Posts Tagged ‘black’
Black Iron Filigree
Friday, July 19th, 2013
Black Iron Filigree, watercolor by Amy Crook
Another of my mysterious dark backgrounds has been brought to light, though in this case I gave it even more darkness to contend with in the form of matte black filigree. There’s a bit of salt on this piece to add a tiny bit of unexpected sparkle, too, and when framed in black it gives the impression of peering through a carved screen into the mysteries beyond.
Black Iron Filigree, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on watercolor paper.
Black Iron Filigree, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the tiny sparkle of slat crystals hiding among the matte curls, adding a little magic to the mystery of the swirling blues and purples of the background. Below, you can see the piece framed with my phone for scale.
Black Iron Filigree, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black, filigree, for sale, salt, spirals, watercolor
Z is for Zoomorphic
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
Z is for Zoomorphic, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
It was surprisingly easy to find a theme for my Z, and then once I’d decided on a zoomorphic letter, cats was the second most obvious choice (after zebras). Even the border fits the theme, with little abstract silver and gold mouse kissing all around these sleeping cats. Their poses are inspired by my own fickle felines, but I chose to go with different markings, a nice grey top kitty with a slumbering tabby for the base.
This is the end of my Alphabet! It’s almost sad that it’s over, except that I have at least two more letters to do, and I might go back and “fill in” the sold pieces with variants so I can display the whole set somewhere. I’m happy to take commissions on any letters someone wants in a different style, or that’s already sold (I’m already doing a second J!), and you can click here for the details.
Z is for Zoomorphic, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor, pen & ink and glitter gel pen on paper.
Z is for Zoomorphic, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a bit of the kissing-mice border, with their simple curves of body, tail and ear. Below, you can see it tucked into a frame, though I forgot to sneak my iPhone into the shot.
Z is for Zoomorphic, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, black, calligraphy, cats, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, green, illumination, pen and ink, silver, watercolor
H is for Heraldry
Thursday, September 6th, 2012
H is for Heraldry, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I have to admit, when deciding on the colors and symbols for this letter with the help of Google, I also enlisted certain fannish friends. That’s how I ended up with Hedgehog Rampant and Otter Rampant as the creatures, making the H secret fan art on top of everything else.
The symbology of the elements of this particular shield are, at least according to Google and artistic intention (which I’m given to understand the latter is more important, anyway):
- Gold/Yellow (Or): generosity
- Blue (Azure): strength, loyalty
- Black (Sable): constancy, grief
- Chevron on the shield: protection, faithful service
- Otter: one who lives life to the fullest
- Hedgehog: provident provider
- Arrows: military readiness
- Holly: truth
H is for Heraldry, 5″x5″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold). If you’d like an H of your own, you can find out how to commission one here.
H is for Heraldry, detail, by Amy Crook
Although the glitter looks a bit anemic in the scan, when it catches the light it’s really a lovely bright gold with a nice layer of golden yellow beneath it to add richness. Below, you can see how it looks framed and hanging out on my bookshelf with a little sneak preview of next week’s letter. (HI!)
H is for Heraldry & I is for Impressionism, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, black, blue, calligraphy, copic marker, glitter gel pen, gold, heraldry, illumination, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock holmes, sold
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G is for Gothic
Thursday, August 30th, 2012
G is for Gothic, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I have to admit, I went for the pun a bit here, combining the Gothic capital with my own Goth sensibilities. The silver spiderwebs are half-seen until they catch the light, and the burgundy G floats in murky gloom, hanging out with the stripey little spider responsible for its extra decoration.
G is for Gothic, 5″x5″ pen & ink, Japanese watercolor, and glitter gel pen on paper.
G is for Gothic, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the silver details shining in the bright summer sunlight. Goths in hot weather, anyone? Below, it’s hanging out on a little shelf with the C and my collection of Endless pewter figurines.
G is for Gothic & C is for Counter, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, black, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, goth, illumination, pen and ink, red, silver, spiderweb, watercolor
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Spiral Islands
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Spiral Islands by Amy Crook
This is actually the first piece I started with my salt-saturated solution, before adding the blue paint to the bottle. I was experimenting with the delivery, which is much less precise, trying to make spirals to go with the messy scribbled-pen spirals already on the page. You can see where they intersected, the salt water picked up the brown pigment from the black ink and left the rest behind, giving those pools an orange cast.
After I painted in the blue-black background, the whole thing reminded me of a cluster of islands in some turbulent ocean. I especially like how some of the salt spirals are nearly intact, while others are barely a suggestion of broken lines.
Spiral Islands, mixed media on paper.
Spiral Islands, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of just one of the salt spirals and how it intersects with the ink spiral beneath it. The two separate pools got different amounts of ink infused into them, so the lower one is visibly orange while the upper curl is barely off white.
Below, I’ve taken a shot of the lay of the land, as it were, and this shining, mysterious little archipelago makes a great computer wallpaper.
Spiral Islands, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Once it’s safely tucked into its frame, it feels even more map-like to me. Here there be dragons, I guess?
Spiral Islands, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: black, blue, for sale, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
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Blue Moon 2
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
Blue Moon 2, abstract art by Amy Crook
Even though this piece shares a name and some materials with my first Blue Moon, that’s about all they have in common. The blues in this are all muted except for the vivid French Ultramarine moon itself, and even the little halos of iridescent paint became quite subtle painted wet-in-wet.
I made the 7 stars the usual way with paint and salt and water, but the moon was part of my newest experiment where I put paint into some water I had already saturated with as much salt as I could boil into it. Pretty much all of this week’s art was made with this technique, for some fascinating results. Sparkly ones!
Blue Moon 2, 5″x5.25″ salt and watercolor on watercolor paper.
Blue Moon 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook
You can see little particles of the iridescent paint around the borders of the halo, and I thought the shot of the moon itself came out so well I made a wallpaper for you. Yes, you.
Below, you can see the lightning-like formations around the edges of some of the pools, and the way I brushed the outer rim of the salt pools with the blue-black paint, which sinks into the crevices and gives it deep shadows.
Blue Moon 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Since this one isn’t quite square, I haven’t framed it yet, but it’ll get its lovely black frame before it goes to live in its new home.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books
Tags: black, blue, blue moon, for sale, moon, salt, watercolor
Mood Ring
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Mood Ring, abstract watercolor painting by Amy Crook, $323
More experiments with the awesome black paper this week. This paper is actually colored by a chemical reaction in the paper pulp when they manufacture it, so the velvety black color is completely lightfast. Possibly more so than the paint and inks I use, actually.
The deep purple paint nearly disappears into the paper, but the opaque red pulls it into visibility, and both colors dye the salt here and there. I think I did tint this salt with ink as well, but I’m having a hard time remembering. The end result had a very ’70s feel to it to me, hence the title. Yeah, I said hence.
Mood Ring, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper, $323 framed, with free shipping.
Something about the middle ring in the group of 3 catches the light much more than the other rings, which you can see in the detail below.
Mood Ring, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Below you can see the purple and red paint bleeding into the salt in the circles down in the lower right. I also made an iPhone wallpaper of the three central circles, and am sneaking it in here for those who read all the words.
Mood Ring, detail 2, by Amy Crook
And this one actually does fit into a frame, so you can see it next to my iPhone (for scale only, sorry) below.
Mood Ring, framed art by Amy Crook, $323
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: black, for sale, purple, red, salt, watercolor
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