Growth 3
Posted on August 6th, 2014
Growth 3, abstract art by Amy Crook
I took the theme of Growth a step further this time, layering the growths themselves in three sets of increasingly light blue, and then blurring them out with water to add a strange spin to the structure of circles within and without.
Growth 3, 5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Growth 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the corona up close, the three layers of ink mixing and blending, but still some of the white central spaces from inside the circles remain. Below, you can see the painting in a frame. It’s small, but it’s fierce!
Growth 3, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, growth, pen and ink, watercolor
Uncertain Boundaries
Posted on August 5th, 2014
Uncertain Boundaries, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
I spend way too much time explaining how much better my artwork looks in real life, but it’s always true. This piece has much richer jewel tones of purple, teal, and green that have all sort of washed out into a vague blueness when converted to rgb.
There’s rich layers of color, with some of the boundaries outlined and some erased, and some only vaguely visible. It makes me think of a map of some strange world that has evolved along with the history of the place, borders drawing and redrawing themselves as alien politics shift and change.
Uncertain Boundaries, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Uncertain Boundaries, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the places where new color obliterates the old, and the boundary lines stutter and fade. Below, you can see this small piece in a frame, small enough to add its bright color to any number of surprising spaces.
Uncertain Boundaries, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: blue, green, japanese watercolor, map, nfs, pen and ink, purple, sold, watercolor
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down
Posted on August 4th, 2014
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down by Amy Crook
I’ve painted lots of skies full of crows, but today I decided to go a different way with my dark Halloween heart and paint bats. Because bats!
There’s a tiny hint of nighttime violet in the upper left, but it’s being chased away by the sunrise glowing at bottom of the painting, where seven winter-barren trees peek up into the frame. There’s 13 flying bats (of course) and 3 already sleeping in the lightning-split tree they call their home.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bats coming in for a landing, and the three sleepers at the very top of the tree. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right wall to hold it.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: baaaaaaaats, bats, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
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That Thing You Love
Posted on August 2nd, 2014
That Thing You Love, calligraphy by Amy Crook
“Don’t let anyone tell you that the thing you love is a thing you can’t love.”
-Wil Wheaton
I created this piece as part of a gift for my awesome email list people, but I wanted to make the actual artwork available, too. Like any watercolor, there’s detail that gets lost in the print, plus it’s just awesome to know that yours is the one and only original.
This quote is from an impromptu, impassioned diatribe on “why it’s awesome to be a nerd” that Wil Wheaton gave when asked at a con for some advice for their baby girl to grow up geek, and it’s really good advice. The whole speech is pretty awesome, actually.
That Thing You Love, 9″x12″ pen & ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.
That Thing You Love, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the little cheesy ’70s sunrise face in the middle of the word ‘anyone,’ and below you can see the piece laying on my desk with my iPhone for size, because it turns out I don’t actually own a frame the right size. Oops.
That Thing You Love, calligraphic art by Amy Crook,
quote by Wil Wheaton
Categories: Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
Tags: calligraphy, for sale, pen and ink, watercolor, wil wheaton, word art
Goodies for my List
Posted on July 10th, 2014
As many of you know, I have a little email list. It’s self-selected into 3 segments, plus the few oddballs who don’t choose anything and only get the Floating Gallery announcements.
There’s Art Patrons, who get a little bit more of a preview on what I’m working on than the rest of you, as well as a few days to sneak in and snipe the art before the Gallery opens each month. There’s the Etsy Customers, who get heads-up emails about new Etsy stuff, as well as the occasional special sale. There’s the Art Blog subscribers, who get the blog posts in their email. You can be any or all of them, if you like.
Now with extra swag!
There’s two new things for my list people:
- New subscribers will get five little emails that introduce you to my art & obsessive personality
- Everyone gets a free printable pdf that’s got bookmarks, a coloring page, and a bit of calligraphy
If you’re already on the list, I sent you a link to the printable in your email yesterday. Go look!
It’s pretty nifty, if I do say so myself. So join my list, and be one of us!
That Thing You Love, aka the calligraphy in the pdf, original art by Amy Crook
Categories: Words Words Words
Tags: info, words
Observance
Posted on July 3rd, 2014
Observance by Amy Crook
I almost managed to get all the pieces for July’s Floating Gallery into the blog beforehand, but this one was finished just under the wire. I think this is the single most reworked salt painting I’ve ever done, using multiple applications of both water and very watery paint to give the appearance of scattered stars and nebulae in the sky above the observatory in the mountains below.
There’s a lot of sparkle in this painting, too, each little salt crystal catches the light at a slightly different angle, making the stars twinkle as the light moves over the surface.
Observance, 6″x6″ salt and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Observance, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the formations of salt and watercolor that catch the light, sparkling into strange shapes in the night sky. Below, the painting is temporarily tucked into a frame, full of subtle color and light despite the dark palette.
Observance, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: for sale, more cowbell, salt, stars, watercolor
Soon, Very Soon
Posted on June 30th, 2014
Swag for my new book release!
I’ve finally (omgfinally) finished the sequel to The Courtship of Julian St. Albans! Huzzah! I’ve sent off for a proof copy from Amazon, and once I’ve red-penned that for last-minute typos, the book will be ready! I figure mid-July, depending on the whims of the postal owls and pollen trees, but I’ve already started making up swag for a giveaway once it’s out!
The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans takes us into Julian & Alex’s life almost a year after the Courtship that brought them together. Read a sample chapter here.
Categories: Words Words Words
Tags: apprenticeship, consulting magic, courtship, i made this, julian st albans
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