Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category
City Lights
Friday, April 8th, 2016
City Lights, 8″x4″ Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Stormclouds shroud the city in darkness, distance and fog obscuring the buildings farther away. On the close horizon, cheerful yellow blobs of light beckon the viewer to their warm interiors.
Three colors of lovely Japanese Gansai watercolors make up this simple palette, a blue-black, a violet-black, and of course the welcoming yellow which also glows over the skyline in a display of light pollution.
The buildings this time are mostly simple, traditional skyscrapers in different configurations, with a few interesting variations lurking among the lights.
City Lights, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the little glowing blobs of light defining one skyscraper from another. Below, the painting is in a temporary frame, waiting to be packaged up and sent to its forever home.
City Lights, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, horizons, japanese watercolor, nfs, sold, watercolor
Tentacle Deeps 49
Thursday, April 7th, 2016
Tentacle Deeps 49, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
The Tentacle Deeps rise again!
Someone asked me on Periscope what my favorite thing is to paint, and I immediately answered, “Tentacles,” and was reminded that it’s been ages since I added to this series.
The photos don’t really do it justice, the bright green on top is cheerful and the rich teal blends into it beautifully. The tentacles are in a deep blue-black mix that adds depth, darker layering over lighter as we got closer to the viewer.
Tentacle Deeps 49, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a detail of the tentacles, growing bluer and fainter as they fade into the background. Below, the painting sits in a frame, perfect to be part of a grouping of art, or just to fill that little patch of bare wall. With tentacles.
Tentacle Deeps 49, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: for sale, japanese watercolor, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
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
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