Archive for the ‘Flowers, Trees and Landscapes’ Category

Sunset Haze

Monday, July 8th, 2019

Sunset Haze, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper

It wouldn’t be me if there wasn’t some kind of horizons painting with a fading sunset, flying birds, and silhouetted trees.

I went for a different sort of tree this time, though I couldn’t tell you what kind, and some sea birds for variety as well. The sun is a red haze just vanishing below the horizon, ruddy against the warm buff color of the paper itself.

A tiny bit of exotic warmth for those days the AC is turned to 11 and one is missing the summers of old.

Sunset Haze, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some smudgy foliage and tiny birds against the buff-orange sunset sky. Below, the painting is in a frame, like a window into some other, more tropical reality.

Sunset Haze, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, horizons, orange, red, sunset, tree, 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

Floating Above the Ashes

Thursday, July 4th, 2019

Floating Above the Ashes, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper

Dark carrion birds float on the rising heat from burnt-out fires, ash and smoke and soot smudging what’s left of the city beneath.

The newest in my Ruins series, this painting has a sense that the birds are almost more real than the buildings, which have a ghostly quality to them. Orange glows through the grey of cinder and ash, painting even the few intact buildings with an unreal glow.

I guess if the world’s gonna be on fire, it’s nice if it’s pretty.

Floating Above the Ashes, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see my favorite building in this scene, and some of the black birds rising above on the warm air. Below, the painting is temporarily in a frame, waiting for a new space to occupy.

Floating Above the Ashes, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: for sale, horizions, orange, ruins, watercolor

Eight for a Wish

Thursday, May 16th, 2019

Eight for a Wish, 6″x6″ Primatek watercolor on paper

The Counting Crows series continues!

Although the original rhyme is about magpies, there’s only murders hanging about outside my windows, so crows are what you get.

Seven charming fellows are flying in, with an eighth ahead of them already swooping along, banked to skim close to the thick trunk of this twisting tree. The ghost this time is looking more annoyed than anything; perhaps it’s not a fan of birds.

Although one of my patrons has already claimed this for their collection, you can still admire its creepy fog, spooky tree, and the gentle motion of eight pairs of wings.

Eight for a Wish, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the ghost’s very grumpy expression and the soft flutter of many wings. Below, it’s haunting this frame before it flies off to its new home.

Eight for a Wish, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, 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: counting crows, crow, ghost, nfs, primatek, sold, tree, watercolor

Murder at Sunset 2

Wednesday, May 8th, 2019

Murder at Sunset 2, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper

It’s only a little murder — five crows swoop in almost like snapshots of a single bird, arcing down to make their home in the biggest of this grove of trees. The rich orange sunset behind them glows through a stack of fluffy clouds, lighting everything up in rich autumn colors.

Where would you nestle this tiny painting, to bring a bit of brightness into your daily life? It’s about the size of a postcard, perfect to tuck into a bookshelf, sit on busy desk, or decorate a stray bit of wall.

Murder at Sunset 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see three of the tiny crows making their way across the bright sky. Below, this tiny frame is holding a lot of detail for such a small artwork.

Murder at Sunset 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, horizons, murder of crows, nfs, orange, sold, sunset, watercolor

Morning After

Monday, May 6th, 2019

Morning After, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper

The sky holds the softness of spring, the delicacy of an Easter egg, the gentlest of sunrises. In front of these lovely colors, there are smoking ruins, the aftermath of some mystery calamity. Carrion birds wheel and turn on the thermals, looking for a choice meal among the destruction. The pall of smoke hanging over the burnt-out husks is no deterrent to the scavengers.

There’s a curious juxtaposition with the grey-green ruins backed by the seashell pink, baby-chick yellow, and robin’s egg blue of the sky.

Morning After, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the delicate, tiny brushstrokes that make up each hollow, destroyed building. Below, the carrion birds circle and swoop inside their temporary frame.

Morning After, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: for sale, horizons, ruins, watercolor

Bees 5

Friday, May 3rd, 2019

Bees 5, 7″x5″ acrylic ink on paper

Experimental bees! Acrylic ink is lightfast and dries waterproof, and these bees were the perfect test subject for a new medium.

The loose honeycomb make a gorgeous background for the painterly scribble of a busy hive of bees. They’re mostly concentrated in the corner where all the honey is, with the rest of the comb slowly floating off and away into the aether, adding a surrealist quality to the piece.

Bees 5, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see these cheerful little bees against the soft cream paper and golden hexes. Below, these fellows are buzzing around in their own frame, just like in a proper hive.