Calcifer
Posted on May 7th, 2016
Calcifer, 6″x4″ ink wash and various watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Studio Ghibli has made some of the most amazing films, and one of my favorites is the adaptation of Howl’s Moving Castle. If you’ve seen it, the title will make perfect sense!
A glow-haloed, shadowy figure dances over the water through a rain of color and light, like a shining star in a fall of them, experiencing a few bright moments of joy before snuffing out.
This painting has several kinds of sparkle to it against a soft grey ink rain, and its real beauty shines through in person.
Calcifer, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the iridescent, duochrome, and interference watercolors sparkle through the inky haze of rain. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting for its chance to shine for you.
Calcifer, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: duochrome, for sale, howl's moving castle, ink wash, interference, iridescent, rain, watercolor
Rust
Posted on May 6th, 2016
Rust, 6″x6″ Primatek and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
A lovely paint made of real iron oxide adds a rich, rusty yellow ochre to the other natural earth tones from last month’s Storm, and the result is a painting that feels not like clouds but the encroaching entropy of some white metal left to the elements.
This abstract explores the idea of beauty in decay, and there’s just a touch of secret shine hiding in some of the darker areas that adds a hint of green. Growth as the next step in decay.
Rust, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can just see the shine of green in the lower left, contrasting with the gorgeous earthy reds and ochres. Below, the painting sits in a frame, like a tiny piece of some post-apocalyptic future.
Rust, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: duochrome, for sale, primatek, watercolor
City Shadow
Posted on May 5th, 2016
City Shadow, 8″x4″ Primatek watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Is it mirage, illusion, or reality?
A skyline rises up along the horizon, barely solid. The sky rains down in monochrome all around it, creating the feel of a city of mist and shadow.
Perhaps it’s like San Francisco, fog obscuring the borders, making it seem to float in between realities until you get there and find it mostly mundane. Or perhaps it’s like one of the fabled cities of faerie, that vanish when the moon sets, leaving the traveller stranded.
City Shadow, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the beautifully textured rain over the shapes of the city. Below, the painting is tucked into a frame, just waiting to appear mysteriously on your wall.
City Shadow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, for sale, horizons, primatek, watercolor
Pond Diptych
Posted on May 4th, 2016
Pond Diptych, two 6″x4″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Click here to get a bigger view of these two paired paintings!
Beautifully abstract, this diptych reminds me of algae blooming in a sunlit pond, mysterious clouds of green moving in the clear water.
These would be perfect for adding a splash of brilliant color to one of those awkward spaces in your home. You could hang them above a doorway to help give you reasons to look up more.
Pond Diptych, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the beautiful movement and gorgeous green color up close. Below, these two paired paintings are together in frames, waiting for just the right wall or shelf.
Pond Diptych, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: diptych, for sale, green, watercolor
Fettered
Posted on May 3rd, 2016
Fettered: chained; shackled; confined; restrained,
5″x7″ pen & ink on paper – $45
One of my Patreon patrons requested this word for their sketch last month, so we’re taking a quick break from May’s gallery to show the last of April’s word art.
This illustration involves some naughty kitties — or one rather distressed one, and one very smug one, rather. Anyone who knows my cats knows who is meant to be who here, despite their lack of markings.*
*Pod deserves it, the fuzzy little jerkface.
Categories: Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: cat, pen and ink, word art, word art weds
Weeping Willows
Posted on May 2nd, 2016
Weeping Willows, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Are you weeping because it’s Monday? Me, too! Ah, well, the weekends can’t last forever.
Rain breaks up the blue of the sky, rivulets of white that weigh down the weeping willow trees below. The vault of the sky above presses downward, drawing the eye to the ground and the faded, ghostly figure walking among the branches.
The bare trees give a wintry feel to the scene, as does the cool turquoise blue of the sky, just barely desaturated by the gloom of the rainstorm.
Where in your life could you use a small reminder of the beauty in the death of the year?
Weeping Willows, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the ghostly figure moving through the winter willows. Below, the art has been tucked into a temporary frame to dream of finding its permanent home with you.
Weeping Willows, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, ghost, horizons, rain, tree, watercolor
Tea: Molly Hooper
Posted on April 28th, 2016
Tea: Molly Hooper, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper
One of my favourite patrons commissioned me to draw a series of 4 little comic portraits of her favourite characters with their favourite teas. Favourites all around!
This last piece in the Tea Series features the adorkable Molly Hooper, the pathologist from whose morgue Sherlock keeps borrowing all manner of unpleasant items. She’s got a soothing cup of Darjeeling, probably to help her nerves after one of Sherlock’s visits.
Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: all rights reserved, assam, bbc sherlock, commission, copic marker, kim, molly hooper, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, tea, tea series
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