Your Artist Needs a Nap
Posted on February 21st, 2017
Yeah, kitty, I know how you feel.
I’ve been having some health issues for a while, but in the last 6 months or so it’s really affected my ability to keep myself going. I’m having surgery next month that should help, so please bear with the erratic posting and cat photos until recovery and, hopefully, something resembling wellness happens.
You Can Help!
My Support Your Artist page has ALL the links, but right now Patreon and Etsy are the most helpful. Even Tweeting out a link to your favorite birthday card or public Patreon post could help keep the internets on and the cats fed.
And in the end, isn’t it the ability to upload cat photos that matters most?
Categories: Words Words Words
Tags: info
Resist & Persist
Posted on February 15th, 2017
Resist, 6″x4″ ink wash and metallic watercolor on watercolor postcard;
She Persisted, 7″x5″ watercolor and metallic watercolor on paper
I painted these this past week to try out some of my art supplies and I think they both do a good job of what they were meant to do — defy those who wish to shut us up.
Want one of these gorgeous originals?
Normally they’d go for $199 and $249 respectively, but if you make a donation of at least $50 to NAACP, you can keep whichever one you wish.* Help them keep fighting the fight they’ve been fighting for years, email me the receipt, and I’ll get your defiance out to your doorstep.
Both of these have beautiful metallics and sheen to them that’s even more amazing in person. Take them home, donate to a good cause, and make your own resistance that much more beautiful and truthful.
*First come, first snagged. First class shipping is included via letter post, if you want fancier shipping there will be an additional charge for the exact fee.
Categories: Pretty Words
Tags: calligraphy, charity, for sale, ink wash, j herbin, metallic, watercolor
Blood Moon 8
Posted on February 8th, 2017
Blood Moon 8, 8″x8″ ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Continuing my tradition of painting things that don’t scan well, this new addition to the Blood Moon series has a midnight blue sky and a bright blood red moon, with a deep black tree intersecting both shapes.
The dusky night sky swirls around the blood moon, holding hints of the same red in its depths. The horizon is close enough that a tree seems to grow from the edge of the page, rising up in skeletal silhouette to make intricate black lace against the distant sky.
This painting is gorgeous in person, fascinating in its mix of rich texture and limited color palette.
Blood Moon 8, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a much better view of the dusky blue, brilliant red, and delicately textured black of the sky, moon, and tree contrasting beautifully together. Below, you can see how elegantly this painting occupies its frame, just waiting to add its eerie light to your life.
Blood Moon 8, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: blood moon, brush and ink, for sale, horizons, moon, primatek, tree, watercolor
Enthusiasm
Posted on February 7th, 2017
Enthusiasm, 10″x8″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper
One of my dear friends loves hot pink, so I borrowed some of her enthusiasm for this Pathways painting.
The result is actually quite gorgeous, buff paper offsetting the pearlescent white intermingled with the rich, glowing pinks. The whole thing has a bubbly, warm feeling to it would brighten up any space, and be especially beautiful in the sunlight.
Where in your life do you need a little Enthusiasm?
Enthusiasm, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sparkling white catching the light next to the gorgeously detailed pinks, spreading out like water on a window creating pattern out of the interaction between two spaces. Below, the piece is in a frame, its shine muted by the angle of the light.
Enthusiasm, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, pearlescent, pink, primatek, watercolor
Four for a Boy
Posted on February 6th, 2017
Four for a Boy, 6″x6″ Primatek watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Mist obscures everything in this painting but the outline of a gnarled, drooping tree, branches bare in winter with just the tiniest hint of buds at their ends. Four black birds approach through the fog, and a figure all but dissolves into mist himself.
Is it foggier than it looks, or is the figure merely a trick of the eye?
This fourth installment of Counting Crows would make a lovely, creepy addition to your home, something to contemplate when the sun has burned away the mists of the day.
Four for a Boy, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the eerie figure staring out from the mists, surrounded by the tree’s bare branches. Below, the piece is safely in a frame, just waiting to find the right house to haunt.
Four for a Boy, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bloodstone, counting crows, crow, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Make Do
Posted on February 4th, 2017
Make Do, 8″x8″ ink on Fluid watercolor paper
Make what you have
Do what you need
This gorgeous word art mixes rich rose, vivid violet, and luscious lavender inks. The brilliant colors and motivational message would bring brightness to any studio, office, or home.
Whenever you’re frustrated by not having the just-right tools or supplies, you can look at this lovely ink art and remind yourself to make do.
Make Do, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the edges of vivid purple and dusky blue on the big splashing word art framing the loose calligraphy of the main aphorism. Below, this bright word art is in a big frame, ready to cheer up any space with its inspiring message.
Make Do, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Pretty Words
Tags: brush and ink, calligraphy, nfs, pen and ink, sold, word art
Wrack and Ruin
Posted on February 3rd, 2017
Wrack and Ruin, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Ending the week on a sombre note, this abstract art shows dark clouds on every side, closing in on the spot of brightness in the center.
There’s rich rust and stormy blue, the purple of a bruise and the blunted red of bloodstone. A storm of woes surrounds the last little glimpses of white.
But a stronger brightness surrounds the whole piece in a border of untouched paper — a reminder that even though one light might be snuffed out, there is always more come the dawn.
Wrack and Ruin, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see that tiny bright spot and some of the cloudy ruin coming for it, including one of my favorite little details in rusty orange. Below, you can see this small painting in a frame, waiting to find a new home.
Wrack and Ruin, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: primatek, watercolor
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