Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
Halloween Pathways
Thursday, May 4th, 2017
Halloween Pathways, 7″x5″ watercolor on Arches Cover black paper
Deep charcoal supports and subdues the bright Halloween orange in this latest Pathways painting.
The image suggests bold autumn trees, lit by the last orange rays of sunlight slanting towards them. Or is it a bright potion bubbling over the sides of an iron cauldron? Perhaps you see the stripes on some deadly orange monster instead.
The simple-seeming monochrome hides a depth of color and detail that will give you hours of peaceful contemplation while you sit and sip cider and think of Halloweens to come.
Halloween Pathways, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the the way the charcoal blackness of the paper draws the orange into itself, lending a base of deep gloom to the holiday brightness of it. Below, the painting is tucked into a frame, just waiting to haunt your home.
Halloween Pathways, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, for sale, halloween, interference, orange, pathways, watercolor
Dream Well
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017
Dream Well, 5″x5″ watercolor and brush pen on Arches Cover buff paper
May is here! I hope you had a good April, the cats and I missed seeing you terribly while I was convalescing.
Dusky lavender swirls like liquid, bounded by broken lines like a dream of an object, soft and subtle and strange.
Dip into the dream well and see what you pull up from its depths. The shallowness is only an illusion; the well of dreams goes down forever, full of endless possibilities and impossible futures.
This lovely mixed media piece is quite small at only five inches square, the soft buff of the paper making it perfect to warm up a space that needs a little imagination.
Dream Well, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the stuttering strokes of pen filling in the borders where the brush stuttered first, making waves in the soft, warm violet well. Below, this tiny artwork is resting peacefully in a frame, perfect for a small meditation nook, or even just your desk at work.
Dream Well, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: for sale, formations, pen and ink, primatek, watercolor, zen circle
Mirage
Wednesday, March 8th, 2017
Mirage, 8″x10″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper
Endless-seeming dunes give way near the top to the illusion of water. The warm buff paper breaks through the dull sparkle of yellow rust and copper. The caress of wind over sand exposes variations in shape, color and texture as a muted shine is revealed behind the amber waves.
The Pathways series is turned its side here, trading trees for earth and skies for an endless search for the horizon. The mirage adds a bright pop against the rich layers of sand and ochre and copper.
If you dream of sun and sand and sparkling water, this painting will bring a little piece of that into your everyday life.
Mirage, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight catching the copper, which only appears at certain angles in amongst the sandy ochres and golds. Below, I’ve trapped the mirage behind glass, so you can safely contemplate eternity without losing yourself in the dunes.
Mirage, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, gold, interference, pathways, primatek, watercolor
Growth 8
Thursday, March 2nd, 2017
Growth 8, 5″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper
Photos don’t really do this understated painting justice. Its meditative qualities combine with a decorative feel from the bright gold border, and the depth and texture of the bronzite in the central circle.
Liminality and exploration work together in the Growth series, the core of the piece always showing some fundamental change as it sends itself outward into the surrounding space.
Growth and change are a part of every life, and art can be a beautiful, subtle reminder to welcome it.
Growth 8, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the glimmer of real bronzite mineral next to the bright shine of golden watercolor. Below, a black frame brings out the warmth of this beautiful abstract painting.
Growth 8, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: gold, growth, metallic, nfs, primatek, sold, watercolor
Enthusiasm
Tuesday, 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
Wrack and Ruin
Friday, 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
Corona
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
Corona, 8″x8″ ink wash and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Like the inverse of a sun in eclipse, this dark corona shines out of a golden disk, creating an image almost like a crown of thorns or a winter wreath.
The rich golden hues are hard to reproduce, but they make a striking contrast to the dark, opaque black.
This piece looks amazing in a dark, wide frame, contemporary and dramatic, a perfect painting for a spot that needs a statement.
Corona, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the rich golden-yellow background, and the darkness of the black brushstrokes creating the strange halo. It’s been put in a beautiful frame below, striking and elegant.
Corona, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: brush and ink, ink wash, nfs, sold, watercolor, yellow
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