Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category

Concentric 6

Thursday, July 11th, 2019

Concentric 6, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper

Irresistibly textured dots adorn this odd Concentric abstract, the paint a strange beast that shimmers from deep red to metallic green in the light. Made to imitate the oil-slick colors of a scarab, the colors shift from dried blood to old bronze in a manner befitting the gloomy violet-grey fog it’s floating against.

The depths of the purple have their own little sparkle in the brightest sunlight from the amethyst ground up into it, because if one is going to go goth, one might as well go all the way.

Concentric 6, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the iridescent paint catch the light and even a hint of sparkle in the amethyst. Below, the painting is hiding in a frame, waiting for its chance to shine.

Concentric 6, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: concentric, duochrome, for sale, primatek, watercolor

Sunset Haze

Monday, July 8th, 2019

Sunset Haze, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper

It wouldn’t be me if there wasn’t some kind of horizons painting with a fading sunset, flying birds, and silhouetted trees.

I went for a different sort of tree this time, though I couldn’t tell you what kind, and some sea birds for variety as well. The sun is a red haze just vanishing below the horizon, ruddy against the warm buff color of the paper itself.

A tiny bit of exotic warmth for those days the AC is turned to 11 and one is missing the summers of old.

Sunset Haze, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some smudgy foliage and tiny birds against the buff-orange sunset sky. Below, the painting is in a frame, like a window into some other, more tropical reality.

Sunset Haze, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, horizons, orange, red, sunset, tree, watercolor

Growth 12

Sunday, July 7th, 2019

Growth 12, 6″x6″ watercolor on paper

From tiny, dark seeds to translucent floating bubbles, the Growth here is easy to see. Whether it’s a planet sending life out into the void, or a tiny organism sending eggs into the ocean, there’s a feeling of possibility, of moving toward a hopeful future.

The zoisite paint — made from a lovely greenish-grey mineral — is the perfect minimal palette for earth and life. The granules clump like moss or algae when they’re allowed to float in water, adding chaotic texture to the very deliberate details sprouting up all around it.

Growth 12, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the subtle granulations and slowly growing and moving away from their fertile ground. Below, the frame puts boundaries on the growth but it appears to go on forever.

Growth 12, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, growth, primatek, watercolor

Near and Far

Friday, July 5th, 2019

Near and Far, 7″x5″ watercolor on black paper

It’s been a month for revisiting old ideas in new ways, and this bit of Arches cover black paper just asked to be an abstract sky. The near stars bloom with nebula-like shapes, blue-hot centers limned in shining lilac. Or perhaps it’s snowflakes in someone’s too-bright halogen headlights, fat and fluffy in the near sky and smaller specks of light in the far. Night-blooming flowers might also seem to glow in the right light, petals moving in the wind and centers fragrant with nectar and dew.

Whatever you see in this painting, it’s floating through the darkness of the everyday to light up your imagination.

Near and Far, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the blue-hot center of each near ‘star’ just barely visible with its violet halo. Below, you can see it in its frame, like a window into another galaxy.

Near and Far, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, for sale, interference, stars, watercolor

Floating Above the Ashes

Thursday, July 4th, 2019

Floating Above the Ashes, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper

Dark carrion birds float on the rising heat from burnt-out fires, ash and smoke and soot smudging what’s left of the city beneath.

The newest in my Ruins series, this painting has a sense that the birds are almost more real than the buildings, which have a ghostly quality to them. Orange glows through the grey of cinder and ash, painting even the few intact buildings with an unreal glow.

I guess if the world’s gonna be on fire, it’s nice if it’s pretty.

Floating Above the Ashes, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see my favorite building in this scene, and some of the black birds rising above on the warm air. Below, the painting is temporarily in a frame, waiting for a new space to occupy.

Floating Above the Ashes, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: for sale, horizions, orange, ruins, watercolor

Be Curious

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019

Be Curious, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper

I’m always on the lookout for short, interesting quotes to add to an Aglow painting. Sometimes the quote comes first, and sometimes the painting happens and the words wander in later, after some thought and possibly googling.

In this case, the shifting blue glows of pixies or stars or will-o-the-wisps floating up through the painting brought me to a very simple thought: be curious.

The perfect sentiment for a painting that invites exploration, with its odd details, here-and-gone glow, and a shining message in pink-purple-blue at the edge of a whirlwind of blue.

Be Curious, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the shine of iridescent paint on top of the soft, complex matte of natural mineral paint. Below, the painting sits in its frame, inviting one closer, inviting curiosity.

Be Curious, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: aglow, duochrome, for sale, interference, primatek, watercolor

Adventure Awaits

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019

Adventure Awaits, 6″x6″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper

It’s another map to imaginary lands!

This one’s both more complex and less abstract than its predecessors. There are rivers and lakes and a lovely big bay, mountains and forests and some mysterious hills, and a whole winding mess of roads and cities as well.

I’m not sure where this is, but it’s ripe for an adventure.

Where would you start your journey?

Adventure Awaits, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of a little town near a lake, and the roads going from river to lake to bay. Below, the map has been framed, a souvenir for a journey no one’s yet taken.