Archive for the ‘Floating Gallery’ Category
Cuppa Exuberance
Saturday, April 4th, 2015
Cuppa Exuberance by Amy Crook
I love tea, and I love teacups in all their strange and varied glory. There’s a design for everyone out there, and I decided to take my hand at drawing a few.
The first in a series, this cheerful cup of spring is leaping in its exuberance for life. From sky blue to gentle green, the lovely purple of crocuses and the soft yellow bumblebee, this cup celebrates the changing of the seasons.
I hand-painted metallic gold over certain details, including the word “exuberance” on the teabag tag, just like a real china cup might have.
You can bring a sense of celebration into your life every day with this Cuppa Exuberance.
Cuppa Exuberance, 7″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper.
Cuppa Exuberance, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of golden paint on the lovely purple tea tag, and the soft grey ink I used to for the linework on this pastel cuppa. Below, you can see it tucked into a frame, its enthusiasm gently contained.
Cuppa Exuberance, framed at by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: cuppa, metallic watercolor, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tea, watercolor
Loom
Friday, April 3rd, 2015
Loom, abstract art by Amy Crook
Light shines through the dark columns, but something dark looms among them, here and there a shape, almost a whole shape, eerie and mysterious and growing ever closer.
Or, there is warp on the loom, fuzzed and soft and waiting for its weft, waiting to be woven into something more.
Or, the dusk outside makes strange shapes of the rain running down the window, spattered into dark drops that refract and reflect the word behind them.
Whether you love this as a window into darkness or light, this beautiful abstract watercolor – the latest in my Pathways series – will add a rich shot of purple and creamy white to anywhere you choose to hang it. The larger size allows for more detail, more tiny subtle changes in colour and texture that will draw the eye and give you something new to find among the lines for years to come.
Loom, 12″x9″ watercolor on Strathmore watercolor paper.
Loom, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the paint granulated and separated, adding subtle variations in color and texture. Below, although I haven’t actually got a frame this big (oops!), you can see the painting with my (old) glasses for size.
Loom, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, purple, watercolor
The Sun Has Fallen for the Moon
Thursday, April 2nd, 2015
The Sun Has Fallen for the Moon by Amy Crook
This painting is inspired by a line in a Teddy Geiger song, “The sun had fallen for the moon.” I brought it into the present tense to go with the sun’s adoring eyes, and the moon’s sweet blush. The sky is quite pale, the very end of sunset on a day without too many clouds, night just starting to lower its curtain and snuff out the glow of day.
The wobbly white brush calligraphy along the dark horizon adds to the sweetness of the scene, making it feel even more like a fairy tale. The sense of magic and romance fits well with the soft colors of the sky, blues and purples, oranges and golds.
Bring this little start of a story into your life, and spend as long as you like figuring out how their tale ends. The sun has fallen for the moon… but what happens next?
The Sun Has Fallen for the Moon, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
The Sun Has Fallen for the Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the moon’s shining face, her soft features and the most delicate of blue blushes on her round cheeks. Below, the piece is in a temporary frame, but I think would look best with a custom mat to set off the colors.
The Sun Has Fallen for the Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: moon, nfs, sold, sunset, watercolor
Glass Fish
Thursday, March 5th, 2015
Glass Fish by Amy Crook
This translucent fishy is swimming in a lovely blue-green bowl, fins fanned out like tattered silk. There’s just a hint of scales along his body, and his big black eyes and grumpy mouth make him adorable as well as elegant.
His body is a rich, bright orange with hints of red and gold, but you can see the water through the transparent paint.
He’s a bit like a painting of a glass sculpture of a fish. Very meta.
Glass Fish, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper.
Glass Fish, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the elegant sweep of his transparent tail. Below, he’s nestled in a frame, swimming happily in the tiny space. Unlike real fish, paintings don’t need big tanks.
Glass Fish, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: goldfish, nfs, orange, sold, watercolor
Smoke 2
Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
Smoke 2, abstract art by Amy Crook
An obvious sequel to the painting above, Smoke 2 has more variation in both line and colour. I used a different paint, one that’s a mix of greens, and varied the technique as well.
Where the first painting is full of roiling clouds, this smoke drifts up in lazy lines. It reminds me more of an altar with thin sticks of incense burning at different rates, each one sending up its own cloud of colour and scent.
I don’t smoke myself*, but I always did love incense and candles, and the different strange shapes that occur when two insubstantial elements interact, air and smoke dancing together to create something ephemeral and beautiful.
*no, not that, either
Smoke 2, 4″x6″ watercolor on paper.
Smoke 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the variation in colour from blue-green to forest green to olive, dissolving in wisps that are just barely visible on the thick, creamy paper. Below, the piece is in a frame, small and unassuming, but perfect to bring a little beauty and peace into an otherwise drab space.
Smoke 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, green, smoke, watercolor
Smoke 1
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
Smoke 1, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
Thick black smoke dissipates into fanciful curls and clouds, diffused by the draughts of invisible air.
This abstract painting is an exploration of subtle detail, a mix of the deliberate and random. The paint is blue-black, and little hints of blue show up here and there among the shades of grey.
As peaceful as watching incense burn, this frozen moment won’t make anyone sneeze or set off the fire alarm. It would make a wonderful meditation focus, each tiny facet a point of consideration.
Smoke 1, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper.
Smoke 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the drifts and swirls up close, showing variations in the grey from blue to violet. Below, you can see the smoke trapped in a frame, forever frozen to the eye.
Smoke 1, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, smoke, watercolor
You’re Not Planning to Wear This, Are You?
Monday, March 2nd, 2015
You’re Not Planning to Wear This, Are You? by Amy Crook
This dark-eyed beauty is just making sure that you weren’t going to actually try to wear the garment she’s laying on. Or, if you were, that it has the requisite quantity of cat hair on it.
This loose watercolor captures the regal essence of a cat determined to be queen of the world without regard for what the staff thinks. The soft tortoiseshell coloring contrasts beautifully with the turquoise garment, and there’s a touch of pale blue in the background that’s hard to see in reproductions.
You’re Not Planning to Wear This, Are You?, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
You’re Not Planning to Wear This, Are You?, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the loose brushstrokes and intense, black-lined green eyes of this gorgeous creature. Below, she’s chilling in a frame, pleased to be displayed as she deserves.
You’re Not Planning to Wear This, Are You?, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: cat, for sale, watercolor
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