Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures and Other Animals’ Category
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down
Monday, August 4th, 2014
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down by Amy Crook
I’ve painted lots of skies full of crows, but today I decided to go a different way with my dark Halloween heart and paint bats. Because bats!
There’s a tiny hint of nighttime violet in the upper left, but it’s being chased away by the sunrise glowing at bottom of the painting, where seven winter-barren trees peek up into the frame. There’s 13 flying bats (of course) and 3 already sleeping in the lightning-split tree they call their home.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bats coming in for a landing, and the three sleepers at the very top of the tree. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right wall to hold it.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: baaaaaaaats, bats, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
1 Comment »
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
Two Fish
Saturday, June 7th, 2014
Two Fish, watercolor by Amy Crook
Two fish, different, but still swimming together in the vibrant purple depths. The bottom fish flashes between purple and blue, and the top fish has gold-to-green duochrome paint on one half, and gold-to-orange on the other.
To me, this painting is about support. The bottom fish is always there, just on the edge of awareness, ready to rise up when he’s needed.
Two Fish, 4″x8″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Two Fish, detail, by Amy Crook
You can really see the blue, gold, and orange catching the sunlight above, turning the purple water to a muted, matte background for the fishes’ brilliance. Below, the fish are swimming in a temporary frame, bright in the middle of darkness.
Two Fish, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: duochrome, fish, for sale, japanese 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, watercolor
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
Nine Crows
Saturday, May 3rd, 2014
Nine Crows by Amy Crook
Nine tiny crows fly in from afar, black against a stark white page. The widescreen expanse of paper adds to the feeling of distance.
Nine Crows, 8″x4″ pen & ink on Fluid watercolor paper.
Nine Crows, detail, by Amy Crook
As above, so below.
Nine Crows, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: black and white, crow, for sale, pen and ink
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
