Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category

Windswept

Wednesday, January 7th, 2015

Windswept by Amy Crook

Windswept by Amy Crook

We’ve been having  strong winds all this past week, so I find this painting very appropriate indeed! The sky is darkening for a storm, swirls of storm-heavy blue-green clouds in the sky hovering above the windblown trees below.

My street is lined with mostly normal-sized trees, but there’s this one huge one that I can always see blowing just like this on windy days that stands up above the rest, and helped to inspire me. I think my favorite part are the little leaves caught up in the wind, being swept away on an adventure.

I’m not sure I ever quite captured the color of this sky in any of the photos this time, or the subtle, delicious spirals hiding up in the cloud bank.

Windswept, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Windswept, detail, by Amy Crook

Windswept, detail, by Amy Crook

In this detail you can see a bit of the painterly trees with their escaping leaves, and a little of the curling, swirling sky above. Below, the painting is tucked in a temporary frame, waiting to find its forever home.

Windswept, detail, by Amy Crook

Windswept, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Threes

Monday, January 5th, 2015

Threes by Amy Crook

Threes by Amy Crook

Three trees. Three flying birds. Three elements – trees, birds, sky. Three threes give this painting its title, a little bit of simple magic. I think perhaps I heard that Schoolhouse Rock song a few too many times as a kid.

I really love this sunset with its pinks, golds, oranges, and reds all glowing with the light of a sun just below the horizon.

Threes, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Threes, detail, by Amy Crook

Threes, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the third tree and my sneaky little two that made it into a painting mostly of threes. Below, you can see it in its small frame, just the size for a desk or tiny bit of wall that needs some color and beauty.

Threes, framed art by Amy Crook

Threes, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Plant This Acorn

Saturday, January 3rd, 2015

Plant This Acorn by Amy Crook

Plant This Acorn by Amy Crook

Speaking of adventures and inspiration, this piece was inspired by The Hobbit movies, especially the newest one, though the quote is my own.

I would plant this acorn in your name, but I’d rather grow old with you.

I went for simplicity in this painting, layering glazes in shades of brown, gold, and a little red in the leaf, a little green in the body of the acorn. The writing is a version of my own handwriting. It is meant to evoke both nature and sentiment, a connection to the earth and trees but most of all a connection to a loved one.

Plant This Acorn, 4″x6″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Plant This Acorn, detail, by Amy Crook

Plant This Acorn, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the acorn with its little touches of green in the brown, against the red-brown of the oak leaf. Below, I’ve slipped the piece into a warm wooden frame, all ready for its new home.

Plant This Acorn, framed art by Amy Crook

Plant This Acorn, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Words Words Words
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Ignite

Friday, January 2nd, 2015

Ignite by Amy Crook

Ignite by Amy Crook

Some fireworks to start off 2015!

This is the third in my Aglow series, taking the hues completely away from purple and black and setting them alight.

I want this painting to inspire you to coax the spark of hope and creativity in yourself to a proper bright bonfire. Ignite your passions, ignite your career, ignite yourself.

Ignite, 8″x8″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Ignite, detail, by Amy Crook

Ignite, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the rich red with the gorgeous metallic word both catching the sunlight and looking like they’re on fire. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, with perhaps the most accurate colors of the three images.

Ignite, framed art by Amy Crook

Ignite, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Autumn

Saturday, December 6th, 2014

Autumn by Amy Crook

Autumn by Amy Crook

Purple and orange! Two favorite colors of one of my favorite people, who no doubt is wishing I would spell it favourite colours instead.

The purple is dusky, muted, and stormy, with the hint of clouds or even rain in the grainy, textured wash. The reds, golds, and oranges cluster along the gold-tinged horizon, with branches that actually hold leaves. These are totally happy trees, with a central structure showing through and the splotchy, painterly foliage brightening the sky. Seven crows fly above, one dipping down to admire the trees up close, all of them a dark black silhouetted against the stormy autumn sky.

This painting perfectly encapsulates my favorite season, with a touch of Halloween, a little Thanksgiving, and a whole lot of autumnal cheer.

Autumn, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Autumn, detail, by Amy Crook

Autumn, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the warm, splotchy trees and cool skies above, and the tiny crows chilling out on an updraft. Below, the piece is in a temporary frame, waiting to go to its new home.

Autumn, framed art by Amy Crook

Autumn, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Sunset Silhouette

Thursday, December 4th, 2014

Sunset Silhouette by Amy Crook

Sunset Silhouette by Amy Crook

The branches on this tree are fine as lace, a complicated fractal of interlocking shapes with three birds silhouetted inside. A red-gold sunset paints the sky behind, giving drama to this small work of art.

The sky is very loose and painterly, while the tree and birds are stark black in contrast.

This painting is shot of brightness as we approach the darkest time of the year, wintry with the bare branches and yet full of the colors of spring.

Sunset Silhouette, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Sunset Silhouette, detail, by Amy Crook

Sunset Silhouette, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can really see the lace-fine details in the branches, and the three birds chilling out in the few open spots. Below, the piece is tucked into a frame so you can admire its compactness.

Sunset Silhouette, framed art by Amy Crook

Sunset Silhouette, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Kelp

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014

Kelp by Amy Crook

Kelp by Amy Crook

Ah, the foibles of subtle art and electronic reproduction. The monitor tries to wash out this painting into cyan or acid green, but don’t let it fool you, there is a gorgeous seafoam green color to these rising strands. It has a very subtle feeling of being underwater somewhere brightly sunlit, so that the water is washed to white and the kelp glows from within, with only the densest leaves showing darker greens.

This painting is a dreamy abstract watercolor that gives a sense of weightlessness, of drifting slowly upward with a slight sway from some hidden current.

Much like its spiritual relatives, Winter and Midnight, I could stare at it for hours and still find new little details hiding among the pale splashes of paint.

Kelp, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Kelp, detail, by Amy Crook

Kelp, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of the subtle details that get washed out in the scan. The color in that photo comes out a little too green, but you can get a better feel of how soft and peaceful it is. Below, the sunlight streams in on this piece in its dark frame.

Kelp, framed art by Amy Crook

Kelp, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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