Posts Tagged ‘japanese watercolor’
Far-Flung
Monday, May 4th, 2015
Far-Flung by Amy Crook
May the Fourth be with you! I have scifi art for a scifi sort of day.
Another addition to my City series, this metropolis is definitely in some sort of other realm, whether it’s Lost Carcosa or a galaxy far, far away. The huge crescent moon hangs above a city full of wondrous buildings, a strange skyline of some alien race or mystical future.
The painted sky gives a sense of the city glow that hangs over all urban areas, while the stars hold a subtle iridescence that makes them glow in their own right. There’s even a little texture and shadow in the sliver of moon, crowned as it is by a circlet of bright stars.
Far-Flung, 8″x8″ Japanese watercolor and interference watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Far-Flung, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, the sunlight has washed the buildings bright green, and made the midnight blue sky look even more mysterious. Below, you can see it in a frame, giant moon hanging high above and mysterious celadon buildings below.
Far-Flung, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, sold, stars, watercolor
City of Lights
Monday, April 6th, 2015
City of Lights by Amy Crook
I found this bigger-than-a-bookmark scrap of paper among my things and I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it.
This fantastical city glows with periwinkle starlight, the buildings limned in white from an unseen moon. The stars floating above have just the tiniest bit of shimmer to them, enhancing the buildings below rather than stealing their spotlight.
It’s a perfect little slice of urban night life, if you love cities, dark skies, and tiny things.
City of Lights, 8.5″x2.5″ Japanese and interference watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
City of Lights, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the tiny buildings along this strange skyline, some of them echoing real places and some of them far more alien. Below, you can see the piece tucked into a temporary frame, small but quite the wide panoramic view.
City of Lights, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, city, for sale, interference, japanese watercolor, stars, watercolor
Dreamlands 2
Wednesday, February 4th, 2015
Dreamlands 2 by Amy Crook
I’ve gone in a different, much more Seussian direction in my second Dreamlands painting. Bright colors and strange, off-kilter shapes give this painting a whimsy that feels like it’s straight out of a child’s dream of the big city.
There’s a tree full of apartments, a house made of houses, and a shining beacon atop a cross between a cactus and the Gherkin building. I can’t decide what I like best, the cheerful yellow windows, the shimmering stars above, or the overall feeling of warmth and welcome.
When I look at this painting, I think of Gonzo singing, “I’ve never been there, but I know the way. I’m going to go back there someday.”
Dreamlands 2, 7″X5″ Japanese and metallic watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Dreamlands 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the buildings up close, including the tower of houses and the looming dome behind it. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting to bring its strange, whimsical dreams into your life.
Dreamlands 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: city, Dr. Seuss, dreamlands, for sale, japanese watercolor, metallic, moon
Patterns of Flow
Tuesday, January 6th, 2015
Patterns of Flow by Amy Crook
This delicately monochrome abstract watercolor is full of tiny textural details that come together to form a larger flow, like a map of a river’s course.
The colors range from deep purple to pale periwinkle, with a matte softness to the lighter areas that helps distinguish them from the shine of the darker ones. There’s little splashes outside of the uneven, painterly border, which add a touch of whimsy. The color is represented most accurately in the framed photo.
This painting is very meditative, something you can use to calm your mind for a few minutes when it’s racing too much to get into flow with your own work or art.
Patterns of Flow, 8″x8″ Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Patterns of Flow, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the soft, chalky surface of the painting and the mesmerizing details hiding in the color. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting to bring some beauty to your wall.
Patterns of Flow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: for sale, japanese watercolor, purple, violet, watercolor
Dreamlands
Monday, November 3rd, 2014
Dreamlands by Amy Crook
Pink jellyfish float serenely over a translucent city in shadowy greens, everything looking half-real against the sky of blue with hints of periwinkle and lavender. Deadly tendrils caress the tops of the buildings, or perhaps pass right through them, and the buildings tilt along with the horizon, like something in a dream.
I’m sure it surprises nobody that the Dreamlands are a Lovecraftian sort of thing, the alien worlds one travels to in the perilous hours of dreaming.
Dreamlands, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Dreamlands, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the jellyfish float past the city, unaffected by its strange towers and spires. Below, you can see the painting in a temporary frame, like a window into a dream.
Dreamlands, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: city, dreamlands, for sale, japanese watercolor, primatek, watercolor
Cloud Sea
Wednesday, October 8th, 2014
Cloud Sea, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
Clouds skitter across a night sky, moonlight washing them with cool silver and grey. Below, waves stir up the dark water, clouds caught in reflection and distorted into strange new shapes. White foam flecks the sea and silvery clouds float, tinted midnight blue and deepest purple, and strange shapes seem to rise up out of the depths.
Two separate people described the layering effect here as the reflection of moonlit clouds on rough water, foam and form mixing to make a beautifully abstract visual delight. For once, there’s no actual metallic or iridescent shine in the paint, just the sense of glowing and glittering given by the way the paint floats on the page.
Cloud Sea, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor on paper.
Cloud Sea, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a detail of one of my favorite parts of the painting. Below, it’s framed like a glimpse through glass at some intriguing seascape.
Cloud Sea, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: clouds, for sale, japanese watercolor, watercolor
After the Stars
Sunday, October 5th, 2014
After the Stars by Amy Crook
This piece has a lot of in common with both Insomnia City and Lost Arcadia, but the eerie city it depicts is slowly decaying after whatever cataclysm cracked the moon and erased the stars. As I painted, my mind supplied Lovecraftian stories to go with the muted palette, reminiscent of his cities of glowing semiprecious stone there in the Dreamlands.
After the Stars, 6″x4″ Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
After the Stars, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a small detail of a few buildings, one dripping with something that might be blood, one cracked all along its windowless face, and a third thrusting up at the clouds, defying the decay around it. Below, you can see it in a frame, waiting to go to its new home.
After the Stars, 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
Tags: city, japanese watercolor, lovecraft, nfs, sold, watercolor
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