Posts Tagged ‘japanese watercolor’
I Won’t Be Your Winter
Thursday, August 16th, 2018
I Won’t Be Your Winter, 5″x7″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Bucky Barnes has one of the most tragic backstories in a whole universe full of them. A very goth approach to his painting seemed in order.
Metal runs like rain along lines that echo the plates in the Winter Solider’s arm. Graffiti of a red star bleeds down the page, the image splotched like a splatter of blood.
The title is from another song, this one from an unrelated movie soundtrack, that seemed to fit. The next line is, “I won’t be anyone’s excuse to cry.”
It felt very fitting for a man who finally got away from HYDRA and the people who wanted to use him for destruction.
I Won’t Be Your Winter, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a closeup of the “grafitti” star on the background that echoes the silver plates in the Winter Soldier’s arm. Below, the painting waits behind glass to be given its final mission.
I Won’t Be Your Winter, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, japanese watercolor, mcu, mcu abstracts, metallic, nfs, pathways, sold, watercolor
Harvest Moon 6
Tuesday, August 14th, 2018
Harvest Moon 6, 5″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Three sandhill cranes are flying across this minuscule moon, golden-yellow and full like a proper autumn moon should be.
After June’s Harvest Moon painting, a patron suggested I try another on black paper instead of white. It’s a very different process, and the results have a darker, more solid quality.
The stars have a little shine to them, a hint of gold to add sparkle. The cranes have a little complexity in their color, both from the Payne’s grey and the way the thick, opaque Japanese paints mix into the top layer.
Harvest Moon 6, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the cranes and the textural surface of the moon. Below, the painting is in a frame, waiting to fly to its new home.
Harvest Moon 6, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: bird, black paper, harvest moon, japanese watercolor, nfs, sold, watercolor
Cloud City
Friday, July 7th, 2017
Cloud City, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Rough-textured clouds and rough-sketched buildings make up a surprisingly sublime scene in this newest city.
Clouds dot the landscape, even making a fog from which the city emerges, a mist around which the buildings cluster. The time of day provides the palette, the golden glow of a sun just gone and violet dusk falling down from above, with a brilliant turquoise in between to hold the fluffy white.
What do you see in the sky?
Cloud City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the beautiful shifts of turquoise and purple, blue and a touch of gold, and of course the fluffy clouds at their whitest. Below, you can see it in a temporary frame, just waiting to float into your home.
Cloud City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, clouds, horizons, japanese watercolor, nfs, primatek, sold, watercolor
Emerald City
Friday, June 2nd, 2017
Emerald City, 12.2″x9.1″ watercolor on L’Aquarelle Canson Héritage paper
This city comes with a story — someone asked whether my Rainy City parasol was from the Wizard of Oz, and while that wasn’t, this one is.
Brighter greens and a beautiful orange sunset make this a much brighter city, too. The clouds were dyed a bit green from the glow of the city below, which stays away from mundane building shapes and strays into the fantastic, the strange, and the glorious.
What fantastical land have you always wanted to visit?*
*My answer? All of them
Emerald City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of one of my favorite buildings in this fantastical cityscape, and a flying monkey circling overhead. Below, this city glows in its frame, the colors a brilliance that will brighten up your space.
Emerald City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: city, for sale, horizons, japanese watercolor, the wizard of oz, watercolor
May Patreon Sketches
Tuesday, May 30th, 2017
May 2017 Patreon patron sketches by Amy Crook
June is just around the corner and now’s a great time to become my patron on Patreon! Here’s last month’s sketches, all of which turned out to be bookmarks for various reasons.
Roxanne asked for “Winter Soldier” and I gave her a chibi cutie. Kim wanted “mist” so I experimented with my watercolors for this beautiful, mysterious tower. Eric asked for my cat Pod as Morgana from Persona, with a special nod to his bagel-thieving ways. And finally, Jeff asked for “giving in to temptation” and has been enjoying the new Twin Peaks, so he got the inevitable donut cartoon.
What would you like to see me draw?
Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: black paper, captain america, commission, copic marker, japanese watercolor, mcu, nfs, pen and ink, persona, pod, twin peaks, watercolor, winter soldier
Uncertain Boundaries 2
Monday, May 8th, 2017
Uncertain Boundaries 2, 10″x8″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover buff paper
Layers of boundaries obscured but not always obliterated by the shapes that form atop them. A world that is always shifting, changing, adapting to the forces that make and move borders. A history hiding in the blend of color, the sparkle of truths that won’t stay buried.
Uncertain Boundaries 2 is another Map piece, mixed media artworks that create imaginary places and invite the viewer to explore them.
What history do you think has happened here?
Uncertain Boundaries 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the half-obliterated history of these strange countries, lines still there in memory but outweighed by the present. Below, this piece is in a frame, waiting to add some mystery to your walls.
Uncertain Boundaries 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: blue, duochrome, green, iridescent, japanese watercolor, map, nfs, pen and ink, purple, sold, watercolor
Prague Rock
Friday, May 5th, 2017
Prague Rock, 7″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Another city gilded in metallic shine, only this one has silver starlight instead of golden sunlight glinting off the roofs and towers. The night has washed the city in shades of blue-violet, stealing away whatever color it has in the daytime.
The architecture here riffs on Prague without really being accurate in any way to any part of it. Much like the Painted Ladies, it’s more the idea of a city than a portrait of it, the feeling of somewhere magical you could live, if only you could turn just the right corner.
Prague Rock, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the light glinting off the silver highlights on the stars and spires. Below, this smaller city is nestled in a frame, like a window to somewhere you wish you could go.
Prague Rock, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, city, for sale, horizons, japanese watercolor, metallic, stars, watercolor
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