Posts Tagged ‘metallic paper’

The Sight of the Stars

Thursday, July 22nd, 2021

abstract art in the Aglow series by Amy Crook

The Sight of the Stars, 8″x10″ mixed media on metallic paper

Metallic photo paper makes a fascinating substrate, you can’t ever lift color once it’s put down. Instead, all the texture here is physical, soft body acrylic that rises above the paper in bumps and ridges formed by the brush strokes. On top of that a scattering of iridescent watercolor stars adds to the shine that already comes through the semi-translucent paint.

“The sight of the stars makes me dream.”
-Vincent Van Gogh

Sometimes I start an Aglow painting with words in mind, and sometimes I create the image and find words that go with it. I think this was the latter, but time is meaningless here in 2021 so who knows.

The Sight of the Stars, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the textured paint and shiny paper catching the golden light overhead. Below, the painting is in a frame, waiting to be shipped off to its new home!

The Sight of the Stars, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Pretty Words, Series and Books
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Sky Shenanigans

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020

a metallic print of a blue moon with textured acrylic paint applied to create a crow and corona, by Amy Crook

Sky Shenanigans, 5″x5″ acrylic, inkjet ink, and metallic pigment dust on metallic photo paper

The last of three remixes of Stirring up the Sky has already been claimed.

It’s got a mix of soft-body acrylic on top of the metallic print, which adds texture and changes the whole feel of the piece. There’s some silver pigment dusted on top, and once that was dry, a second layer of the acrylic made it onto the bird, giving it the same sort of 3D textural treatment.

These are all terrible to photograph, between the shiny paper, strange paints, and blue-spectrum colors that never quite turn out right on screen. Still, as a set they were a fun use of what would otherwise have been wasted materials and effort.

Sky Shenanigans, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the way the soft body acrylic creates physical texture on the smooth page. Below, the painting is visiting a little frame as it waits to fly to its new home.

Sky Shenanigans, framed art by Amy Crook

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