Posts Tagged ‘iridescent’

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
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Feb & March 2020 Patreon sketches

Thursday, May 14th, 2020

Back in Feb & March, in the before times and the between times, some Patreon patrons gave me sketch requests! I’ve been slowly filling these as the months go along (they normally get filled the month after they’re requested), but forgetting to share them here.

And so, a lot of art with very little explanation!

ACEO sketch cards by Amy Crook

ACEO sketch cards & bookmark by Amy Crook

ACEO sketch cards by Amy Crook

ACEO sketch cards by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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The Skies of Unknown Kadath

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

dreamy abstract art featuring clouds of iridescent color on black paper, by Amy Crook

The Skies of Unknown Kadath, 6″x8″ watercolor on black paper

In this month’s lone abstract painting, shiny paints layer over black paper to get this dreamlike effect.

“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” is a novella by horror writer HP Lovecraft, best known for creating Cthulhu and also being hugely bigoted (even for 100 years ago). It’s a fascinating trip into dreams and obsession and madness, like so many of his works, and the painting’s title is a nod to the surreal descriptions that keep his work in our collective memory.

There’s a lot hiding in this painting, full of pigments that shine at different angles, in different colors, that peek through the less-glittery mineral paints and stand out against the black background.

The Skies of Unknown Kadath, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of the shining paints at a close up and oblique angle, the pigments catching sunlight and showing the layers of texture and detail. Below, it’s in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right dreamer.

The Skies of Unknown Kadath, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Sharpie Sky

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020

a marker-black sky around a blue metallic moon, with a scribbly crow, altered print by Amy Crook

Sharpie Sky, 6″x4″ inkjet ink, sharpie ink, and watercolor on metallic photo paper

In the second installment of my misprint redux, I used a big fat Sharpie to darken the sky to black like my heart. There’s a soft brushing of iridescent watercolor over the whole sky, with twinkling stars of the same blue-green to add light to the deep black.

The bird got its own treatment, scribbled shadows to deepen its silhouette, make it more solid and less of a ghost. The whole effect is quite striking, much more dramatic than its predecessor, especially when the light hits it so the ink turns matte while the moon shines.

Is this the one that needs to fly home to you?

Sharpie Sky, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the dark scribbles bringing the bird more fully into the foreground. Below, a simple black frame holds this magical sky like a window into another world.

Sharpie Sky, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Midnight Blue Sky

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

a watercolor painting on a metallic photo print of a blue moon, blue-black sky with copper stars, and a flying crow, by Amy Crook

Midnight Blue Sky, 5″x5″ inkjet and watercolor on metallic photo paper

Thanks to weird color results and other misprint issues, these prints won’t be making it into my Etsy shop. Instead, I gave away the best ones and used the remaining three for experimentation!

This one uses metallic blue and copper watercolor to change the sky to a swirling vortex, to turn the stars into an eerie presence, and make the crow’s eye shine balefully out at the viewer.

For anyone who likes corvids and shiny things, this is a great little remix of one of my best recent works.

Midnight Blue Sky, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the copper shine of this crow’s altered eye. Below, it’s framed and waiting for the right home to fly to.

Midnight Blue Sky, framed art by Amy Crook

Midnight Blue Sky, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Hammer of the Gods

Sunday, September 8th, 2019

Hammer of the Gods by Amy Crook, an abstract watercolor of shiny lightning against blue stormclouds

Hammer of the Gods, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper

Thor’s third movie really changed things for him as a character, and this art calls up the cinematic moment when he and his lightning come crashing down on his enemies to the tune of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” — which is also the source of the title.

The spreading tendrils of lightning at the bottom all but vanish until you tilt the page to the sun, and then it all lights up just like crashing down from the heavens.

Thunder not included.

Hammer of the Gods, detail, by Amy Crook

Hammer of the Gods, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the bright shine of abstract lightning against the low-hanging clouds, forking out before it strikes the ground. Below, the power is contained in a frame, but for how long?

Hammer of the Gods, framed art by Amy Crook

Hammer of the Gods, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Stirring Up the Sky

Friday, September 6th, 2019

Stirring Up the Sky by Amy Crook, watercolor painting of a black crow against a shiny blue moon in a shiny dark blue sky

Stirring Up the Sky, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper

More skies, more sparkles, more moon, more bird!

This one’s got a lovely shimmery background, both moon and sky, which the wings of our crow pick up beautifully. There is some matte black in its head and body and along the arches of its bones, but mostly this crow is like a dream of motion, stirring up the sky. The crow blots out the shine of the moon like the only solid piece of reality in a shining, swirling night.

Where would this beauty fit into your reality?

Stirring Up the Sky, detail, by Amy Crook

Stirring Up the Sky, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the deep black of the crow going blurred and sparkly against the turquoise glitter of the moon. Below, the painting is shining out of a frame, waiting to go home with you. Yes, you.

Stirring Up the Sky, framed art by Amy Crook

Stirring Up the Sky, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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