Archive for the ‘Abstract and Just Plain Weird’ Category
A Shot Away From You
Monday, September 2nd, 2019
A Shot Away From You, 5″x7″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
The Avengers are a huge cultural phenomenon right now, and that first movie is one of my favorites. I decided to round out my original set of MCU abstracts by adding in the missing members of the OG crew. The title is from a Franz Ferdinand song, fittingly.
Hawkeye doesn’t get a lot of love in the movies, but his current comics run is pretty much amazing. Clint Barton is a genius with the bow, and a human disaster the rest of the time but somehow you can’t help but love him anyway.
The color scheme is based a little more on his comics run, but the bullseye is right on target for any version of Hawkeye.
After all, he never misses.
A Shot Away From You, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the swirling rings of violet highlighted by purple. Below, it’s sitting in a frame, waiting to go to its new home to live happily ever after.
A Shot Away From You, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, hawkeye, interference, japanese watercolor, mcu, mcu abstracts, nfs, sold, watercolor
Marvel
Tuesday, July 16th, 2019
Marvel, 8″x10″ watercolor on paper
After the success of Thirteen, a lovely patron suggested that Captain Marvel’s uniform might do well with the same treatment, and I couldn’t help but agree.
Dark red and navy blue hide under the soft pattering rain of brighter colors, giving depth to the fields of rich color. Bright metallic golds layer over softer burnt orange in a familiar pattern, a bit less abstract than the Doctor’s sweater but still with that feeling of calling up an idea as much as a character or film.
What do you marvel at, my darling readers?
Marvel, detail, by Amy Crook
Aboe, you can see the shimmering two-tone gold and the richly textured mix of watercolors. below, the painting is in a frame for the moment, waiting to fly to its new home.
Marvel, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: captain marvel, japanese watercolor, mcu, mcu abstracts, metallic, nfs, sold, watercolor
Concentric 6
Thursday, July 11th, 2019
Concentric 6, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper
Irresistibly textured dots adorn this odd Concentric abstract, the paint a strange beast that shimmers from deep red to metallic green in the light. Made to imitate the oil-slick colors of a scarab, the colors shift from dried blood to old bronze in a manner befitting the gloomy violet-grey fog it’s floating against.
The depths of the purple have their own little sparkle in the brightest sunlight from the amethyst ground up into it, because if one is going to go goth, one might as well go all the way.
Concentric 6, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the iridescent paint catch the light and even a hint of sparkle in the amethyst. Below, the painting is hiding in a frame, waiting for its chance to shine.
Concentric 6, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: concentric, duochrome, for sale, primatek, watercolor
Growth 12
Sunday, July 7th, 2019
Growth 12, 6″x6″ watercolor on paper
From tiny, dark seeds to translucent floating bubbles, the Growth here is easy to see. Whether it’s a planet sending life out into the void, or a tiny organism sending eggs into the ocean, there’s a feeling of possibility, of moving toward a hopeful future.
The zoisite paint — made from a lovely greenish-grey mineral — is the perfect minimal palette for earth and life. The granules clump like moss or algae when they’re allowed to float in water, adding chaotic texture to the very deliberate details sprouting up all around it.
Growth 12, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the subtle granulations and slowly growing and moving away from their fertile ground. Below, the frame puts boundaries on the growth but it appears to go on forever.
Growth 12, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: growth, nfs, primatek, sold, watercolor
Near and Far
Friday, July 5th, 2019
Near and Far, 7″x5″ watercolor on black paper
It’s been a month for revisiting old ideas in new ways, and this bit of Arches cover black paper just asked to be an abstract sky. The near stars bloom with nebula-like shapes, blue-hot centers limned in shining lilac. Or perhaps it’s snowflakes in someone’s too-bright halogen headlights, fat and fluffy in the near sky and smaller specks of light in the far. Night-blooming flowers might also seem to glow in the right light, petals moving in the wind and centers fragrant with nectar and dew.
Whatever you see in this painting, it’s floating through the darkness of the everyday to light up your imagination.
Near and Far, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the blue-hot center of each near ‘star’ just barely visible with its violet halo. Below, you can see it in its frame, like a window into another galaxy.
Near and Far, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, for sale, interference, stars, watercolor
Be Curious
Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019
Be Curious, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper
I’m always on the lookout for short, interesting quotes to add to an Aglow painting. Sometimes the quote comes first, and sometimes the painting happens and the words wander in later, after some thought and possibly googling.
In this case, the shifting blue glows of pixies or stars or will-o-the-wisps floating up through the painting brought me to a very simple thought: be curious.
The perfect sentiment for a painting that invites exploration, with its odd details, here-and-gone glow, and a shining message in pink-purple-blue at the edge of a whirlwind of blue.
Be Curious, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of iridescent paint on top of the soft, complex matte of natural mineral paint. Below, the painting sits in its frame, inviting one closer, inviting curiosity.
Be Curious, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: aglow, duochrome, interference, nfs, primatek, sold, watercolor
Adventure Awaits
Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019
Adventure Awaits, 6″x6″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper
It’s another map to imaginary lands!
This one’s both more complex and less abstract than its predecessors. There are rivers and lakes and a lovely big bay, mountains and forests and some mysterious hills, and a whole winding mess of roads and cities as well.
I’m not sure where this is, but it’s ripe for an adventure.
Where would you start your journey?
Adventure Awaits, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of a little town near a lake, and the roads going from river to lake to bay. Below, the map has been framed, a souvenir for a journey no one’s yet taken.
Adventure Awaits, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: map, nfs, pen and ink, primatek, sold, watercolor
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