Archive for the ‘Flowers, Trees and Landscapes’ Category
Observance
Thursday, July 3rd, 2014
Observance by Amy Crook
I almost managed to get all the pieces for July’s Floating Gallery into the blog beforehand, but this one was finished just under the wire. I think this is the single most reworked salt painting I’ve ever done, using multiple applications of both water and very watery paint to give the appearance of scattered stars and nebulae in the sky above the observatory in the mountains below.
There’s a lot of sparkle in this painting, too, each little salt crystal catches the light at a slightly different angle, making the stars twinkle as the light moves over the surface.
Observance, 6″x6″ salt and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Observance, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the formations of salt and watercolor that catch the light, sparkling into strange shapes in the night sky. Below, the painting is temporarily tucked into a frame, full of subtle color and light despite the dark palette.
Observance, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: for sale, more cowbell, salt, stars, watercolor
Crows in the Gloaming
Friday, June 27th, 2014
Crows in the Gloaming, watercolor by Amy Crook
I’m deeply dissatisfied with Photoshop’s inability to show the soft, mysterious violets in this, instead turning it magenta and blue and every color but the ones you get in the real thing. The crows themselves are a dusky, matte black that really pops, the three phases of flight gliding past the clouds in the purple twilight.
I’m really happy with how these crows look, almost completely in silhouette with just a little bit of soft detail on the far wings of the outer two, with the one in the center a dark blot on the sky.
It probably says something about me that I like dark blots on the sky.
Crows in the Gloaming, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Crows in the Gloaming, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the upper left crow, with just a little granulated light shining off the feathers here and there. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, with the closest color to the real thing. But still not right, dammit.
Crows in the Gloaming, framed art by Amy Crook
Crows in the Gloaming will be available for purchase in July’s Floating Gallery. You can get a chance to snag it early if you’re on my list.
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, for sale, purple, watercolor
Distance
Friday, June 6th, 2014
Distance, art by Amy Crook
Two paintings of crows this month, what is this world coming to? Obviously, I’ve had my blinds open to watch the birds outside my window. Pod appreciates this very much, though he doesn’t seem to understand that he’d be very sad if he actually could try to leap and catch one.
This time the crow and branches are sketched in with pen and ink, while the sunlit mist and distant castle are watercolor. It reminds me of the opening scene of some fairytale, an establishing shot waiting for us to swoop over the dead, misty forests and up to one of the towers to see who’s hiding in the castle.
Distance, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Distance, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the crow and the mist-shrouded, distant castle, bracketed by dark, dead branches. Below, you can see the painting, sun-washed and petite next to my phone.
Distance, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, distance, nfs, pen and ink, sold, watercolor
Three Crows
Monday, June 2nd, 2014
Three Crows, watercolor by Amy Crook
Good things come in threes. One crow flapping, one crow diving, and the middle one gliding away on an updraft to avoid the swirling cloud. The sky has bright blue arching down and sunny yellow shining upward, but it’s the spiralling clouds in metallic silver that really make it beautiful. The silver paint shows up grey at some angles, shining white at others, and sometimes it blends right into the background so well it nearly vanishes.
Three Crows, 7″x5″ watercolor and metallic watercolor on paper.
Three Crows, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, a close-up of shimmering clouds and two of the three crows. I’m especially fond of the shape of the upper right cloud. Below, the piece in a frame, with my iPhone for scale.
Three Crows, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, metallic watercolor, nfs, sold, spirals, three crows, watercolor
Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom
Thursday, May 22nd, 2014
Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; a calligraphic triptych by Amy Crook
Three small words and a simple illustration of a plant going from seed to flower in three panels. A metaphor for creating. A reminder of what it takes to get the beauty of a flower.
Gestate. The tiny green curled in the heart of brown seed.
Uncurl. The plant braves the world, straightens up, spreads its leaves wide.
Blossom. The beauty that can’t exist while the plant is still safe in its seed.
Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom, a triptych of watercolor artworks on 4″x6″ Fluid watercolor paper.
Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; three details by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the three tiny watercolor illustrations up close: seed, curled-up sprout, and flower. Below, the trio in frames, lit by warm spring sunshine.
Gestate, Uncurl, Blossom; framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Words Words Words
Tags: calligraphy, for sale, triptych, watercolor
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Harbingers
Thursday, May 8th, 2014
Harbingers by Amy Crook
These crows are flying in ahead of the storm, lightning waiting silvery and shining in the dark clouds above, sunshine glowing off the white clouds in the foreground. They’re harbingers of the storm, bringing rain and darkness and sweeping change in behind them. Each crow is like a smudge on the horizon, that resolves itself into a flying bird when you look at it closely, black in the midst of the blue and violet of the sky.
Harbingers, 8″x4″ pen & ink, watercolor, and glitter gel pen on Fluid watercolor paper.
Harbingers by Amy Crook
Above, I’ve tilted the painting so that the glittering spirals catch the light, lightning limning the dark clouds. Below, you can see the painting in a temporary frame, a snippet of stormy sky like the smell of ozone on a hot day.
Harbingers by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: clouds, crow, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, spirals, watercolor
Blue Lilacs
Wednesday, May 7th, 2014
Blue Lilacs, abstract art by Amy Crook
If you sit in the shadows of lilac trees and look up at the sunny sky, the color can get washed away, turning the flowers into shadowy blues and purples, whiting out the edges of the leaves and making the sky seem like a bright, endless light. We had this row of lilac trees where I was growing up, and I had many adventures as a kid beneath them, imagining the tunnel between the rows as any number of fantastical places.
Blue Lilacs, 4″x6″ Primatek watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Blue Lilacs, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the subtle layering of desaturated blue and violet, framed by the brighter green with its sun-washed edges. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, like a tiny piece of summer you can have year-round.
Blue Lilacs, framed art by Amy Crook
Can you smell the lilacs?
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: flowers, nfs, sold, watercolor
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