Archive for the ‘Daily Art’ Category
Hibiscus Pink
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Hibiscus Pink by Amy Crook, $323
If a paper doesn’t have the right pH to change the hibiscus tea to blue, it dries a rich, saturated pink with just a hint of violet undertones. The color layers on much more solidly than the blue, soaking into the paper to make it look almost dyed.
This is also the paper that makes gorgeous little flower-like shapes with the salt, which turned out very pale with the assortment of ink colors I chose for the piece. There’s 21 of them, in 3 very similar shades.
It’s a bit of a difficult piece for me to judge because I’m not a fan of pink, but I do think it’s a successful one. The rich color of the tea really permeates the paper, while the inks colored the salt very delicately, giving a good contrast between them.
Hibiscus Pink, 5″x7″mixed media on watercolor paper, $323, framed, with free shipping.
This detail shot shows the subtle raised texture of the salt crystals on the paper, and the sparkle at the center of each salt “flower”.”
Hibiscus Pink, detail, by Amy Crook
When I was making the piece, I tried to make a sort of gradient, distributing the orange, red and pink circles. I always love the way the water droplets pick up the color and shine on the paper, a temporary moment of beauty in the process.
Hibiscus Pink, work in progress, by Amy Crook
The paper on this piece is a little big for a standard 5″x7″ frame, so I might change it out for a matted one if it sells, but here you can get an idea of how it looks framed.
Hibiscus Pink, framed, by Amy Crook, $323
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, pen and ink, salt, tea
2 Comments »
Midnight Blue
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
Midnight Blue, art by Amy Crook
This piece is a deliberate echo of last week’s intricate Cross the Sky, but both simpler and using the iconic blue and yellow color scheme from Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
The stars are monochromatic, first using spirals of orange-gold ink, and then a softer gold mixed to match. The moon is salt-free this time, inked in and then gently blurred with the gold watercolor to give it, too, a bright glow. The pure blue watercolor is bright and joyful, and it dried with a lovely texture in the denser areas. I thought about going in with some black to darken it up, but I like the cheery glow of the piece as is.
Midnight Blue, 7″x5″ pen & ink, salt and watercolor on paper.
The pure blue watercolor is bright and joyful, and it dried with a lovely texture in the denser areas. I thought about going in with some black to darken it up, but I like the cheery glow of the piece as is.
Midnight Blue, detail 1, by Amy Crook
You can see the gentle blurring of the moon below, and the line where a pool of pale gold paint dried.
Midnight Blue, detail 2, by Amy Crook
It looks quite nice in its frame, with the bright colors offset by the black wood.
Midnight Blue, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: for sale, moon, pen and ink, salt, stars, watercolor
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Weeble Voldemort
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Weeble Voldemort cartoon by Amy Crook
Yeah, I said his name. I’m not afraid of the Dark Lord, all things considered.
In honour of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, my friend Gretchen suggested I weeble Voldemort. This is an homage to a certain scene in the movie, but trust me, if you haven’t seen it, this won’t spoil it.
I even gave him a cute plushie Nagini to hang out by his feet with her patchwork spots.
Weeble Voldemort, 5.5″x8.5″ pen and ink and Copic markers on sketchbook paper, not for sale.
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, Harry Potter, nfs, pen and ink, weeble
Salted Squid 1
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
Salted Squid 1, art by Amy Crook
More of my experiments with making salt into Actual Things, we have a happy little squid! He’s got his feeder tentacles tucked away, but you can count all 8 arms waving cheerily at you from out of the blue. He’s surrounded by colorful coral, or maybe iridescent bubbles, made using salt that had acquired a coat of paint from other pieces and then been saved. The squid is faintly green, but there was a lot of him to spread out a little bit of watercolor pigment, so you’ll have to forgive his pale complexion.
Salted Squid 1, 5.5″x4.25″ pen & ink, watercolor, and salt on paper.
You can see below how the paper gained some fascinating texture in the places where the salt pools formed — that’s because sometimes the salt crystals form inside the paper instead of on top.
Salted Squid 1, detail, by Amy Crook
This cutie insisted to me that he doesn’t need a frame to be awesome, and I’m inclined to agree — the paper’s got a bit of a curve, and it tucks quite nicely onto a shelf. He enjoyed hanging out with my duckies so much, I’ve left him there for the moment. These days I make so much art that I keep swapping out what’s on display.
Salted Squid 1, in situ, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: for sale, pen and ink, salt, squid, tentacles, watercolor
1 Comment »
Hibiscus Blue 2
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Hibiscus Blue 2, art by Amy Crook, $444
This second installment in my Hibiscus Blue series is much simpler. I constrained myself to 13 ink spirals, which turned into 13 salt formations. The blue-black pen dyes the salt a very compatible color to the shade the hibiscus tea turns when painted onto this paper, so the whole painting has a very harmonious feel to it. The tea starts out a bright ruby-red, and then changes in color from anywhere to a soft lavender to a deep, rich blue, depending on the amount of tea on the page, among other things.
The whole painting gives the feeling of rain softly pattering onto a pool of blue water, as the concentric rings of color fade and interact between each set of circles.
Hibiscus Blue 2, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $444, framed, with free shipping.
Hibiscus Blue 2, framed art by Amy Crook, $444
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, hibiscus blue, pen and ink, salt
Batik Pattern
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
Batik pattern by Amy Crook
Busy busy busy! I’m on a deadline, so I haven’t had time to get something scanned for today.
This is a batik-like pattern I created that never got used — you can see it repeating on a page here. I used Illustrator to make the shapes and get it to repeat cleanly.
It’d make a pretty neat fabric, I suppose, not that there’s not a ton of things just like it out there already, heh.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: batik, green, illustrator, nfs, pattern
2 Comments »
Not My Squidhole!
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Not My Squidhole! by Amy Crook
Something a little silly for your tentacle Tuesday — squid meets monster. It’s not true love. Sad.
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
Tags: nfs, pen and ink, squid, tentacles
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