Posts Tagged ‘ink wash’

Calcifer

Saturday, May 7th, 2016

Calcifer, Howl's Moving Castle art by Amy Crook

Calcifer, 6″x4″ ink wash and various watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Studio Ghibli has made some of the most amazing films, and one of my favorites is the adaptation of Howl’s Moving Castle. If you’ve seen it, the title will make perfect sense!

A glow-haloed, shadowy figure dances over the water through a rain of color and light, like a shining star in a fall of them, experiencing a few bright moments of joy before snuffing out.

This painting has several kinds of sparkle to it against a soft grey ink rain, and its real beauty shines through in person.

Calcifer, detail, by Amy Crook

Calcifer, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the iridescent, duochrome, and interference watercolors sparkle through the inky haze of rain. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting for its chance to shine for you.

Calcifer, framed art by Amy Crook

Calcifer, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Boundaries

Friday, March 4th, 2016

Boundaries, abstract ink art by Amy Crook

Boundaries, 6″x6″ brush & ink and ink wash on Fluid watercolor paper

Rich inks mix and layer, creating boundaries of color between them, washing away the old ones, limned with lines painted anew. Gold and green shimmer in the depths, adding extra depth and brilliance to this beautiful abstract.

Edges meander like rivers and coastlines, sometimes delineating and sometimes failing to encompass the shifting pools of color.

Boundaries, detail, by Amy Crook

Boundaries, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the beautiful shimmer of gold particles in the ink, the black boundaries where two colors meet and mix, and white both over and under the teal Emerald of Chivor. Below, the piece is elegantly framed in simple back, which lets the rich colors really pop.

Boundaries, framed art by Amy Crook

Boundaries, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Bees 2

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016

Bees 2, ink art by Amy Crook

Bees 2, 7″x5″ pen & ink and ink wash on paper

More bees!

The rich amber ink is the same, but there’s smaller honeycomb and smaller bees. More and busier bees, buzzing about making honey or whatever it is that bees do when they’re not out getting pollen.

Bees 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Bees 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the lovely texture of brush strokes, art paper, and ink wash all together in rich, honeyed detail. Below, the bees are in a frame, just as honeycomb should be!

Bees 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Bees 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Ghost Trees

Thursday, January 7th, 2016

Ghost Tree by Amy Crook

Ghost Tree, 6″x4″ ink wash on Fluid watercolor paper

Everything about this ink wash is understated, soft, and ghostly. The pale sky just as the sunset fades into the gloaming. The shadowy tree like a ghost against the ink-streaked clouds. The birds flitting past like memories, barely there in the distance.

The first hints of night haunt the top of the page, washing away the color as the evening threatens to fall, dropping its curtain over those last washes of pink and violet and gold still lurking in the soft clouds.

Ghost Tree, detail, by Amy Crook

Ghost Tree, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the ghostly little ink wash birds swooping through the pale, fading daylight. Below, the tree sits in a frame, ready to haunt its new home.

Ghost Tree, framed art by Amy Crook

Ghost Tree, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Domed City

Wednesday, January 6th, 2016

Domed City by Amy Crook

Domed City, 4″x6″ iridescent watercolor and ink wash on Fluid watercolor paper

Another painting with some hidden sparkle, this one’s mostly done in ink washes. The background is an amazing rich teal that none of my electronics want to pick up, and the domes sparkle with golden highlights beneath the iridescent blue dragon.

This tiny piece would add a lovely bit of scifi-fantasy allure to a desk, bookshelf, or reading nook.

Here there be dragon!

Domed City, detail, by Amy Crook

Domed City, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the shining underbelly on the dragon that floats above the domed city. Below, a tiny window into this strange world as the painting is trapped behind glass in its frame.

Domed City, framed art by Amy Crook

Domed City, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Ghost

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015

Ghost by Amy Crook

Ghost by Amy Crook

What haunts you?

The inspiration from this image came from dozens of images of ghosts over many years. The faces pushing through the wall in Frighteners. Photographs of sheets with a vague sense of a human underneath that clearly show there is no one. The classic Halloween costume of a sheet with eye holes.

This ink is a beautiful pale grey with ghostly lavender undertones that worked perfectly to created the subtle shadows in this piece. Is it just a bunch of shapes, or is there really a face? Is that shadows against a wall, or is it really reaching out for you?

Ghost, 5″x7″ ink wash on paper.

Ghost, detail, by Amy Crook

Ghost, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the detail of his serious, ghostly face. Below, he’s trapped in a frame, just waiting to spook up the right house.

Ghost, framed art by Amy Crook

Ghost, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Blowfish

Monday, December 7th, 2015

Blowfish by Amy Crook

Blowfish by Amy Crook

My love affair with colors my scanner hates continues! This lovely creature is painted in two shades of purple ink, with bonus black in the eyes and the same rich teal for irises as the water she’s swimming through.

This ink wash blowfish is just adorable. She only wants to be left alone! I’m sure she’ll calm down and make friends once she knows you’re not out to eat her for dinner.

Those spines would be hard on the gullet, anyway. Ow.

Blowfish, 8″x8″ brush & ink and ink wash on Fluid watercolor paper.

Blowfish, detail, by Amy Crook

Blowfish, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see her cute little ooh-face up close, her shining eyes begging you not to try to have her for lunch. Below, you can see her swimming in her own tank, er, frame, just waiting to be transferred to her new home.

Blowfish, framed art by Amy Crook

Blowfish, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
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