Posts Tagged ‘blue’
Impact
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Impact by Amy Crook
Paper and paint both matter a lot to how the salt affects the work, and this one actually went through several iterations of paint and salt. The more opaque of the Japanese sumi-e inks don’t seem to react as dramatically, but you can get some subtle texturing out of it. The more transparent inks run and pool, but this paper has a different absorbency than the one I used for Salt Cell, so the paint tends to dry much faster, giving it lest time to change the landscape of the colors.
Impact, 7″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper, sold.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird
Tags: blue, circle, green, nfs, salt, sold, watercolor
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Seascape
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Seascape by Amy Crook
This painting has an interesting history. I first painted it many years ago at the urging of an internet friend, and had originally intended to put a mermaid on the rough stones. I wanted to show the waves splashing up against the rocks and give a real impression of spray catching the moonlight, cool and refreshing with just a hint of mystery. Once it dried, I found I liked it just the way it was, and even the friend agreed that it was better like this — though I did do some photoshopping to add in her mermaid for a desktop background.
Cue the passage of many years hanging on my walls in the sun, and we have some distressing fading. I know which color is to blame now, but back in the day I loved the shade so much I didn’t worry enough about lightfastness. Oops!
I finally took the time and effort to use a more lightfast color to repair the sea and sky. You can see below a shot where the upper left has been fixed, and the lower right is waiting for its new infusion of color.
The shot above was taken before it had a chance to dry, so there’s a little glare, but the rich midnight blue sky has been renewed, and it’s ready to be re-hung.
Seascape, 18″x24″, oil on canvas.
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: blue, for sale, moon, oil painting, sea
Tentacle Deeps 3
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 3 by Amy Crook
It’s officially a series now because there’s 3 of them, so I gave them their own tag. I’ve made up some more blanks for different ones, greens and reds, so expect a few more before I get tired of painting them.
This one was a different sort of paper, recycled watercolor greeting cards, and I painted over the faint image with rich, opaque Japanese sumi-e inks. I let the paper mostly dry, and then made a mixture of black and green. Between the paper and the wetness of the inks, the tentacles tended to pick up on the color beneath more than the previous two pieces, giving them a faded feeling. I also shaded the paint using blue-violet to blue-green from left to right rather than vertically shading from light to dark, and covered the whole page rather than leaving a white border, so the whole piece has a slightly different feel to it than the others.
Tentacle Deeps 3, 5″x7″ ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.
I also made another computer wallpaper and iPhone wallpaper for this one — please let me know if you download them.
Tentacle Deeps 3, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: blue, for sale, iphone, tentacle deeps, wallpaper, watercolor
Blue Fish
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Blue Fish by Amy Crook
It’s not properly a weeble despite it being Wednesday, but this sad little fishy has the same cartoonish, playful tone, I think.
I decided to experiment a little with a medium I acquired some time ago and have never quite made peace with, watercolor crayons. I’m not sure if it’s the quality of the sets I’ve got or just the medium itself, but I’m never quite happy with the childlike texture that clings to the page even when I go in after and activate them with water.
This fish wanted to be blue in honor of Dr. Seuss, so perhaps a cheery red fish will make it up sometime next week.
Blue Fish, 7″x5″ watercolor crayons on watercolor paper, not for sale.
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: blue, fish, nfs, watercolor crayons
Tentacle Deeps 2
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 2 by Amy Crook
Apparently, this is a series! Who knew?
I had another blue wash sitting around from my last foray at watercolors, and this one, too, seemed to just really want tentacles.I mixed a little green into the black again, but once again it seems to have been swallowed up as the paint dried, though I saw glimmers of it when it was wet.
I used a bigger brush on a smaller piece this time and I’m not sure I liked the coarser control, so of course I’ll have to try again. Perhaps green, or something in a rich blood red?
Tentacle Deeps 2, 4″x6″ watercolor on watercolor postcard.
I didn’t bother with wallpapers on this one, but if you’d like them, just let me know.
Tentacle Deeps 2, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: blue, for sale, tentacle deeps, watercolor
1 Comment »
Tentacle Deeps 1
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 1 by Amy Crook
This piece started as an experiment with the soft blue wash, which I let sit around for weeks and weeks while I contemplated what to do with it. The other day I had a flash of what to do, and then it took me a few more days to take the time to sit down with my watercolors and add the sinuous tentacles rising up from the deeps.
I’m quite pleased with the results, the feeling of depth and the texture of the soft paper and how it interacted with the watercolors (which are really Japanese sumi-e inks, for the most part). I did mix some green in with the blacks to set it off from the teal wash, but I think that in the end the wash won out and the whole thing has a lovely monochromatic feel.
Tentacle Deeps, 5.5″x7.5″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
I also made a computer wallpaper and iPhone wallpaper for your downloading pleasure (right-click or ctrl-click to save). Well, okay, I made them for my own use, but I figured it’d be nice to share.
Tentacle Deeps 1, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: blue, for sale, iphone, tentacle deeps, wallpaper, watercolor
1 Comment »
Blue Square
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
Blue Square by Amy Crook
I have never managed to successfully take a photograph that captures the color and texture of this painting. It’s a sad sort of blue-grey, but with a gentle glow of hope in the upper left that keeps it from being depressing. There’s a lot of subtle color changes and textures, and I’ve finished the edges with Payne’s Gray, which has helped to set off the small details and changes in colour.
This painting’s story isn’t so much the story of it being painted one day in a fit of melancholy and creatitivty, as it is the way it’s travelled with me through the years. Right now it’s hanging on the wall above my antique secretary, with smudges on the wall from where I painted the sides last month (my poor landlords, I console myself that I don’t plan to move for several years yet). It’s lived in many apartments, sometimes hanging, sometimes not, but it’s always held a special place for me as an abstract that, while having no discernible figures or features, still manages to convey something to the viewer.
Blue Square, 20″x20″ oil on canvas, $699 with free shipping.
The edges of this canvas have been finished in deep blue-grey, making it suitable for hanging as is. I’m always happy to help you by framing it for a wee little fee, if that’s your preference.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, blue, for sale, oil painting
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