Harvest Moon 6
Posted on August 14th, 2018
Harvest Moon 6, 5″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Three sandhill cranes are flying across this minuscule moon, golden-yellow and full like a proper autumn moon should be.
After June’s Harvest Moon painting, a patron suggested I try another on black paper instead of white. It’s a very different process, and the results have a darker, more solid quality.
The stars have a little shine to them, a hint of gold to add sparkle. The cranes have a little complexity in their color, both from the Payne’s grey and the way the thick, opaque Japanese paints mix into the top layer.
Harvest Moon 6, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the cranes and the textural surface of the moon. Below, the painting is in a frame, waiting to fly to its new home.
Harvest Moon 6, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bird, black paper, harvest moon, japanese watercolor, nfs, sold, watercolor
Cloud Cover
Posted on August 8th, 2018
Cloud Cover, 8″x10″ ink and watercolor on artboard
A sky filled with clouds, covered from horizon to infinity with smudging swirls of blue-grey in an endless cover. A skeletal tree rises up against it, the details fine as lace. Branches tangle and twist, while a black bird comes to rest, wings a blur of motion, and another flies close.
A lot of this month’s paintings are dichromatic, ink on paint, a mix of a beautiful, nearly abstract background with a black-painted foreground. This one is made of a dark, opaque ink that holds texture and gives a sense of dimension as well as the simplicity of silhouette.
Cloud Cover, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the textures of ink, board, and paint weaving together to make a beautiful tree. Below, the painting is in its temporary frame, like a window into a piece of autumn.
Cloud Cover, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: artboard, brush and ink, crow, for sale, tree, watercolor
Growth 11
Posted on August 7th, 2018
Growth 11, 5″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Another Gallery, another Growth.
The theme continues to develop, the feeling of macroscopic or microscopic increasing with this eleventh addition to the series.
A bright green central circle is surrounded, edged and even intruded upon, by metallic dots that stand out from the page. Everything has texture and weight, a presence that makes it fascinating to move in the light, to run fingers over.
There are three layers of gold under the dots, from a deep gold near the center through nearly silver.
What do you need to support your growth?
Growth 11, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the little pearls of green and gold up close and personal. Below, the piece is in its tiny frame, already trying to outgrow its confines.
Growth 11, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, for sale, green, growth, interference, metallic, watercolor
Invisible Sun
Posted on August 6th, 2018
Invisible Sun, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Through the haze of smoke and destruction, a sun faintly glows with the softest sheen of gold. Below, fantastic buildings are shattered, battered, burnt, and broken.
Another set of painted ruins joins the series of apocalyptic visions. This one is small, the size of a postcard. The sky is the color of sunset on a day full of pollution in the city, smog that dulls vision and steals the color and life from the landscape.
The title is, of course, from a song by The Police.
Invisible Sun, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the smoking city up close, its futuristic shapes shattered and ruined. Below, the piece is in its frame, small in size but powerful in scope.
Invisible Sun, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: city, nfs, ruins, sold, watercolor
I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself
Posted on August 5th, 2018
I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, 7″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper
In the first Iron Man movie, Tony Stark is listening to “Institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies while he’s tinkering on a beautiful old car in his garage. The title on this one is a line from that song that fits him to a T, figuring things out for himself when no one else was there to help.
This one is the most like the Pathways series, the lines of brilliant gold fire rising up against Iron Man’s classic hot rod red.
It’s also a beautiful, subtle reminder that even if you wobble a little taking off, you can teach yourself anything if you’re willing to put in the hard work and learn from your failures.
All I wanted was a Pepsi. Just one Pepsi!
I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the subtle sparkle of gold and hot rod red, the flame-edge whoosh of upward mobility. Below, the piece is in a frame, hinting at a greater reality just outside the boundaries.
I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: iron man, mcu, mcu abstracts, metallic, nfs, pathways, watercolor
Always Punch Nazis
Posted on August 4th, 2018
Always Punch Nazis, 7″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally wormed its way into your artist’s brain, and this is the first abstract of 3 to honor the early movies.
Captain America throws his shield in beautiful arcs, dim lights shining off it as he attacks Nazis and their HYDRA offshoots alike. This painting is meant to represent the swoosh of the shield flying past — or into — someone’s face.
A blur of motion and just a hint of patriotic color.
Happy 100th Birthday, Captain Rogers! #AlwaysPunchNazis
Always Punch Nazis, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see up close the sparkling sense of violent motion in red, white, and blue. Below, you can see the painting in a frame, trying to contain the Captain’s determination.
Always Punch Nazis, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, captain america, interference, mcu, mcu abstracts, metallic, nfs, watercolor
Blood Moon 9
Posted on August 3rd, 2018
Blood Moon 9, 10″x8″ watercolor on Arches cover white paper
Friday, July 27th was a blood moon for parts of the world that could see the eclipse, so this painting is in honor of that momentous occasion.
The sky is a gorgeous red-violet, deep but not dull, with rich gold stars glittering out of the page. The moon glows with subtle shimmers as well, and three bats fly across, the ruddy light shining through their wing membranes.
The framed photo perhaps best captures the warmth of the colors in this mercurial painting, the layered paint making it different from every angle. Far from being cold, the night is alive with magic and mystery, just waiting for you to join in.
Blood Moon 9, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you an see the three tiny bats and the delicate transparency of their wing membranes. Below, the bats are in a frame, fluttering in anticipation of their new home.
Blood Moon 9, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bat, blood moon, metallic, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
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