though I only used it (or any of them) a few times.

The Tree Breathes, 1″x2″ etching on 8″x10″ watercolor paper, $499 framed with free shipping.