Posts Tagged ‘fireflies’
Firefly Moon
Friday, August 5th, 2016
Firefly Moon, 6″x4″ interference watercolor and Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Fireflies flash and hide in this misty, delicately textured night scene. The sky is full of soft clouds and the subtle shine of stars behind them, the bright moon glowing against the fog.
The beautiful green shines when the light hits it, but nearly vanishes when it’s in shadow, just the way real fireflies only sometimes glow with their mysterious phosphorescence.
Did you used to chase them on lazy summer nights, trying to hold the stars in the palm of your hand?
Firefly Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the green shine catch the light and glow against the misty sky behind it. Below, this tiny beauty is waiting in a frame so you can keep those summer memories always close at hand.
Firefly Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: fireflies, interference, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
Red Sky Firefly
Friday, September 6th, 2013
Red Sky Firefly by Amy Crook
Strings of glowing fireflies flit in the distance through red-tinted dusk in this abstract piece. The night is slowly banishing the last hints of color, but for now the fireflies still eclipse the stars. There’s a dreamy, gorgeous feeling to this painting, with its metallic-bright firefly spots and softly textured ruddy end-of-sunset background.
Red Sky Firefly, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and metallic watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Red Sky Firefly, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the texture of paper and paint, and the soft glow of golden light that seems to float above the surface. Below, I’ve put the piece in a frame so you can imagine it like staring out a window into some fairy world where it’s always dusk, and sailors always delight in the red sky at night.
Red Sky Firefly, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, fireflies, for sale, gold, metallic watercolor, red, watercolor
Aglow 2
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Aglow 2 by Amy Crook, $499
I just couldn’t resist revisiting the delicate colors and shapes I got using the orange ink pen with this paper and my salt techniques. I combined a constellation-like cluster of salt rosettes with the rich texture and deep, velvety color of the lunar black watercolor to create a companion piece to the original Aglow. This paper has such a soft texture of its own that the watercolor paint tends to sink in, giving the background a more muted feel and making the textures more subtle.
Aglow 2, 5″x5″ mixed media on paper, $499, framed, with free shipping.
The surprise this time is the delicate intersection of brush strokes in the lower right, which created an effect I liked so much you’ll see it repeated over again in tomorrow’s piece.
Aglow 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I also love the way this delicate little line of three salt pools looks like Orion’s belt, or perhaps just a trio of fireflies dancing in the deepening night.
Aglow 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook
A thin black frame protects the piece and offsets the subtle gradations in the paint.
Aglow 2, framed, by Amy Crook, $499
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: fireflies, for sale, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
Aglow
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
Aglow by Amy Crook, $699
Something about this piece just makes me happy every time I look at it, the 13 glowing circles reminding me of stars, or fireflies, or even lamps through a dark mist. The dark blue-black background perfectly offsets the magical snowflake-like rosettes that formed when I tried my salt trick on this softer, more porous paper.
Aglow, in progress, by Amy Crook
The other interesting difference with this paper was that the water droplets formed little wells that actually sunk into the paper, making dimples on the back.
Aglow, back, by Amy Crook
When I painted in the background afterward, the paint was drawn straight into the circle by the salt crystals whenever the brush touched the edge of one of the little branches.
Aglow, detail 1, by Amy Crook
This is a really good close-up of a pair of the crystalline structure, so you can see all the detail that gets softened into a simple warm glow when you back up and see it from a distance.
Aglow, detail 2, by Amy Crook
I put it into a wide black frame, which sets off the warmth of the paper and the not-quite-black of the paint really nicely.
Aglow, framed, by Amy Crook
Aglow, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $699, framed, with free shipping.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: fireflies, for sale, salt, sky, stars, watercolor
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Thistle
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Thistle by Amy Crook
This tiny oil painting captures a moment in the blue-violet dusk. This image is the one that drove me to buy these canvases and their wee easels, the globe thistle seeming nearly white against the twilight sky, lit by the fireflies’ greenish glow.
I’ve had a really hard time capturing the subtle color with my camera, which is determined to make it bluer than it really is. Hopefully whoever buys it will find the true colors a pleasant surprise!
The edges of this little canvas are finished, the image wrapping around to the sides to add a little dimensions to this tiny bit of dusk.
Thistle, 2.75″x2.75″, oil on canvas, 5″ tall easel, sold.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: fireflies, nfs, sold, thistle
1 Comment »
