Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category
Harvest Moon 6
Tuesday, August 14th, 2018
Harvest Moon 6, 5″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Three sandhill cranes are flying across this minuscule moon, golden-yellow and full like a proper autumn moon should be.
After June’s Harvest Moon painting, a patron suggested I try another on black paper instead of white. It’s a very different process, and the results have a darker, more solid quality.
The stars have a little shine to them, a hint of gold to add sparkle. The cranes have a little complexity in their color, both from the Payne’s grey and the way the thick, opaque Japanese paints mix into the top layer.
Harvest Moon 6, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the cranes and the textural surface of the moon. Below, the painting is in a frame, waiting to fly to its new home.
Harvest Moon 6, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bird, black paper, harvest moon, japanese watercolor, nfs, sold, watercolor
Cloud Cover
Wednesday, August 8th, 2018
Cloud Cover, 8″x10″ ink and watercolor on artboard
A sky filled with clouds, covered from horizon to infinity with smudging swirls of blue-grey in an endless cover. A skeletal tree rises up against it, the details fine as lace. Branches tangle and twist, while a black bird comes to rest, wings a blur of motion, and another flies close.
A lot of this month’s paintings are dichromatic, ink on paint, a mix of a beautiful, nearly abstract background with a black-painted foreground. This one is made of a dark, opaque ink that holds texture and gives a sense of dimension as well as the simplicity of silhouette.
Cloud Cover, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the textures of ink, board, and paint weaving together to make a beautiful tree. Below, the painting is in its temporary frame, like a window into a piece of autumn.
Cloud Cover, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: artboard, brush and ink, crow, for sale, tree, watercolor
Blood Moon 9
Friday, August 3rd, 2018
Blood Moon 9, 10″x8″ watercolor on Arches cover white paper
Friday, July 27th was a blood moon for parts of the world that could see the eclipse, so this painting is in honor of that momentous occasion.
The sky is a gorgeous red-violet, deep but not dull, with rich gold stars glittering out of the page. The moon glows with subtle shimmers as well, and three bats fly across, the ruddy light shining through their wing membranes.
The framed photo perhaps best captures the warmth of the colors in this mercurial painting, the layered paint making it different from every angle. Far from being cold, the night is alive with magic and mystery, just waiting for you to join in.
Blood Moon 9, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you an see the three tiny bats and the delicate transparency of their wing membranes. Below, the bats are in a frame, fluttering in anticipation of their new home.
Blood Moon 9, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bat, blood moon, metallic, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
Harvest Moon 5
Thursday, June 7th, 2018
Harvest Moon 5, 8″x8″ watercolor on Arches watercolor paper
Today’s beautiful golden moon silhouettes three great blue herons against its warm glow.
The stars have a little sparkle to them, but the sky is a flat, swirling velvety grey nestling them like little droplets of molten gold.
Any moon that’s close to the horizon will look orange, but those autumnal full moons that presage the season of crunchy leaves and spooky ghosts have a special sort of mystique to them. You never know what you’ll see, whether it’s a bird or a bat, a swirl of fallen leaves — or a ghost.
Harvest Moon 5, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the cranes in closer detail, a dark blot of feathers and grace against the bright moon. Below, the moon is captured in a frame, just waiting to become a part of your sky.
Harvest Moon 5, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bird, great blue heron, harvest moon, metallic, moon, nfs, sold, stars, watercolor
Grove
Wednesday, June 6th, 2018
Grove, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Now that spring is sprung and summer is on its way, it’s back to longing thoughts of autumn and winter, and trees bare of their leaves (and their evil, evil pollen).
The sky is painted with gold and red, pink and orange, and the trees have a depth to them that invites the eye to trace out branching pathways like handmade lace against the peachy clouds.
What’s on your horizon?
Grove, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the soft oranges of the sky and the interlacing branches of these dormant trees. Below, they’re in a small frame, perfect for adding a bit of beauty to a tiny space.
Grove, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bird, crow, horizons, nfs, tree, watercolor
Beneath
Sunday, June 3rd, 2018
Beneath, 4″x8″ pencil and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Humanity has explored such a small percentage of the oceans, and we can comfortably swim or surf or sail on just the thinnest sliver of surface. We never know what lies just beneath those waves, waiting patiently for their time to come.
This monster with its blank, shining eye and teeth taller than a mast is there below the waves that propel this surfer just over its head.
But not necessarily out of its reach.
Beneath, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sharp teeth and dead, pearlescent eye of the creature up close. Below, the monster is hiding in its frame, lying in wait for some unfathomable cue to act.
Beneath, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: for sale, monster, myriorama, ocean, pearlescent, pencil, sea monster, watercolor
April Patreon Sketches
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018
April 2018 Patreon request sketches by Amy Crook
I finished these a while back but have just gotten around to sharing with you, my lovely readers. You’ve all been so patient with me while I got through my No Good Very Bad Year, thank you.
- Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, “Happiness” for Jeff
- Penguin for Corinne
- Books & Tea for Kim
- Cat Making a Mistake, “Spring” for Grace
- “Squid Friends” for Oscar
Want your own weird little sketch? Support me on Patreon!
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: book, cat, kim, patreon, pen and ink, pencil, penguin, sketch, squid, tea, winnie the pooh
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