Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
Winter
Friday, August 8th, 2014
Winter, abstract art by Amy Crook
I don’t usually pick favorites, but this painting stands out to me as one of the best ones I’ve done lately. There’s just something about it that really speaks to me, a story it almost tells, like an open door into your own interpretation. I almost didn’t want to narrow the viewer’s impressions with a title, but the colors were so cold and the shapes so organic I went with Winter.
Winter, 10″x8″ watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Winter, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the delicate traceries and fascinating granulation within each line up close. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, which is very much my favorite way to view it. Something about cutting off that top whitespace really brings the image together for me. The creamy ivory color of the paper is also more evident in this photo than the others.
Winter, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, watercolor
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Growth 3
Wednesday, 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
Tuesday, 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
Invent the Universe
Wednesday, June 25th, 2014
Invent the Universe by Amy Crook
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
– Carl Sagan
Whether you see a big bang for just the light at the end of the tunnel, this painting feels full of possibility. If you wish to succeed at any endeavor, you have to invent inside yourself the universe in which it can happen. What’s amazing to me is that you can do it, that people can bring whole worlds to life inside themselves and then make them a part of our world, as well.
What do you want in your Universe?
Invent the Universe, 8″x8″ Japanese and metallic watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Invent the Universe, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the silver paint picking up the light as it curves around the central vortex. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, glowing with sunlight and possibility.
Invent the Universe, framed art by Amy Crook
This painting will be available in July’s Floating Gallery; join my list to get an early chance at it.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Words Words Words
Tags: aglow, calligraphy, carl sagan, metallic, nfs, silver, sold, watercolor
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Murder Plaid
Tuesday, June 24th, 2014
Murder Plaid, abstract art by Amy Crook
Even though Hannibal and I are on a break that will, I suspect, last beyond the actual hiatus of the show, I couldn’t resist making a reference in the title of this painting. There’s layers of semi-opaque Japanese watercolor in four shades of red, mixing and blurring until you get a very creepy not-quite-face staring out at you from something resembling a murder scene. The broken gold lines run through the whole thing like gold thread through one of Dr. Lecter’s murder ties, not to mention the understated plaids that make up most of his wardrobe.
Murder Plaid, 5″x7″ Japanese and metallic watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Murder Plaid, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the textured pinks and reds and oranges layered together, with light glinting off the ‘threads’ of gold. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, staring at you, daring you to take it home.
Murder Plaid, framed art by Amy Crook
It really is that creepy in person. Also, now in a drawer.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: black paper, for sale, gold, hannibal, japanese watercolor, meta, watercolor
Battle Scarred
Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
Battle Scarred, abstract art by Amy Crook
There are two distinct layers to this painting, both filled with shining metallics. The copper in the back is marked and scarred like armor that survived a great battle, with blue glittery enamel filigree over the top, decoration that either came after the battle, or survived unmarked by whatever damaged the surface below. Or perhaps it’s a tracery of some magic used to preserve this artifact of past battles, won or lost.
Battle Scarred, 5″x7″ watercolor, salt, metallic watercolor, and glitter gel pen on paper.
Battle Scarred, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the copper paint catching the light, the sparkle of the glitter pen and the salt interacting. The blue pen has picked up a slight green tinge in places from the color beneath it, and the metal ranges from a blushing copper to more golden to the green of tarnish in places. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, sunlight giving it a brilliant sheen.
Battle Scarred, framed art by Amy Crook
This one-of-a-kind piece will be available in the Floating Gallery for July; you can join my list to get an early chance to buy.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: blue, copper, for sale, glitter gel pen, metallic, more cowbell, salt, spiral, watercolor
Frost Ghosts
Thursday, June 5th, 2014
Frost Ghosts, watercolor by Amy Crook
This painting, too, is hard to convey online. There’s no shiny paint or other special effects, but the way the paint seems to have depth is somewhat lost, and the subtle shadings and chilly colors get warmed and muddied.
I let the paint on this one mostly do its own thing with only a little direction from me to tease out the handprints on the right and the strange, creepy face in the upper left. The frostlike bloom of lighter paint happens when the dark purple and pale, opaque periwinkle interact in a pool of color, and are allowed to dry as they will.
The ghosts put their mark on this painting just for you.
Frost Ghosts, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Frost Ghosts, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the handprints that bloomed above the surface of the dark paper and darker paint like frost traced on a window at night by a ghostly hand. Below, the painting sits in a frame in the incongruous sunshine, showing off more of its depths.
Frost Ghosts, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: black paper, for sale, japanese watercolor, periwinkle, spooky
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