Posts Tagged ‘map’

Adventure Awaits

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019

Adventure Awaits by Amy Crook, an abstract painting with maplike markings

Adventure Awaits, 6″x6″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper

It’s another map to imaginary lands!

This one’s both more complex and less abstract than its predecessors. There are rivers and lakes and a lovely big bay, mountains and forests and some mysterious hills, and a whole winding mess of roads and cities as well.

I’m not sure where this is, but it’s ripe for an adventure.

Where would you start your journey?

Adventure Awaits, detail, by Amy Crook

Adventure Awaits, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of a little town near a lake, and the roads going from river to lake to bay. Below, the map has been framed, a souvenir for a journey no one’s yet taken.

Adventure Awaits, framed art by Amy Crook

Adventure Awaits, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Formations 3

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017

Formations 3, abstract art by Amy Crook

Formations 3, 5″x5″ Copic ink and watercolor on watercolor paper

Only 3 pieces into the Formations series, and already it has broken away from the subdued dichromatic palette of the first two.

A motley of subtle colors play together in this rocky planetoid, and two different sets of formations are highlighted, in interference red and blue, colors that only reveal themselves in certain lights.

This map is filled with mysteries!

Formations 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Formations 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the winding red ways, the hints of shimmering blue, and the strange bloom of green on the surface. Below, this tiny planetoid is in a frame, waiting to bring its mysteries to you.

Formations 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Formations 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Formations 2

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017

Formations 2, abstract art by Amy Crook

Formations 2, 6″x4″ Primatek and metallic watercolor on Arches cover buff paper

Unlike the peaceful blue and pale gold of the first Formations, this one has a lovely earthy red made from Minnesota pipestone, and a rich red-gold to match. The paper itself is a warm buff color that adds a third dimension to a very simple palette.

The complex shapes are reminiscent of riverbeds, borders, and other such phenomena both natural and manmade. This one makes me think of a map of some science fictional Mars, where life has found a way to exist even there.

Formations 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Formations 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the glint of gold shining against the paper and paint, bright in the afternoon sun. Below, the painting is tilted toward shadow in its frame, mysterious and distant as another planet.

Formations 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Formations 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Formations

Thursday, June 8th, 2017

Formations, abstract art by Amy Crook

Formations, 7″x5″ Primatek and metallic watercolor on Arches Cover buff paper

This newest installation of the Map series is inspired by the amazing images we’ve been seeing in the past few years of Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter.

A wobbly blue planet has its mysterious formations outlined in a warm silver that complements the creamy buff paper that makes the space around it. Everything about this painting is muted and soft, inviting the viewer to appreciate the fine details.

What would you name these mysterious geological formations?

Formations, detail, by Amy Crook

Formations, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sun glinting off the metallic formations, the silver tone as warm as the paper. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, posing for your perusal before it heads off to its new home.

Formations, framed art by Amy Crook

Formations, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Uncertain Boundaries 2

Monday, May 8th, 2017

Uncertain Boundaries 2, abstract map art by Amy Crook

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

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

Uncertain Boundaries 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Inlets

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

Inlets, abstract map by Amy Crook

Inlets, 9″x12″ watercolor, Primatek watercolor, and pen & ink on Strathmore watercolor paper

The newest Map is a lovely warm one, reminiscent of a pirate’s treasure map that’s been tossed onto and then rescued from a fire.

Delicate walnut linework traces each little inlet and fjord. The textured paper with its blackened edges speaks of lifetimes of use, parchment worn and damaged and fingers run over the roughened surface.

It makes you wonder what treasure might lie at the heart of this map.

Inlets, detail, by Amy Crook

Inlets, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the walnut ink tracing the ins and outs of these imaginary coastlines. Below, this larger piece is in a nice big frame, just waiting to add a dash of adventure to your life.

Inlets, framed art by Amy Crook

Inlets, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Peninsula

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015

Peninsula by Amy Crook

Peninsula by Amy Crook

The penultimate piece in this month’s Gallery is another in my Map series. The delicate changes from paper to watercolor become stark with black ink outlining each little eddy and fjord.

Although the paint is entirely non-shiny in this one, the nature of the sharp lines makes the land mass appear limned in a pale blue light. The granulating paint has settled into mountain ridges and smaller hills, forests and plains, creating a topography that exists only between the imagination and the page.

Where will this map take you?

Peninsula, 5″x7″ pen & ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.

Peninsula, detail, by Amy Crook

Peninsula, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of the exquisite detail created by the texture of paper and paint, and the fine lines of pen and ink creating borders around each little shape. Below, the map sits in a frame, awaiting a new adventurer.

Peninsula, framed art by Amy Crook

Peninsula, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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