Archive for the ‘Floating Gallery’ Category
Cuppa Sadness
Monday, July 6th, 2015
Cuppa Sadness by Amy Crook
More blue! Yes, it’s been a very blue month, which I didn’t do on purpose — several of these are holdovers from previous months that I started previously and finished recently. It just sort of worked out that way.
This newest cuppa is a soft, greyish blue on a heavy, watery sort of shape, with drops of water falling from above like tears.
Silver paint adds some shimmer to the sadness, in the tag and around the rim, including the droplet-like ends of each little blorp.
Really, the saddest part about this cuppa would be trying to drink your tea out of the weird shape. Oops.
Cuppa Sadness, 7″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper.
Cuppa Sadness, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of silver watercolor delicately gilding the edges of the cup and tag. Below, you can see the cup in a frame, ready to hold your sadness for you in its new home.
Cuppa Sadness, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: cuppa, metallic watercolor, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tea, watercolor
Orange Lily
Saturday, July 4th, 2015
Orange Lily by Amy Crook
It’s been a very blue month, so let’s celebrate today with some gorgeous orange!
I’ve been wanting to experiment with some more splash-y flowers, and I decided to brighten up this month’s palette with some orange, red, and gold.
The scanner flattened out a lot of the beautiful layering that you can see in the framed and detail photos (which means there won’t be any reprints, so if you want it, get it now!). There’s a cool pinkish red mixed in with the deep and bright oranges and the warm gold, which really gives the impression of peering into an opening flower.
The splash of green brings the image into focus, and the gold in the very middle makes beautiful stamen for this lovely lily.
Orange Lily, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Orange Lily, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the beautifully layered oranges, reds, and golds that make this lovely lily so exquisite. Below, it’s been planted in a frame, ready to brighten your home or office.
Orange Lily, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: flower, for sale, orange, watercolor
Fairytale Sky 10
Friday, July 3rd, 2015
Fairytale Sky 10 by Amy Crook
I haven’t added to this series in a while, but sometimes you just want to paint swirly clouds and a big, bright moon.
I was watching Mulan the other day, and I was inspired by the beautiful way the artists rendered smoke in that movie. I’m still wembling about what to do with the sky in another work in progress, so this little painting let me explore both ideas.
I think the result is lovely, don’t you?
Fairytale Sky 10, 6″x4″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 10, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the moon up close, its softly glowing face full of beautiful texture from the paper. Below, the piece has been put in a tiny frame, perfect to secret in a bookshelf, display on a desk, or add to an array of other art.
Fairytale Sky 10, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, for sale, japanese watercolor, moon, watercolor
I Hear the Rain
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015
I Hear the Rain by Amy Crook
I wembled about this painting a long time — this amazing, dramatic sky sat on my art table for weeks before I drew in the tree, and then weeks more while I waffled about what else it needed.
Finally, I gave in to my gothy heart and drew this gorgeous graveyard, the mysterious silhouettes blending beautifully with the descending torrent of rain.
The painting gets its title from the Violent Femmes song “I Hear the Rain,” which is about being buried in a shallow grave and hearing the rain pound on the earth above you. It seemed apropos.
I Hear the Rain, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
I Hear the Rain, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the gorgeously layered rain crashes down through the silhouetted graveyard. Below, the piece is in a temporary frame, just waiting to find a new home.
I Hear the Rain, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: blue, graveyard, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, rain, sold, tree, watercolor
Storm/City
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Storm/City by Amy Crook
A dark storm moves in the shadows of this loosely-painted city, sparkling with contained electricity.
J. Herbin’s lovely anniversary ink, Stormy Grey, gives some really gorgeous depth with its gold highlights and dark, layered greys.
I mostly stuck to more traditional city buildings this time around, brush and ink creating the suggestions of windows and towers against the pale page of the sky. I did include the Gherkin building from London, because it’s just really fun to paint. I put it in a lot of my cities!
Storm/City, 6″x4″ J. Herbin ink on Fluid watercolor paper.
Storm/City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the gold catching the light against the dark grey of stormclouds in the shadows. Below, the piece is tucked into a tiny frame, a tempest in a teapot.
Storm/City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: brush and ink, city, for sale, gold, j herbin ink, storm, zen
Vampire Bat
Saturday, June 6th, 2015
Vampire Bat by Amy Crook
Continuing in the same vein as Tuesday I have another minimalist brush painting, this time of a big-eared bat. With his swooping wings and giant ears, something about his face makes me think inevitably of Gary Oldman as aged Dracula. Clearly the costumer and I were working from similar inspiration.
I actually had to do this one twice, I dropped the brush onto the paper on the first go, which can be a happy accident in some things, but not this one. I’m actually happier with the second version anyway, so it all works out.
I just want to rub his fuzzy little belly!
Vampire Bat, 7″x5″ brush and ink on paper.
Vampire Bat, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see all the details in his adorable little face, including the glinting reflection in his eyes. Below, he’s resting in a frame, just waiting to fly over to you.
Vampire Bat, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: baaaaaaaats, bat, bronze, brush and ink, for sale
Two for Joy
Friday, June 5th, 2015
Two for Joy by Amy Crook
If this painting feels familiar, that’s because it’s a relative of last month’s One for Sorrow 2. The figure this time is more androgynous, and their clothing seems to be blowing against the prevailing winds that bend the trees to their will.
Just like its predecessor, this piece has a lot of soft, pale fog that gets lost when it’s reproduced, but adds a lot of rich texture to the original. You can see it in the trees in the detail photo, a delicate sweep of wind moving across the paper grain.
Two crows sit low on a branch in the lee of the wind, harbingers of some unnamed joy. Whose joy and about what is left up to the imagination of the viewer, or perhaps it belongs to the apparition staring blankly back out of the page.
Two for Joy, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Two for Joy, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the staticky figure staring back at you, his clothing seemingly blown by an opposing wind. Below, I’ve displayed the painting in a temporary frame, where it awaits its new home.
Two for Joy, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bloodstone, counting crows, crow, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
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