Archive for the ‘Flowers, Trees and Landscapes’ Category
Brass Gates to Midnight 2
Saturday, October 5th, 2013
Brass Gates to Midnight 2 by Amy Crook
Last year I painted Brass Gates to Midnight, and posted it to the blog even though it never quite felt finished to me. I decided to pull out the old piece and rework it. I spent several hours with my brown and gold paint adding depth and weight to the gates, turning the spirals from insubstantial mist to thick vines frozen in a riot of growth. I added a sheen of starlight on the dark trees, and even gave the tiny fairy tucked in the gates a bit more detail and color.
The inner spaces of the gate remain black, blocking our sight to the lands we can see through the gap and over the top. Are you tempted to push them fully open and wander into the starlit places beyond?
Brass Gates to Midnight 2, 5″x5″ Japanese and iridescent watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Brass Gates to Midnight 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the little brown-and-green fairy hiding in among the brass curls of the gate. Is he luring you in, or warning you away? Perhaps it’s a bit of both.
Below, you can see the piece in a frame, like a window onto another set of possibilities.
Brass Gates to Midnight 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairy, for sale, iridescent, japanese watercolor, metallic, more cowbell, spiral, spirals, stars, watercolor
Red Sky Firefly
Friday, September 6th, 2013
Red Sky Firefly by Amy Crook
Strings of glowing fireflies flit in the distance through red-tinted dusk in this abstract piece. The night is slowly banishing the last hints of color, but for now the fireflies still eclipse the stars. There’s a dreamy, gorgeous feeling to this painting, with its metallic-bright firefly spots and softly textured ruddy end-of-sunset background.
Red Sky Firefly, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and metallic watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Red Sky Firefly, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the texture of paper and paint, and the soft glow of golden light that seems to float above the surface. Below, I’ve put the piece in a frame so you can imagine it like staring out a window into some fairy world where it’s always dusk, and sailors always delight in the red sky at night.
Red Sky Firefly, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, fireflies, for sale, gold, metallic watercolor, red, watercolor
Gliding Under the Canopy
Monday, August 5th, 2013
Gliding Under the Canopy by Amy Crook, $199
I’ve had this background of faint green leaves or feathers for a long time now, just waiting for the right image to go on top of it. I decided it needed a bird of prey to glide along under a sunlit canopy of leaves. The subtle textures of green in the background get somewhat lost in the glare of the scanner; this is definitely another piece that has a lot to offer in person.
I like the way there’s more space in front of the bird than behind, as if to suggest an endless forest of new green leaves just waiting ahead.
Gliding Under the Canopy, 6″x4″ watercolor crayon and watercolor on paper, $199 with free shipping.
Gliding Under the Canopy, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some more of the soft green texture that permeates the background. Below, I’ve got the piece tucked into a frame, where the green glows behind the golden brown bird.
Gliding Under the Canopy, framed art by Amy Crook
- Title: Gliding Under the Canopy
- 6 in. x 4 in. watercolor and watercolor crayon on Fluid watercolor paper
- $199 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
- Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
- Shipping is free anywhere in the world
- Payment plans are available, just email me
- The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: bird, brown, for sale, green, watercolor, watercolor crayons
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Lunch With a View
Saturday, July 27th, 2013
Lunch With a View, Doctor Who fan comic by Amy Crook
I rewatched “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” recently, and I just couldn’t resist the idea of drawing this peaceful moment with Rory’s Dad sitting on the edge of the TARDIS, suspended over Earth, eating his little packed lunch and looking content. He was kind of hard to draw without his very characteristic nose to help me out, but in the end I’m pretty happy with him. The stars are tiny painted dots of silver watercolor, which is the one thing I have that won’t absorb the black marker pigment and turn grey.
Lunch With a View, 5″x7″ pen & ink, Copic marker, and metallic watercolor on paper. On a whim, I also made him available as a blank card on Etsy.
Lunch With a View, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a silly little bottoms-up view of Mr. Williams’ feet dangling off the edge of the TARDIS and over the distant Earth. Below, you can see it in a frame, with my iPhone and my Sonic Screwdriver.
Lunch With a View, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, doctor who, for sale, pen and ink, stars, tardis, watercolor
Convergence
Thursday, July 25th, 2013
Convergence, watercolor by Amy Crook
There is a distinct feeling of motion to this piece in person, the sparkling salt stars coming in from above and below, the inky black sweeping on on the sides, all converging in the center of the page. I kind of wanted to add a TARDIS to the picture, but I couldn’t figure out the right place to put it that wouldn’t ruin the sense of forces converging in the vastness of space. You can just imagine it’s floating there in the center with its shields up, the invisible force drawing everything inward.
The salt-crystal “stars” are a bit lost to my scanner, but you can see them much better below, along with a slightly better sense of the colors, though the rich, deep royal purple is just not coming through on my monitor, alas. This is definitely a piece that’s better in real life.
Convergence, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor and salt on Arches cover white paper.
Convergence, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the texture of salt crystals studded over the paper, and the swirling nebulae of color they swim in. Below, the piece is in a frame, hanging out with my iPhone and looking awesome.
Convergence, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: for sale, japanese watercolor, salt, stars, watercolor
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday
Monday, July 15th, 2013
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, watercolor by Amy Crook
Another watercolor sky, this one dreamy and just a bit odd, with the stars out in full force and a strange planetary-atmosphere glow of color. This is one of those which my scanner just cannot get right, but the framed photo at the bottom gives a really nice sense of the colors involved.
I think of this as secret Doctor Who art, actually — I imagine him standing in the doorway of the TARDIS with his latest companion, pointing up at the stars and making a Peter Pan joke. To the very right you can see the edge of something, planet or satellite or moon, which is completely hidden when it’s in the frame, like a little secret between the artist and collector, or perhaps that’s where the Doctor means to take us after all.
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and silver watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the softly textured sky and bright, twinkling silver stars, and a bit of the fade from turquoise to blue to black. Below, you can see it in a frame, with a sonic screwdriver and much more accurate colors.
Straight On ‘Til Yesterday, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, for sale, japanese watercolor, sky, stars, watercolor
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Milky Way
Thursday, July 11th, 2013
Milky Way by Amy Crook
I painted a number of these dark backgrounds all together after Dark Matter came out so well, and this was another one that looked like a mysterious sky to me. Instead of space, though, there was a hint of earth down at the bottom, and so I enhanced the black ground and dusted the little figure with silver starlight so you could watch the Milky Way pass by with him.
Milky Way, 4″x6″ salt and Japanese watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Milky Way, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a little slice of the painting close up, with the textures of salt and paint and paper mixing to create the illusion of a field of twinkling stars. Below, you can see it in a frame, with what’s probably the most accurate color of all three images.
Milky Way, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: japanese watercolor, nfs, salt, sold, stars
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