Archive for the ‘Floating Gallery’ Category
New Growth
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014
New Growth by Amy Crook
Spring is creeping out into the US despite the weather, with daffodils here and brave buds there. Here in California we’ve got lots of flowers and new leaves, though there’s a yellow edge to some of them with the drought.
This painting echoes those delicate new leaves and water-drenched old growth, unfurling after a life-giving rain shower.
Art can symbolize something you want in life, and be a talisman for your own movement in that direction. Is there somewhere you could use a breath of spring and a burst of new growth?
New Growth, 7″5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
New Growth, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see how there’s a ghost of yellow even beyond the spray of new growth, like the mists of pollen floating on the page. Below, you can see the painting in a frame, washed bright in the spring sunshine.
New Growth, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, for sale, green, japanese watercolor, watercolor
The Silence
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
The Silence, a Doctor Who parody comic by Amy Crook
It’s really hard to make a creepy, mouthless monster adorable, but I think I’ve done a creditable job. The puppy eyes help. He’s trying to explain how he managed to forget your birthday, but you’ll forget he wished you “Happy Birthday” as soon as you look away, anyway.
The Silence, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. Get him on a card at Etsy.
Sorry I Forgot, Doctor Who greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, doctor who, etsy, for sale, pen and ink
One Plus One
Tuesday, March 18th, 2014
One Plus One, a Sherlock parody by Amy Crook
I love that Sesame Street puts some of their most awesome stuff on Youtube now, including this gem with Benedict Cumberbatch and the Count. I was inspired by the very cute ending with the Count saying, “Dat is 1 smart man, ah-ah!”
So, we have one of my favorite geek equations: 1+1<3 — where we have 1 smart man, 1 loyal man, and of course when you put them together, there’s the love. I even made it into a card for my Etsy shop.
One Plus One, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
One Plus One is Less Than Three, a Sherlock card by Amy Crook at Etsy
The original of this piece sold the very first day my patrons had their preview of March’s Floating Gallery. If you’d like to have your own chance to snag things early, or just feel like you’re extra special in my heart, you can join my list here.
Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, etsy, john watson, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold
Deepest R’lyeh
Saturday, March 8th, 2014
Deepest R’lyeh, abstract art by Amy Crook
“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn”
(“In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”)-HP Lovecraft
Strange, tentacled things grow in the depths, with the horrible spheres of the ancient city of R’lyeh shining dim and strange through the murky waters. Colors shift and change, and objects seem to flow into one another in ways that the mind can’t quite comprehend. What strange horrors lie just out of sight, waiting for the stars to be right?
Deepest R’lyeh, 5″x5″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Deepest R’lyeh, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of one of the strange, multicolored tentacle creatures. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, a window into a world of madness.
Deepest R’lyeh, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: duochrome, for sale, iridescent, more cowbell, watercolor
Night Blooming
Friday, March 7th, 2014
Night Blooming by Amy Crook
Three flowers shine under the midnight sky full of silver stars or, as one person suggested, floating fireflies. The flowers change colors depending on the angle, pink to purple for the thistle, gold to green for the amaranth and gold to a richer orange-gold for the little wildflower down at the bottom, with the greenery going softly blue like moonlit leaves at some angles.
Gorgeous and ethereal, this painting makes the flowers seem ghostly as the bloom out of their normal cycle, bright against the blackness of the paper.
Night Blooming, 7″x5″ duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Night Blooming, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the thistle from two angles, purple-blue as it catches the sunlight on the left, and pink and green on the right under more normal lighting. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, with a few more eternally blooming flowers from my bookshelf for company.
Night Blooming, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, duochrome, iridescent, nfs, sold, watercolor
Red Wedding Decoration
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
Red Wedding Decoration by Amy Crook
Some of the time when I’m working on abstract art, I’m just thinking about the visuals. Sometimes, like with this piece, I tell myself a little story while I’m working, so there’s this weird little mental narrative behind the art.
In this case, despite having never seen or read Game of Thrones, I’ve been made aware of the whole Red Wedding thing. When the garnet paint (made with real garnets!) looked so much like blood dripped onto the paper, it made me think of that show, which in turn gave me this idea of some poor scribe, tasked with turning the ruined parchment into a decoration. And he had better do a good job, since he obviously knows what happened to the last people that crossed Lord Frey.
Red Wedding Decoration, 7″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Red Wedding Decoration, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the painstakingly detailed filigree pattern radiating out from each splatter of paint. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, with the white circle emphasized by the way it intersects with the edge.
Red Wedding Decoration, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: filigree, for sale, game of thrones, red, spirals, watercolor
Dragonfly Trio
Wednesday, March 5th, 2014
Dragonfly Trio by Amy Crook
Three filigree-winged, iridescent dragonflies flit across the matte surface of this gorgeous blue-purple background. A deep pond edged with fuchsias, perhaps, or a midnight puddle lit by Chinese lanterns. Their bodies and wings are painted with a duochrome paint that catches the sunlight, changing color depending on the angle just like the real thing.
Dragonfly Trio, 6″x4″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Dragonfly Trio, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can get a hint of the way the dragonfly seems to float above the surface of the other paint when it properly catches the light. Below, it’s in a frame, reflected darkly back at itself in my phone.
Dragonfly Trio, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: blue, dragonfly, duochrome, iridescent, nfs, purple, sold, watercolor
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