Harvest Moon 2

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Harvest Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Harvest Moon 2 by Amy Crook

Even as I’m really developing the salt work into a proper technique, I still learn something new with each piece. This painting began with a lot of painstaking drawing that became nearly obliterated by the process, and ended up with a deceptively simple image with a lot of texture and detail just waiting to be found by the careful viewer.

Harvest Moon 2, 7″x5″ salt, pen and ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

The central shape actually started as a dense circle of pen-and-ink spirals, but you can only see a tiny shadow of the original ink if you look very closely.

Harvest Moon 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Harvest Moon 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook

When I added the salt and water to it, the golden-orange ink turned into a vividly orange puddle, which then dried to the softer peach color you see in the final product.

Harvest Moon 2, work in progress by Amy Crook

Harvest Moon 2, in progress, by Amy Crook

There’s a dense layer of sparkling salt crystals overlaying the entire surface of the ‘moon,’ adding a physical texture on top of the visual texture.

Harvest Moon 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Harvest Moon 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The salt layer, like the ink beneath it, formed unevenly based on where the paper warped and the water pooled. Here you can really see the line of dense crystals that runs vertically through the image.

Harvest Moon 2, detail 3, by Amy Crook

Harvest Moon 2, detail 3, by Amy Crook

And here it is tucked into a frame, ready to find its new home.

Harvest Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Harvest Moon 2, framed, by Amy Crook

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Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
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