Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
Silver Moon
Monday, May 14th, 2012
Silver Moon, watercolor by Amy Crook
It’s been a while since I gave you a new moon for Monday, so I thought it was about time. I did the salt pools for this one in a variety of sizes, using the clear salt water I made so even the smallest droplet left some salt behind when it dried. I used some powdered silver watercolor I have on hand to create a lovely colorless sky this time, with halos around the biggest star and an outward-fading spiral for the moon.
The reason I talk about the process so much is that’s what I’m mostly thinking about as I work, trying to get the effect I want out of the materials I’m using. I thinned out the silver paint to a specific thickness for the outer two circles on the moon, wanting there to be a delineation between the moon itself and the light that shines from it the way there is with the stars. I went for one big spiral this time because it seemed to fit with the rest, even though the star field is more complicated than in some similar pieces.
I try not to overthink these decisions as I’m making them, because the pieces work best when they’re not too fussy, with swooping paint strokes and not-quite-random scatterings of salt.
Silver Moon, 6″x4″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Silver Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the light reflecting off the silver paint where it’s most opaque, as well as highlighting the smaller, un-haloed stars in the black. Below, the piece is framed and sitting next to my trusty iPhone for scale.
Silver Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, for sale, moon, salt, silver, watercolor
Squiggle Bookmark
Sunday, May 13th, 2012
Squiggle Bookmark by Amy Crook
And here we have the perfect bookmark for sketch Sunday, or, ridiculous squiggles like I used to draw on all my notes back in school (you know, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth). I used one of those incredibly silly gel pens with the ink that changes color, and you can see the variations in the color from a bright blue at the top through midnight and ending up a distinct violet shade.
I’m pretty sure I did this whole thing over the course of two conference calls, but yes, it took just as long as you think it did. While I find this sort of pattern makes for a good “fake embroidery” on collars and cuffs in drawings, I don’t think I’ll ever use it for anything quite this big again. Too much squiggling!
Squiggle Bookmark, 1.5″x8″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Squiggle Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the teeny tiny pattern up close and personal. Below, the bookmark is nestled with a book to show you that no, it’s not small, I’m just slightly mad, as is appropriate for an artist.
Squiggle Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, bookmark, nfs, pen and ink, sold, violet
Salt Bookmark 4
Friday, May 11th, 2012
Salt Bookmark 4
by Amy Crook
The second smallest bookmark for your Friday viewing, this one’s a little shorter but wide enough to win the by a nose on total surface area. (What? You knew I was a nerd.)
This one echoes the flaked-off salt textures in Blue Planet 4, but in miniature, with the smallest pools keeping all of their paint and only the larger four pulling away to show the iridescent green beneath. I gave this one a meticulous background of blue lines radiating outward without ever quite intersecting thanks to the stopping points I snuck in at the start.
Salt Bookmark 4, 1″x5″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Salt Bookmark 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the textures of salt and paint, ink and paper, and how they all interact on a tiny level (given that the bookmark is barely and inch wide). Below, it’s snuggled up with a book for size perspective, though I’m not sure I’d want to risk leaving blue powder in my books by actually using this one for reading.
Salt Bookmark 4, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, bookmark, nfs, pen and ink, salt, sold, watercolor
Salt Bookmark 3
Monday, May 7th, 2012
Salt Bookmark 3 by Amy Crook
As you’ve no doubt correctly surmised, it’s Bookmark Week again! I’ve sold almost all of the bookmarks from last time, and since May is Get Caught Reading month, I figured that the time was right for another week of tiny, inexpensive originals to tempt you.
This one and Friday’s were done sort of simultaneously, but since I started this one first it got to be number 3 in the series. I’m using the same mix of paint and salt water as I did for last week’s Blue Planets, but this time in dots and spirals instead. Then I crosshatched the background in a complementary green, which brought out the blue and gave the whole thing a nice visual texture.
Salt Bookmark 3, 2″x6″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Salt Bookmark 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the sparkle of salt, the shimmer of iridescent paint and the shine of glitter gel pen, offset by velvety black paper and opaque blue paint. Below, the bookmark rests on a book for scale, though I’m not honestly sure this one would do that well as a bookmark — I’ve found the blue paint doesn’t bind to the paper as well as one might hope when mixed with the salt. Chemistry at work, I suppose.
Salt Bookmark 3, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, bookmark, glitter gel pen, nfs, salt, sold, watercolor
Blue Planet 4
Friday, May 4th, 2012
Blue Planet 4, watercolor by Amy Crook
Here we are at the end of both our week and the series, and you can see now the interesting secret of this particular mix of paints. Rather than floating to the top edges, the iridescent green paint sinks to the bottom and then the ultramarine settles in on top of it in a rather unsteady marriage. The blue is denser in the middle because it settles there as the day goes on, not because the green is on top. With this paper more than the black, the iridescent paint prevented the salt from bonding to the paper itself so the crystals just formed on top, and a little bit of rubbing pulled away both the salt and the blue paint it was adhered to, leaving us with a fascinating crackled surface at the center.
Like all the salt pieces, this one’s the most interesting if you pick it up and play with it in the sunlight. The blue paint is really very matte and opaque, so the cracks where the green shines through are especially interesting.
Blue Planet 4, salt and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Blue Planet 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see all the rich, subtle variations in color, from the edge-in fade to the sharp crackles where the salt and paint flaked away in the center. Below, the piece is safely tucked into its frame, so the remaining salt, well, remains.
Blue Planet 4, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
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Blue Planet 2
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Blue Planet 2, watercolor by Amy Crook
Of all the Blue Planets, this one is a bit like the control in the group. I didn’t have the issues I did with the first one because I very sneakily put the paper on a small plate, so all its edges were raise and the big pool stayed pooled in the center. I didn’t make tentacles, or use a different paper (that’s tomorrow’s). It’s just a simple abstract idea of a blue-green planet floating serenely in the star-studded blackness.
I really like how each of the stars is its own tiny echo of the planet, with salt at the edges, then the green and finally blue in the center. The whole thing feels both familiar and alien at once, and the salt gives it a bit of twinkling light of its own, if only by reflection.
Blue Planet 2, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Blue Planet 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the big, square crystals that formed all through the planet’s surface, as well as the darker edge crystals and the soft transition from green to blue. Below, you can see it happily tucked into its frame and reflecting onto the shiny iPhone hanging out to show size.
Blue Planet 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
Blue Planet 3
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Blue Planet 3, watercolor by Amy Crook
I know this is only the second day of posting and the third piece in the series, but Tentacle Tuesday is a tradition by now! After I watched the first two Blue Planets form, I wondered if it would be possible to make the green at the edges slither tentacle-like toward the center.
It turns out it was, but they’re very subtle, so I ended up going in later to add the outer tentacles, making this one a color-inverse of Tentacle Planet with the blue-green planet and black paper. The iridescent tentacles inside the planet’s blue surface show more at certain angles, but the salt crystals on top obscure the images a little, making it more of a secret for those who pick up the frame and look closely.
Blue Planet 3, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Blue Planet 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can just see the subtle transition of a tentacle inside where it meets up with one of the outer tentacles. Below, the piece sits happily in its frame, just waiting to invade its new home… with tentacles, of course.
Blue Planet 3, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
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