Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
Blue Planet 1
Monday, April 30th, 2012
Blue Planet 1, watercolor by Amy Crook
This week I’m posting a series of 4 similar paintings, though slightly out of order out of respect for Tentacle Tuesday. I was revisiting some of my more scifi-themed work to decide what if anything I wanted to put in the art show at BayCon this year, and I decided that it had been too long since I painted one of my planets. I added some iridescent green paint in with my remaining mixture of salt and French Ultramarine and got to work.
I’ve numbered them in the order they were painted, this one first. As you can see, the salt crystals are tiny and fine, and the shape runs off the edge of the paper, which is totally what the salt water did. I think it looks a bit like a comet, or some shadowy binary planet, floating in space.
Blue Planet 1, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on Arches cover black paper.
Blue Planet 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the tiny sparkle of salt crystals, the subtle shimmer of the green paint and the sheen of opaque, matte blue that rests between the two. The paint and salt settle out on their own, once I apply the solution and some patience, giving me something unique each time. Below, of course, is the painting tucked into its frame, hanging out with my iPhone for size reference.
Blue Planet 1, 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
Nebula 2
Monday, April 23rd, 2012
Nebula 2, abstract art by Amy Crook, $333
This piece really reminds me of a special effect on some old scifi show, a slice of space showing through the opaque curtain of some foggy white nebula. The salt sparkles on the dark blue background, and the iridescent green peeks through in the lighter patches to give it an otherworldly feel.
Nebula 2, 7″x5″ salt and watercolor on paper, $333 framed, with free shipping.
Nebula 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can really see the way the interference green peeks through the salt, only to be subsumed by the midnight blue in the deeper part of the salt pool. Below, you can see it safely tucked into a frame and ready to come live with you.
Nebula 2, framed art by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, interference, salt, watercolor
Spiral Lakes
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Spiral Lakes, abstract art by Amy Crook, $269
This piece is like the inverse of Spiral Islands, with the rich French Ultramarine mixed straight into the salt-saturated solution. To me it looks like a series of thermal lakes that have burst and melted through a thick layer of ice, crusted around the edges and looking down into the deep blue of the ocean, with little floes of ice still floating, sparkling on the surface.
I admit I considered painting in the white the way I did with Islands, but this arctic image came to me so I let well enough alone this time.
Spiral Lakes, 5″x7″ salt and watercolor on paper, $269 framed, with free shipping.
Spiral Lakes, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of one of the spirals. I really like the way the paint pulls away from the edges of the pool so the color is richer in the middle and fades toward the salt crystals. Below, you can see the lakes in their frame, which you could tuck into a bookshelf or decorate a wall somewhere with a bit of gorgeous blue and unexpected sparkle.
Spiral Lakes, framed art by Amy Crook, $269
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, for sale, salt, watercolor
Green Sketch
Sunday, April 8th, 2012
Green Sketch by Amy Crook
Three shades of green pen and three of my favorite types of line work on a little page in my new sketchbook. I like the way the dark crosshatching fades to white, I’m going to have to use that in something, probably tentacles.
Happy Easter!
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: green, nfs, pen and ink, sketch
Spiral Splash
Friday, April 6th, 2012
Spiral Splash, abstract art by Amy Crook, $299
This is another of those pieces that looks different from every angle. From the three dimensional salt to to the iridescent paint, it catches the light and the eye differently depending on how you look at it.
In this case I painted in the swishy, splashy gold spirals, and then added the blue-infused salt water in a bit of controlled chaos. Then I repeated the experiment with blue spirals, so some of the shapes are rimed in cold blue while others are edged in gilt.
Spiral Splash, watercolor and salt on paper, $299 framed, with free shipping.
Spiral Splash, detail 1, by Amy Crook
You can really see the difference in the blue and gold paints in the shot above, with the cold, grainy blue making the left side look like it’s frosted over, while the shining gold on the left adds a rich warmth to the shape on the right. Below, I took a photo of the whole thing from the top down. I especially like the progression of color in the shape in the lower right, the way you can really see that the blue paint settled into the center of each shape while the gold floated to the edges.
Spiral Splash, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: black paper, blue, for sale, gold, iridescent, salt, watercolor
Spiral Islands
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Spiral Islands by Amy Crook
This is actually the first piece I started with my salt-saturated solution, before adding the blue paint to the bottle. I was experimenting with the delivery, which is much less precise, trying to make spirals to go with the messy scribbled-pen spirals already on the page. You can see where they intersected, the salt water picked up the brown pigment from the black ink and left the rest behind, giving those pools an orange cast.
After I painted in the blue-black background, the whole thing reminded me of a cluster of islands in some turbulent ocean. I especially like how some of the salt spirals are nearly intact, while others are barely a suggestion of broken lines.
Spiral Islands, mixed media on paper.
Spiral Islands, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of just one of the salt spirals and how it intersects with the ink spiral beneath it. The two separate pools got different amounts of ink infused into them, so the lower one is visibly orange while the upper curl is barely off white.
Below, I’ve taken a shot of the lay of the land, as it were, and this shining, mysterious little archipelago makes a great computer wallpaper.
Spiral Islands, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Once it’s safely tucked into its frame, it feels even more map-like to me. Here there be dragons, I guess?
Spiral Islands, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: black, blue, for sale, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
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Blue Moon 2
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
Blue Moon 2, abstract art by Amy Crook
Even though this piece shares a name and some materials with my first Blue Moon, that’s about all they have in common. The blues in this are all muted except for the vivid French Ultramarine moon itself, and even the little halos of iridescent paint became quite subtle painted wet-in-wet.
I made the 7 stars the usual way with paint and salt and water, but the moon was part of my newest experiment where I put paint into some water I had already saturated with as much salt as I could boil into it. Pretty much all of this week’s art was made with this technique, for some fascinating results. Sparkly ones!
Blue Moon 2, 5″x5.25″ salt and watercolor on watercolor paper.
Blue Moon 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook
You can see little particles of the iridescent paint around the borders of the halo, and I thought the shot of the moon itself came out so well I made a wallpaper for you. Yes, you.
Below, you can see the lightning-like formations around the edges of some of the pools, and the way I brushed the outer rim of the salt pools with the blue-black paint, which sinks into the crevices and gives it deep shadows.
Blue Moon 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Since this one isn’t quite square, I haven’t framed it yet, but it’ll get its lovely black frame before it goes to live in its new home.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books
Tags: black, blue, blue moon, for sale, moon, salt, watercolor
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