Posts Tagged ‘crow’
Old Haunts
Saturday, September 5th, 2020
Old Haunts, 8″x4″ brush & ink and watercolor on paper
I’ve had the spooky, misty-dusk background of this piece sitting around my studio aka living room for ages, and finally one day I just pulled it out and put some trees on it. The light in the middle begged for its own something, and this loosely-constructed, half-overgrown haunted house grew out of that.
It’s possible your artist watches a few too many Halloween movies.
There’s a trio of trees, a handful of crows, and of course the spooky old house rising up out of the mist.
Old Haunts, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some spooky trees and spooky birds and the misty gloaming sky behind them both. Below, it’s on my shiny new table easel, waiting to haunt its new home.
Old Haunts by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: brush and ink, crow, haunted house, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Blue Moon Murder
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020
Blue Moon Murder, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper
This piece is in a category I call “more cowbell.” I took an older Blue Moon painting and put a bird on it. Or three, to be accurate.
It’s a small murder, but it checks out.
There’s a rich texture both on the paper and in the paint here, with the black sky and haloed moon both highlighting and concealing the crows. They’ve got some gorgeous blue and violet in their feathers, especially the two in the shadows, and their eyes contain a tiny glint of iridescent paint.
Doesn’t your life need a little murder?
Blue Moon Murder, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the crows, shadow on shadow, their purple-blue plumage fading into the textured black night sky. Below, they’re trapped in a frame like a view out a window that doesn’t exist.
Blue Moon Murder, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: blue moon, crow, iridescent, more cowbell, murder of crows, nfs, sold, watercolor
Storm Crows
Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
Storm Crows, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper
The abstract blue-green sky of this painting is so rich and dark, all it needed was some birds fading in and out of the roil of storm clouds. The crows are highlighted with a touch of purple that only shows up at certain angles, just enough that you’ll never entirely lose track of them.
This isn’t an easy one to photograph, and will reward the brave soul who takes it into their home and makes it their own.
Storm Crows, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the purple sheen on the crow’s wings against the dull roil of blue-black clouds. Below, the painting is resting in a frame, waiting to be taken on the winds to its final destination.
Storm Crows, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, duochrome, nfs, primatek, sky, sold, watercolor
Where Lightning Once Was
Thursday, March 12th, 2020
Where Lightning Once Was, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper
Another richly-colored sunset, this one is a smooth wash of red and orange with only the early moon to break it up.
The tree is spiky and strange, not quite a silhouette and filled with surprise sparkle in the depths of the trunk. Perhaps it’s all that’s left of the thorns that once caged in Sleeping Beauty, before the lightning and the prince both. In A purple-tinged raven is coming in for a landing in the open space amidst the destruction, finding room to accommodate its wingspan there.
There’s something a little vicious and rough about both the tree and the bird; they’re clearly made for each other.
Where Lightning Once Was, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see this mantled raven, its eye a baleful glint out of its dark feathers. Below, the painting is framed, though it will soon make its way to another frame, another home.
Where Lightning Once Was, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, moon, nfs, primatek, raven, sold, sunset, tree, watercolor
Both Alike in Dignity
Sunday, March 8th, 2020
Both Alike in Dignity, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper
Two birds, both alike in dignity…
This is one of those “more cowbell” pieces that used to be something else, and now is something better. It’s the same storm as above, perhaps, but lower to the ground, closer to home. Leaves and the first drops of rain are suspended in the moment, with the carefree crow below while the dove above is already safe in its nest.
Which one are you, the one out playing in the rain, or the enjoying the weather from home where it’s warm and dry?
Both Alike in Dignity, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the crow silhouetted against the stormy sky, determined to get home despite the winds and clouds. Below, the painting is framed and waiting to find shelter in its new home.
Both Alike in Dignity, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: bird, crow, more cowbell, nfs, primatek, sold, tree, watercolor
Three Crows 2
Friday, March 6th, 2020
Three Crows 2, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper
Sometimes original, amazing titles come to me, and sometimes you get Three Crows 2.
The art that goes with the uninspired title, however, has a gorgeous sky full of hidden shimmer in the sunset-painted clouds. The tree twists out into the middle ground with gorgeously shaded branches, and the three crows have just enough spook and shimmer to them to stand out beautifully against both. Their eyes are painted with a dot of one of my favorite weird paints that shimmers from red to green like a scarab.
Where do you need a little bit of spookiness in your spring?
Three Crows 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see two of the crows flying past the shimmering clouds, their eyes reflecting unknown secrets. Below, this deceptively small painting is waiting in its frame to be whisked away to a new environment, with new secrets to be learned.
Three Crows 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, duochrome, nfs, primatek, sold, sunset, tree, watercolor
Sky Shenanigans
Wednesday, March 4th, 2020
Sky Shenanigans, 5″x5″ acrylic, inkjet ink, and metallic pigment dust on metallic photo paper
The last of three remixes of Stirring up the Sky has already been claimed.
It’s got a mix of soft-body acrylic on top of the metallic print, which adds texture and changes the whole feel of the piece. There’s some silver pigment dusted on top, and once that was dry, a second layer of the acrylic made it onto the bird, giving it the same sort of 3D textural treatment.
These are all terrible to photograph, between the shiny paper, strange paints, and blue-spectrum colors that never quite turn out right on screen. Still, as a set they were a fun use of what would otherwise have been wasted materials and effort.
Sky Shenanigans, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the soft body acrylic creates physical texture on the smooth page. Below, the painting is visiting a little frame as it waits to fly to its new home.
Sky Shenanigans, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: altered skies, crow, metallic paper, metallic pigment powder, moon, more cowbell, nfs, soft body acrylic, sold
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