Archive for the ‘Flowers, Trees and Landscapes’ Category
Jade City
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
Jade City, watercolor by Amy Crook
Every time I paint a new City, I think, this one is my favorite. It’s the inevitable consequence of hours spent filling in the tiny, monochrome details and fleshing out my imaginary worlds.
This gorgeous jade city is besieged by a magnificent purple rainstorm, the violet clouds hanging above in dark spirals while the rain streaks down the page. The patterns of the rain helped determine the shape of the city it fell upon; gaps in the runnels became the buildings in this layered, mysterious skyline.
Jade City, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Jade City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the tops of a few of the buildings besieged by the beautifully textured rainfall. Below, the city waits in its frame like a window onto another, stranger world.
Jade City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: city, japanese watercolor, nfs, primatek, sold, watercolor
Painted Ladies
Thursday, August 6th, 2015
Painted Ladies by Amy Crook
This is the summer of paintings that take months to complete! I started this last month with the off-kilter row houses all leaning together against a midnight sky. Then it sat around for weeks while I contemplated this sky or that sky, and finally I found clouds that match with the same whimsical, half-surreal feel as the townhouses below.
Perhaps this is where the London Addams clan lives, the houses joined up by tunnels and secret passages until it’s really one big, beautiful wall of weird. Instead of a swamp they have walled-up cellars that suspiciously moan. Instead of an unmarked, abandoned well, there’s a root cellar that doesn’t seem to stop going back and down into the deep earth.
Which of these painted ladies would you like to live in?
Painted Ladies, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Painted Ladies, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a the detail of the moon and a few of the lovely, strange roofs it’s shining down upon. Below, the painted ladies are in a frame, like a window to another, odder reality.
Painted Ladies, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, painted ladies, periwinkle, row houses, sold, stars, watercolor
Sky Scraped
Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
Sky Scraped by Amy Crook
The subtle blue-green-grey of the sky in this painting was remarkably hard to capture in any of the photos. I love the stormy roil of it, almost pre-tornado as even the clouds look like they’re pouring down to become part of the skyscraper.
There’s a sense of decay in the central image, whether it’s a building half-built and abandoned, or a burnt-out husk just waiting to fall down.
I love the mysterious figure hanging out on a lone girder, rain pounding down all around it.
Who are they, and why are they up there? What do you think?
Sky Scraped, 4″x8″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Sky Scraped, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the figure up close, mysterious cloak trailing below like the raggedy tail of some giant crow. Below, the painting rests in a temporary frame, waiting to find its place in the world.
Sky Scraped, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: city, nfs, pen and ink, ruins, sold, 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
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