Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
Island
Thursday, February 6th, 2014
Island, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
I think paintings are hardest to talk about when I really adore them. This one is such an exquisite combination of tiny details and subtle colors created both by deliberate artistic choice and by random chance that I’m ridiculously in love with it.
The paper is soft, both in texture and its creamy color, and the paints are all matte shades of real minerals, except for the places where there’s unexpected bursts of red or even sun-catching bits of green iridescence. The shape suggests an island without being any specific one, with its noodling coastlines and the surf creeping up all around it. The green is rich and deep and mysterious, inviting the viewer to look for hidden detail.
Island, 10″x8″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Island, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a very close look at some of the detail, in an area with a subtle wash of red hiding under the green, and a tiny patch of shimmering brightness that only shows itself in sunlight, like a lake hidden in deep jungles. Below, the painting’s in a frame, looking even more like some forgotten map.
Island, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: blue, duochrome, for sale, green, map, watercolor
Backbone
Wednesday, February 5th, 2014
Backbone, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
Back in November, the same painting session that gave me the beginnings of both Exit Strategy and The Colour Out of Space produced the background for this. I did some more with the background before letting it sit for two months, and finally a few weeks ago I figured out what I wanted to do with it.
I actually used thinned-out titanium white paint in a fountain pen to draw these little shapes rather than painting them, a technique I practiced first on a couple of this month’s bookmarks.
The sinuous lines of vertebrae don’t quite follow the soft shapes they wind through, but they are informed by them. It’s hard to tell if this is one very long creature or several; if they’re suspended in water or mist or even fossilized; if they’re from something natural, unnatural, or even supernatural.
Backbone, 6″x4″ watercolor and Japanese watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Backbone, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see an extremely close look at a dozen of the many vertebrae twining through the painting. Below, the painting is tucked in a frame, its mysteries safely contained.
Backbone, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bones, for sale, japanese watercolor, pen and paint, skeleton, watercolor
Descent
Sunday, February 2nd, 2014
Descent, abstract art by Amy Crook
A violet night sky is peppered with the texture of stars. Shimmering halos surround these rocky meteors as they descend through that peaceful sky, trailing glittering fire behind them. There’s red and green and lavender and some hints of blue and brown and gold. The sunlight changes everything, and a closer look shows shining crystals jutting up off the page, intruding into the third dimension.
This painting took a lot of fits and starts and several different forms before I was happy with this final work. All of the pieces work in harmony to tell a visual story, instead of fighting to find meaning between them.
Descent, 7″x5″ salt, watercolor, and duochrome watercolor on paper.
Descent, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of some of the meteors, see the rich red and shimmery green, and the lavender halos lighting up against the violet sky. Below, you can see the painting all tucked into a frame, protected from the elements and ready to grace your wall, desk, or shelf.
Descent, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: duochrome, for sale, more cowbell, purple, salt, violet, watercolor
Roil
Friday, January 10th, 2014
Roil, abstract art by Amy Crook
What can I really say about this painting? It started out with a completely different idea, and once I let go of the image I had for it I was able to make something I really love. It’s got layers of color, texture and sparkle. The shapes are partly chaos and partly deliberate. It’s also the first painting I finished this year — I even remembered to write AC2014 instead of 2013!
Roil, 4″x6″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on watercolor paper.
Roil, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight glittering off some of the secret bits of sparkle hiding in the bottom of the painting. Below, it’s in a frame with my iPhone for size reference.
Roil, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: duochrome, for sale, iridescent, watercolor
Cross Section
Thursday, January 9th, 2014
Cross Section, abstract art by Amy Crook
I don’t do a lot with brown. I’ve never been that fond of the warm end of the scale, especially anything orange-toned, and browns usually have a lot of orange in them. But this time I wanted to give it a shot, so I used a rich terra cotta red-brown paint and a dark, sepia-like brown fountain pen to give this painting its grounded palette.
The brown ink is dye-based and fugitive, which means it’ll fade over time. I took advantage of this and put the piece in the sun for a few days, then used water to fade out the lines around the right edge, and faded it in the sun some more. The lines where the ink wasn’t watered down faded far less, which should be interesting if the new owner keeps it in a sunny spot.
Cross Section, 5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Cross Section, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close up of the lower right corner with its sun-faded lines. Below, you can see the piece in a black frame, though I suspect it’d look nicer in a deep, warm brown.
Cross Section, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: for sale, pen and ink, watercolor
Death of a Comet
Wednesday, January 8th, 2014
Death of a Comet, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
This painting feels a little like a Rorschach blot to me — I look and see ephemera, fleeting beauty, something that will melt or shift or fade away. Frost on a dark window. Clouds lit up against a midnight sky. Or the comet ISON that it’s named for, breaking up in the blackness of space after flying, Icarus-like, too close to the sun.
What do you see?
Death of a Comet, 7″x5″ iridescent watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Death of a Comet, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the iridescent paint seems to float above the black paper. This paper is made by setting off a chemical process in the paper pulp rather than dying, so the color will stay a rich, soft black for years. Below, you can see it contrast with the shining paint in sunlight, blossoming in the simple frame.
Death of a Comet, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: black paper, iridescent, nfs, sold, watercolor
Shadow
Tuesday, January 7th, 2014
Shadow, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
This is really more of a zen spiral than a circle, but the softly broken brush strokes at the top make me think of a zen circle anyway. The pigments pooled and settled with the texture of the paper, giving it more detail than you would think for such a small, simple painting.
Everything about this painting is subtle, muted, desaturated. It makes me think of shadows on a cloudy day, softened by the lack of direct light but still there if you think to look.
Shadow, 5″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Shadow, detail, by Amy Crook
The photo above is tinged blue by the sun, but you can still see the textures of paper and paint, and how they interact to create layers of detail. Below, you can see it in a frame, hanging out with my cell phone for size.
Shadow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: for sale, watercolor, zen circle
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