Posts Tagged ‘for sale’
Moon Valley
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Moon Valley watercolor by Amy Crook
I’ve been working for many months now on the re-launch of Moon Valley Astrologer, and it’s finally up, huzzah!
I used watercolors to create both the Moon Valley header art and the background of stars, though as you can see there was some Photoshop tomfoolery on her final header to make the moon more like a proper orange harvest moon. Not to mention the cropping and text!
Moon Valley Astrologer header by Amy Crook
This site was a huge undertaking, but I’m really happy that it’s all come together in time, and I look forward to continuing to work with Celeste as the site continues to grow. And of course Michael, who does the heavy lifting of implementing my designs with best practices.
The painting itself went through several practice versions, including the very creepy-sky study Mountains of Madness. This final has a peaceful, luminous quality that I think really goes well with her site and personality. Although it’s not really a portrait of the actual Moon Valley where she lives, it conveys the feeling we were hoping for in subtle, inviting colors that we then echoed into the rest of the site.
Moon Valley, 14″x8.5″ watercolor on paper.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: for sale, moon, moon valley astrologer, mountains, stars, watercolor
Ultramarine
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Ultramarine by Amy Crook, $299
I’ve been wanting something other than plain white for backgrounds on the salt pieces just for contrast, so this time I painted the paper with a very light yellow wash and added in some slightly darker spirals to the mix. This whole piece is really about spirals, from the little watercolor stick spirals that didn’t dissolve even a tiny bit into the salt, to the big ones around the pools. It gets its name from the shade of blue, of course, ultramarine both inside and outside the salt pools.
Ultramarine, 6″x6″ watercolor and salt on paper, $299 framed, with free shipping.
In the same way that my scanner likes to think white paper is really blue, my camera often splashes them with red, so I’d say the real color is somewhere in between the detail below and the scan above. Oh, technology.
Ultramarine, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, for sale, salt, watercolor, yellow
Get Well Squid
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Get Well Squid by Amy Crook
A friend of mine is in the hospital right now, so I drew up this little guy and printed him on a card to help cheer her up while she undergoes treatment. I’m not sure how he’s going to get that bottle of pills open without a helping hand, but he sure looks like he could use them, poor guy.
Get Well Squid, 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on paper. Get him on a card of your own at my Etsy shop.
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: cartoon, copic marker, for sale, pen and ink, squid, weeble
Green Blue Violet
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Green Blue Violet, abstract art by Amy Crook
In contrast to the warm, cheerful harmony of Red Orange Yellow, today’s piece has the spiky green and swirly blue fighting over the tiny violet salt pools. Both of the paint colors were quite granulating, giving a rich texture to the large areas, and interesting color variation where the paint separated. The salt pools also had separating paint, the rich violet turning to pink salt and blue-violet spirals.
Green Blue Violet, 8″x8″ watercolor and salt on paper.
Here you can see the midnight blue swirling around one of the last salt pools it’s captured, with the earthy, grass-stain green just barely visible in the background.
Green Blue Violet, detail 1, by Amy Crook
And below you can see a salt pool that’s surrendered to the blue paint, which creeps in between the crystals to dye them in camouflage.
Green Blue Violet, detail 2, by Amy Crook
You’re welcome to email me if you’d like some help figuring out how to bring this piece into your home, or just want to chat away from the comments.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, for sale, green, salt, violet, watercolor
Cthulhu Dreams of Love
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Cthulhu Dreams of Love by Amy Crook
Cthulhu gets a Valentine! Of course his love-dreams could be for a birthday, anniversary or just because, but it’s that season and I drew him with that in mind.
That said, my favorite part is the button-eyed Hound of Tindalos plush toy. He’s holding its paw! Aww, Cthulhu, we never knew you were such a softie.
Cthulhu Dreams of Love, 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on paper. Visit my Etsy Shop to pick him up on a card!
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: copic marker, cthulhu, etsy, for sale, lovecraft, pen and ink, weeble
1 Comment »
Drifting Down
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Drifting Down by Amy Crook
Another salt experiment, this time using pen and ink in a different way. The spirals inside the salt pools are actually watercolor, which the water didn’t really pick up at all this time, and then the grass and vines are both pen-and-ink that’s been brushed with water to give it a different texture.
I really like the peaceful, floating quality of this piece. The little salt pools seem weightless as they rest like the barest fluff on the upright grass. Actually it reminds me a bit of Horton Hears a Who — I wonder if there’s any Whos hiding there?
Drifting Down, 5″x7″ ink, salt, and watercolor on paper.
Drifting Down, detail, by Amy Crook
The meagre winter sunlight this time of year doesn’t catch the sparkle on the salt very well, but you can really see the texture of the paper and the watercolor-like quality of the curling ink vines. Below you can see it in a frame (with my iPhone for scale – not included, heh). It would fit nicely on a desk at work, for anytime you needed a moment of peace and weightlessness, growth from above and below and the effortless connection between them.
Drifting Down, framed art by Amy Crook
If you think you’d like to bring this piece into your life, or are just too shy to comment, feel free to email me! I’m always happy to help find the right home for my art, or just chat.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: brush and ink, for sale, pen and ink, salt, vines, watercolor
By Starlight
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
By Starlight by Amy Crook
Another piece inspired by the iconic blue-gold-white of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, there’s a different textural feel to this one on every level, despite being similar in many ways to Midnight Blue. The paper is thicker and of a much softer texture, the salt pools are saturated with bright yellow paint but the spirals are still visible, and the ‘starlight’ is sharp-edged and fragmented instead of a soft glowing circle.
I really just like the feel of it, the swoop of bright stars across the deep blue sky, each one surrounded by its own halo of color.
By Starlight, 5.25″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper.
By Starlight, detail 1, by Amy Crook
There hasn’t been a proper sunny day for photographing these salt pieces in a while, at least not one that’s warm enough to open the back door for the extra light that always makes them shine. Still, you can see the far pool catching a bit of light, as well as the rich texture the paint makes on the paper.
By Starlight, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Here you can see the tiny bit of spreading the salt did on the paper this time, not full snowflakes like some of the pieces I’ve done with this paper, but softened, creeping edges trying to expand beyond the water droplets’ original boundaries.
If you’re interested in this piece and would like to talk, you can comment here or email me, my inbox is always open.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: blue, for sale, salt, stars, watercolor, yellow
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
