Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
Untitled Experiment 1
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Untitled Experiment 1 by Amy Crook
I painted this a few years back when I was experimenting with a lot of different styles. In this one there’s a lot of visual texture, as well as a bit of gloss in the periwinkle rectangle from the painting medium that also gave it its transparency. People have asked me what it’s supposed to be or mean, and I have to admit that I just liked the way it looks. I like that something as simple as four overlapping rectangles gets a lot of complexity from little brush strokes, variations in color and opacity and even the softness of the edges.
This piece isn’t edge-finished yet, but I plan to paint over the white edges & staples with black so it could be hung without a frame. Well, I hang it without a frame anyway, but I’m special like that.
Untitled Experiment 1, 18″x24″ oil on canvas.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, gold, green, lilac, oil painting
Darklight
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Darklight by Amy Crook
This is an old piece that’s gone through a number of permutations. This version feels very much like a cave to me, with light coming in from above, and textured stalagmites growing up from the bottom to meet with the stalactites reaching down from the top. The painting is as much textural as visual, with very little of the canvas peeking through all the thick paint.
The edges have been painted black, so it’s ready to hang without a frame.
Darklight, 18″x24″ oil & gesso on canvas.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird
Tags: for sale, grey, oil painting, texture
Key to My Heart
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Key to My Heart, detail, by Amy Crook
It’s been a long time since I had a chance to cast in bronze, but I still have a few pieces left. In this one, a small, abstracted figure stands on a strange landscape of texture and shape, with a small keyhole in the center of his chest.
The entire sculpture is actually quite small — the figure is a bare 2″ tall, and his unusual landscape is 5″x7″ at its widest points, and 3″ tall where it curls up behind him.
Key to My Heart by Amy Crook
Key to My Heart by Amy Crook
I left on most of the random textures created by the casting process, and in fact the cavity from which the piece gets its name was created by the shrinking of metal away from the sprue at the point of contact. The hollow made such a perfect keyhole shape that I decided to keep it rather than filling it in.
Key to My Heart by Amy Crook
Key to My Heart by Amy Crook
The colors were created with a combination of chemical patina that was heated with a blow torch until it bonded with the metal, and the passage of time and the oils from being held by human hands. It will continue to evolve as the piece is exposed to handling and the environment, the browns growing richer and the patterns changing subtly.
Key to My Heart, 3″x5″x7″ cast bronze.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: bronze, for sale, key, sculpture
Precious
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Precious by Amy Crook
Hidden in the abstract red-orange background is the faint outline of a woman looking at her cupped hands. She’s curled around whatever it is she’s holding, the precious object that gives the painting its title. The painting itself is a rich blend of reds and oranges with a loosely painted ochre ‘frame’.
I painted this many years ago, and it’s currently residing above the antique desk in my bedroom. I decided to list it now because the sentiment fit with the holiday season for me, and I feel ready to let it go to a new home.
Precious, 18″x24″, oil on canvas.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: nfs, red, sold
Handle With Care
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Handle With Care by Amy Crook
I did a lot of experimenting in my bronze casting days, some of which was more successful than others. Most of the failed experiments got reclaimed and melted down into new art, and these were one that I was just never quite sure about. They’ve grown on me over the years as they’ve acquired a softer texture with age and handling, and now I’m quite fond of them.
The original idea behind them was to make something that, while visually interesting, was best viewed with the hands. The experience of handing the heavy bronze objects, feeling their fingertip-size curves and interesting little deviations is entirely different from just viewing them, and one that’s hard to convey over the internet. They start out cold but warm to the touch, their surfaces hover on the border of smooth and rough — the ones with the turquoise patina seem almost enameled, while the plain bronze ones are softer almost like a raw silk. The smaller ones make interesting worry stones, while the larger ones are heavy enough to demand your full attention.
I created two different models in clay and made molds, then created these six pieces from them — you can see the similarities among the three moon-shaped curls, and then the largest one also has two smaller cousins taking different halves of itself. When finishing them, I tried to enhance any imperfections from casting, smoothing and enlarging them so that they added textural interest without any unpleasantly pointy surprises.
I keep them in this little pot from my distant past, with just the biggest one peeking out the top to intrigue people. I especially like the little hollow loop at the tip of #2 below, which is the right piece in the second row above.
Handle With Care, 6 pieces in bronze, various sizes from 2.5″ in diameter to 2.5″x1.5″, weighing 11 oz to 28 oz apiece.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: art for the blind, bronze, for sale
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
