Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category

Growth 11

Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

Growth 11 by Amy Crook, abstract art in green and metallic on black paper

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

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

Growth 11, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself

Sunday, August 5th, 2018

I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself by Amy Crook, abstract art of gold lines on a red field

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

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

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
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Always Punch Nazis

Saturday, August 4th, 2018

Always Punch Nazis by Amy Crook, abstract art with metallic silver, red, and blue on black paper

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

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

Always Punch Nazis, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Concentric 1

Friday, June 8th, 2018

Concentric 1 by Amy Crook, abstract art of white patterns on a purple background with gold flecks

Concentric 1, 10″x8″ ink on Fluid watercolor paper

Circles within circles, swirls within swirls. This abstract painting is full of shine and complexity, gold like scattered petals floating through everything while translucent, pearlescent white makes concentric shapes all through the complex background.

The violet has deconstructed itself as much as everything else, red and blue visible in places while still letting the eye find purple first and foremost.

The first in a series, this painting is immensely fun to sit and play with, moving it back and forth so the different metallics catch the light or vanish into the shadows like floating seeds sinking below the water.

Concentric 1, detail, by Amy Crook

Concentric 1, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the shimmering white pearl and gold paints catching the light, giving up their translucency and becoming solid, floating above the purple instead of fading into it. Below, the painting is waiting in a frame to be mailed off to its new home.

Concentric 1, framed art by Amy Crook

Concentric 1, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Culture

Tuesday, June 5th, 2018

Culture by Amy Crook, abstract watercolor of purple and rust orange blotches on white

Culture, 10″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Bold splashes of burnt orange spark through a field of purples, from a soft mineral lavender to a deep violet black. A loose, liquid boundary almost contains the color like a frame, but there’s splashes all around, joyfully bursting free of the confines of geometry.

This is a gorgeous abstract, bright and warm without being too obnoxious, and would go elegantly in any room.

Culture, detail, by Amy Crook

Culture, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the delicate lace formed as the colors mix and blend, rust to peach, purple to paper white. Below, the culture waits behind glass to be examined, appreciated, and enjoyed.

Culture, framed art by Amy Crook

Culture, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Kelp 2

Sunday, April 8th, 2018

abstract art of turquoise blue cascading upwards on black paper, with occasional horizontal breaks in the flow, by Amy Crook

Kelp 2, 7″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper

Shining fronds in beautiful blue-green rise up through the charcoal depths of this lightfast paper, with the occasional horizontal detour into shelf-like protrusions.

Another installment in the Pathways series, this painting takes a simple monochrome palette and breaks it into glittering particles. Each little piece of color seems to shine with its own shade of blue, green, or silver, shifting oh-so-subtly as it moves through the light.

Where do you need something beautiful to catch the light in your life?

Kelp 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Kelp 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the subtle sparkle of mica-laden paints and the beautiful rivulets of thick paint and dancing void. Below, the painting is sitting in a frame, a waving undersea frond trapped in its own little aquarium.

Kelp 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Kelp 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Series and Books
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Whorled

Thursday, April 5th, 2018

an abstract watercolor of overlapping turquoise spirals accented in coppery gold by Amy Crook

Whorled, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Swirls and whorls and spirals decorate this beautiful turquoise abstract. The shining texture of the overarching spiral gives it a dragon-like feeling, with its copper eye and snakelike head at the center.

The detail photo has perhaps the best color, but like so many things in life this one has to be seen live to be properly appreciated.

One patron said, “Oh, it’s another Moana painting!” and while they’re not wrong, this one has more of a sly, sideways reference, bursts of shining heat within the ocean’s cool blues rather than a direct quote.

Whorled, detail, by Amy Crook

Whorled, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sun shining off the iridescent paints, bringing out the coppery and turqouise tones. Below, the painting is framed and waiting to bring something shiny into your day.

Whorled, framed art by Amy Crook

Whorled, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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