Archive for the ‘Flowers, Trees and Landscapes’ Category
Water Lilies 2
Monday, May 9th, 2011
Water Lilies 2 by Amy Crook
This is currently sitting in a frame on my bookshelf next to Water Lilies 1, and the two of them catch the morning sun beautifully. The salt “flowers” have a soft sparkle to them that really draws the eye to their three-dimensional shapes. I especially like the way the electric blue spirals dissolve into a soft but very clear cyan that tints the salt crystals.
The nerd in me also likes that the lily pads came out with a very Pac-Man
Water Lilies 2, 7″x5″ watercolor and salt on watercolor paper, $199 framed with free shipping.
Water Lilies 1 & Water Lilies 2, framed, by Amy Crook
Water Lilies 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Water Lilies 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, framed, salt, watercolor
Water Lilies 1
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Water Lilies 1, watercolor by Amy Crook
This whole piece was an experiment, but I’m really happy with the results. The electric blue ink of the pen I used originally dissolved completely in the drops of water that beaded up on the paper, and the rocks of salt I put in the center of each little spiral did as well. Then the water took a full day to dry, the salt crystallizing back out onto the paper to form the three-dimensional baby blue “flowers.” I went in afterward and painted in the lily pads around each flower, letting the paint smudge and dissolve a bit of the salt, giving the whole thing an impressionist, watery feeling.
I liked it so much I’ve framed it to put on my bookshelf, and started another, similar piece with more color.
Water Lilies 1, 7″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and salt on watercolor paper.
Water Lilies 1, progress 1, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the water beaded up, the blue ink swirling up into the drops, and the salt crystal hiding in the middle of each. Below, the result a day later, when the water had completely evaporated, leaving salt and ink in a new configuration.
Water Lilies 1, progress 2, by Amy Crook
Water Lilies 1, progress 3, by Amy Crook
Above you can see how the paper is gently warped, and the salt crystals rise up above it in robin’s egg blue and rich, watery green. Below, a shot of the piece in its frame, all ready to be hung on the wall, put on a bookshelf, or to decorate your desk.
Water Lilies 1, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
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Seascape
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Seascape by Amy Crook
This painting has an interesting history. I first painted it many years ago at the urging of an internet friend, and had originally intended to put a mermaid on the rough stones. I wanted to show the waves splashing up against the rocks and give a real impression of spray catching the moonlight, cool and refreshing with just a hint of mystery. Once it dried, I found I liked it just the way it was, and even the friend agreed that it was better like this — though I did do some photoshopping to add in her mermaid for a desktop background.
Cue the passage of many years hanging on my walls in the sun, and we have some distressing fading. I know which color is to blame now, but back in the day I loved the shade so much I didn’t worry enough about lightfastness. Oops!
I finally took the time and effort to use a more lightfast color to repair the sea and sky. You can see below a shot where the upper left has been fixed, and the lower right is waiting for its new infusion of color.
The shot above was taken before it had a chance to dry, so there’s a little glare, but the rich midnight blue sky has been renewed, and it’s ready to be re-hung.
Seascape, 18″x24″, oil on canvas.
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: blue, for sale, moon, oil painting, sea
2011 Starcycles Calendar Cover
Thursday, December 9th, 2010
2011 Starcycles Calendar, cover by Amy Crook
Way back in 1999, Georgia Stathis first approached me to take over the design on her then-print astrology dayplanner-style calendar. We’ve skipped a few years here and there, but this year I painted several images in watercolor and then put them together with Photoshop to create this dreamy image for Year of the Rabbit. Georgia’s 2011 Calendar is available as a pdf download, or she’ll print and bind them for an additional charge. You could even print your own and have it hole-punched to fit in a Dayplanner, if you wanted.
I’m just starting to get a feel for using watercolors, so this was a great excuse for me to get them out and experiment, knowing I could fix any issues in Photoshop later. My favorite part is the subtle “rabbit in the moon” version of the moon’s shadows popular in Chinese mythology.
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: nfs, rabbit, starcycles, watercolor
Goth Christmas Tree
Monday, November 15th, 2010
Goth Christmas Tree by Amy Crook
It’s that time of year, and I’ve been working on holiday card designs. In addition to my usual stock of Lovecraftian horrors, I decided to do a cheerfully morbid Christmas tree. Skulls adorn the branches and it’s topped with an eye-tipped vine. There’s a bloodstained package among the gifts under the tree, and the curly, swirly, tentacle-ish branches are reaching down to help distribute them.
You can pick up some of these cards for your own holidays at Etsy, or buy the original below.
Goth Christmas Tree, 5″x7″ pen and ink on watercolor paper.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: christmas, for sale, holiday card, pen and ink
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Bronze Roses
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
3 Bronze Roses, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I made these roses using the lost wax casting method; each one started life as a dried long-stemmed rose, which I dipped in wax and made ready for casting. The process only worked about 25% of the time, because of the long thin stem the metal had to travel to get to the solid flower, and the leaves almost never cast.
I left the bits of flash and other imperfections on them as part of their character, the human element intervening in nature long enough to create these haunting pieces. The element of randomness is one I enjoy exploring in my art, and you can really see how it gave these roses a new life.
They get their color from a chemical patina, another process involving water and fire that has slowly evolved over time thanks to exposure to the air and handling.
I’ve sold all of the half dozen or so that I originally made, but maybe someday I’ll be in a position to create more.
3 Bronze Roses by Amy Crook
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bronze, nfs, rose, sold
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