Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category
Storm Crows
Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
Storm Crows, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper
The abstract blue-green sky of this painting is so rich and dark, all it needed was some birds fading in and out of the roil of storm clouds. The crows are highlighted with a touch of purple that only shows up at certain angles, just enough that you’ll never entirely lose track of them.
This isn’t an easy one to photograph, and will reward the brave soul who takes it into their home and makes it their own.
Storm Crows, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the purple sheen on the crow’s wings against the dull roil of blue-black clouds. Below, the painting is resting in a frame, waiting to be taken on the winds to its final destination.
Storm Crows, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, duochrome, nfs, primatek, sky, sold, watercolor
Where Lightning Once Was
Thursday, March 12th, 2020
Where Lightning Once Was, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper
Another richly-colored sunset, this one is a smooth wash of red and orange with only the early moon to break it up.
The tree is spiky and strange, not quite a silhouette and filled with surprise sparkle in the depths of the trunk. Perhaps it’s all that’s left of the thorns that once caged in Sleeping Beauty, before the lightning and the prince both. In A purple-tinged raven is coming in for a landing in the open space amidst the destruction, finding room to accommodate its wingspan there.
There’s something a little vicious and rough about both the tree and the bird; they’re clearly made for each other.
Where Lightning Once Was, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see this mantled raven, its eye a baleful glint out of its dark feathers. Below, the painting is framed, though it will soon make its way to another frame, another home.
Where Lightning Once Was, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, moon, nfs, primatek, raven, sold, sunset, tree, watercolor
Both Alike in Dignity
Sunday, March 8th, 2020
Both Alike in Dignity, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper
Two birds, both alike in dignity…
This is one of those “more cowbell” pieces that used to be something else, and now is something better. It’s the same storm as above, perhaps, but lower to the ground, closer to home. Leaves and the first drops of rain are suspended in the moment, with the carefree crow below while the dove above is already safe in its nest.
Which one are you, the one out playing in the rain, or the enjoying the weather from home where it’s warm and dry?
Both Alike in Dignity, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the crow silhouetted against the stormy sky, determined to get home despite the winds and clouds. Below, the painting is framed and waiting to find shelter in its new home.
Both Alike in Dignity, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: bird, crow, more cowbell, nfs, primatek, sold, tree, watercolor
Three Crows 2
Friday, March 6th, 2020
Three Crows 2, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper
Sometimes original, amazing titles come to me, and sometimes you get Three Crows 2.
The art that goes with the uninspired title, however, has a gorgeous sky full of hidden shimmer in the sunset-painted clouds. The tree twists out into the middle ground with gorgeously shaded branches, and the three crows have just enough spook and shimmer to them to stand out beautifully against both. Their eyes are painted with a dot of one of my favorite weird paints that shimmers from red to green like a scarab.
Where do you need a little bit of spookiness in your spring?
Three Crows 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see two of the crows flying past the shimmering clouds, their eyes reflecting unknown secrets. Below, this deceptively small painting is waiting in its frame to be whisked away to a new environment, with new secrets to be learned.
Three Crows 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, duochrome, for sale, primatek, sunset, tree, watercolor
Sky Shenanigans
Wednesday, March 4th, 2020
Sky Shenanigans, 5″x5″ acrylic, inkjet ink, and metallic pigment dust on metallic photo paper
The last of three remixes of Stirring up the Sky has already been claimed.
It’s got a mix of soft-body acrylic on top of the metallic print, which adds texture and changes the whole feel of the piece. There’s some silver pigment dusted on top, and once that was dry, a second layer of the acrylic made it onto the bird, giving it the same sort of 3D textural treatment.
These are all terrible to photograph, between the shiny paper, strange paints, and blue-spectrum colors that never quite turn out right on screen. Still, as a set they were a fun use of what would otherwise have been wasted materials and effort.
Sky Shenanigans, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the soft body acrylic creates physical texture on the smooth page. Below, the painting is visiting a little frame as it waits to fly to its new home.
Sky Shenanigans, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: altered skies, crow, metallic paper, metallic pigment powder, moon, more cowbell, nfs, soft body acrylic, sold
Sharpie Sky
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
Sharpie Sky, 6″x4″ inkjet ink, sharpie ink, and watercolor on metallic photo paper
In the second installment of my misprint redux, I used a big fat Sharpie to darken the sky to black like my heart. There’s a soft brushing of iridescent watercolor over the whole sky, with twinkling stars of the same blue-green to add light to the deep black.
The bird got its own treatment, scribbled shadows to deepen its silhouette, make it more solid and less of a ghost. The whole effect is quite striking, much more dramatic than its predecessor, especially when the light hits it so the ink turns matte while the moon shines.
Is this the one that needs to fly home to you?
Sharpie Sky, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the dark scribbles bringing the bird more fully into the foreground. Below, a simple black frame holds this magical sky like a window into another world.
Sharpie Sky, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: altered skies, crow, for sale, iridescent, metallic paper, moon, more cowbell, sharpie marker, watercolor
Midnight Blue Sky
Monday, March 2nd, 2020
Midnight Blue Sky, 5″x5″ inkjet and watercolor on metallic photo paper
Thanks to weird color results and other misprint issues, these prints won’t be making it into my Etsy shop. Instead, I gave away the best ones and used the remaining three for experimentation!
This one uses metallic blue and copper watercolor to change the sky to a swirling vortex, to turn the stars into an eerie presence, and make the crow’s eye shine balefully out at the viewer.
For anyone who likes corvids and shiny things, this is a great little remix of one of my best recent works.
Midnight Blue Sky, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the copper shine of this crow’s altered eye. Below, it’s framed and waiting for the right home to fly to.
Midnight Blue Sky, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: altered skies, crow, for sale, iridescent, metallic paper, moon, more cowbell, watercolor
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