Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category
Windblown
Wednesday, April 6th, 2016
Windblown, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Brilliant oranges, pinks, and golds paint the sky as the red sun sinks below the horizon. A lone figure stands next to the tree, both of them tousled by the unseen winds. A raven heads for them both, graceful despite the headwind.
What’s the story here? You could hang this up in your home and contemplate the possible tales as you go about your day, each glimpse sparking a new line of thought.
Windblown, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of our big black bird, flying headlong into the wind. Below, the whole windblown tableau is waiting in a temporary frame to find its permanent home.
Windblown, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, horizons, nfs, orange, sunset, tree, watercolor
Unguiculate
Tuesday, April 5th, 2016
Unguiculate: a mammal with claws
7″x5″ pen & ink and pencil on paper – $25
The actual taxonomy is anything that has claws or nails as opposed to hooves, but I couldn’t resist the shorter definition or the visual that went with it. Look out! Rawr!
I drew this live on Persicope; come join me some Wednesday around 2-3pm Pacific. Who knows what weird word I’ll choose next.
Categories: Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: pen and ink, pencil, word art, word art weds
There’s a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today
Monday, April 4th, 2016
There’s a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today,
6″x6″ ink and Primatek watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
As you can see, mineral paints were a theme for this month! Fall in love with granulation all over again, the magical texture you get with certain pigments, watery paint, and rough paper.
A ruined city lurks below the apocalyptic sky, tendrils of smoke rising from the burnt-out buildings. There’s a little black spot on the sun, which glows a sullen red and drips something like light.
(It’s my soul up there.)
I’d apologize for the earworm, but I’m not sorry.
It’s the same old thing as yesterday, really.
There’s a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the dripping circle of the red sun and its odd black spot against the beautiful texture of grey-blue sky. Below, this little post-apocalyptic wasteland is tucked into a frame, a gorgeous reminder of a future that never was.
There’s a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: brush and ink, city, horizons, it's my soul up there, nfs, primatek, ruins, sold, the police, watercolor
Bloodstone Falls
Saturday, April 2nd, 2016
Bloodstone Falls, 12″x9″ Primatek and iridescent watercolor on Bristol
Beautiful bloodstone mineral pigment is mixed in with iridescent scarab red to create an earthy blend with a secret shimmer. The green sparkle shows up in strong light, like emeralds caught in the flow of river silt.
Even though the Bristol is a very smooth surface, the bloodstone still granulated gorgeously, adding a subtle texture to the image.
This Pathways painting would be perfect for an earth witch, with its half-seen shapes and magical secrets hiding in the abstract neutral tones.
Bloodstone Falls, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the iridescent green pigment catching the light, surrounded by the reddish brown of the bloodstone mineral. Below, the piece is in a frame, all ready to find its place on a wall, desk, or in a secret niche.
Bloodstone Falls, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: bloodstone, for sale, interference, pathways, primatek, watercolor
Ullage
Tuesday, March 29th, 2016
Ullage: the amount that a vessel lacks being full
5″x7″ brush & ink and Primatek watercolor on paper – $45
This past Wednesday’s word is actually a term from beer and winemaking, yum! A cask or bottle of wine or beer requires a certain amount of ullage in order for the little yeasties to do the fermenting, but too much and you’ve shorted your measure.
I still wanted to bring that whole “glass half empty” metaphor into it, at least visually, so I went for a glass rather than a bottle or cask. I painted this whole thing live on Persicope; come join me some Wednesday around 2-3pm Pacific.
In the meantime, I hope your glass is just as full as you want it to be, of whatever suits!
Categories: Pretty Words, Series and Books
Tags: brush and ink, primatek, watercolor, word art, word art weds
Tea: 11th Doctor
Thursday, March 24th, 2016
Tea: 11th Doctor, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper
One of my favourite patrons commissioned me to draw a series of 4 little comic portraits of her favourite characters with their favourite teas. Favourites all around!
This first piece in the Tea Series is the Eleventh Doctor, drinking delicately out of his decorated cup and saucer. I’d like to say the Time Lord knows better than to put milk or sugar in his oolong, but this is a man deeply fond of fish fingers and custard in combination, so who knows.
We’ll get to the other three next month, after the Floating Gallery has drifted away.
Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, copic marker, doctor who, eleventh doctor, kim, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tea, tea series
Tmesis
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016
Tmesis: a word or phrase that is split in two and another word is added in the middle
7″x5″ pen & ink and Primatek watercolor on paper – $70
Grammar words are the best words. Today’s fan-bloody-tastic example is “tmesis,” which is also the only word in the English language to start with ‘tm.’
I did the inks for this on Periscope, and then took a few days to pick a lovely Primatek palette of three beautifully granulating natural pigments to keep with the pointy goth theme. The rusty Minnesota Pipestone had a tendency to smudge and travel on me, so I went with that and added a “bloody” fingerprint over the tmesis in my tmesis.
Dreamt is the only word to end in ‘mt.’
Tmesis, work in progress by Amy Crook
Categories: Pretty Words, Series and Books
Tags: pen and ink, primatek, watercolor, word art, word art weds
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
