Posts Tagged ‘moon’
Cassiopeia
Monday, August 27th, 2012
Cassiopeia by Amy Crook
I have been thinking I might want to do some more ordered skies, rather than just the random dots I usually paint, but to be honest when I look up at the stars I mostly see… random dots. Thanks to the power of Google, however, I’ve brought you Cassiopeia done up like a prog rock album cover from the ’70s complete with groovy, glittery calligraphy. Fortunately, I know someone who loves the colors, the constellation and prog rock, so they know what they’re getting for Christmas.
The perks of hanging out with an artist, right?
Cassiopeia, 5″x5″ mixed media on paper, nfs.
Cassiopeia, detail, by Amy Crook
There’s actually a fine layer of sparkly salt crystals mixed in with the iridescent red paint and the whiter glow of the moon on this, which you can only see in the sun from certain angles. This whole piece blends minimalism with bling in a way that amuses me greatly, so I’m glad it’s going to someone that’s already making grabbyhands at it.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, calligraphy, constellation, glitter gel pen, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, salt
Blue Moon 4
Friday, August 24th, 2012
Blue Moon 4 by Amy Crook
This piece took forever! Twelve weeks of little spirals in the interstices of my day, fifteen minutes here and an hour there, until finally, finally it’s done.
I really liked the texture pattern on the couch in B is for Baker Street, interior, and so I thought, wouldn’t that make a cool pattern for the night sky around this mysterious blue moon? I really need to learn to think before I start spiraling sometimes, though, because the difference between that wee couch and this big piece of paper was a lot of hours. So many hours. @_@
I actually really love the result, though, and I’ve got the piece on display in my studio until someone takes it home to decorate their own life.
Blue Moon 4, 8″x8″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Blue Moon 4, framed art by Amy Crook
I’ve framed this beautiful piece and hung it on the wall above my writing desk.
Why yes, that is a Jack in the Box holiday-themed antenna ball, why do you ask?
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: all the spirals, blue moon, crosshatching, for sale, moon, pen and ink, spirals, watercolor
Fairytale Sky
Monday, August 20th, 2012
Fairytale Sky watercolor by Amy Crook
This piece exists in the intersection of realism and whimsy. It started with a white crescent moon that fades mysteriously to its dark side with a pitted, rocky texture. Then the cheerful periwinkle clouds spiral through the field of silver stars that shine out in the dark black of the paper. It’s an image that brings to mind the magic of bedtime stories and fairy tales, even the ones with happy endings.
Fairytale Sky, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper, nfs (sold).
Fairytale Sky, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the silver stars catching the light against the paper – Arches makes this soft black paper for printmaking, but I like it because the black is chemical rather than dyed, so it never fades from its original velvety charcoal color. Below, you can see how this painting might look on your desk, well, if you’ve got the kind of desk I do, anyway. It’s bigger than a lot of my skies, so it would also work well on a bedroom wall or above someone’s bed to help assure sweet dreams.
Fairytale Sky, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, periwinkle, silver
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Green Cheese Moon
Monday, August 6th, 2012
Green Cheese Moon watercolor by Amy Crook
I imagine the three groups of colored stars are constellations of some sort, clustered near the mysterious moon. The color and texture reminds me of the veining in good cheese, and so obviously this moon is made of green cheese.
I’d intended to add in some extra decorative elements, but it was so lovely the way it is I decided to stop there. Knowing when you’re done can be the hard part, some days.
Green Cheese Moon, 10″x8″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Green Cheese Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see one of the constellations curving in a periwinkle line around the edge of the green planet. Below, you can see the whole thing tucked into a glassless frame.
Green Cheese Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, for sale, green, japanese watercolor, moon, salt
C is for Counter
Thursday, July 26th, 2012
C is for Counter, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
Counter space is the space inside of a letter, whether open or closed. No, I didn’t know that before I started this project, either, don’t worry, but once I heard the term I became fascinated with the idea of fitting an old-school moon in the curve of the C for this alphabet.
C is for Counter, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor, pen & ink and glitter gel pen on paper.
C is for Counter, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shining silver stars in the blue sky, and also a better sense of the shading, which my scanner blew out completely in the yellows. Below, the C is hanging out with the Endless (whose names all start with D, ironically) and the G as well. It’s all ready for a Catherine or Carl to take it home, or perhaps a Mr. Cunningham. I think the framed photo actually has the most accurate color, too.
C is for Counter & G is for Gothic, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, blue, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, illumination, moon, pen and ink, silver, stars, watercolor, yellow
Filigree Moon 2
Monday, July 9th, 2012
Filigree Moon 2 by Amy Crook
This painting is the shining golden harvest moon version of the cool Filigree Moon from two weeks ago. The moon is rising up in one corner, covered in gold spirals, adding its light to a sky full of stars. There’s faint white salt pools, deep golden yellow ones, and some glittery gold spirals as well decorating the black paper the same way the stars dot the sky.
I’d been using my cooler glitter pens for my planets, the blue and purple, and I wanted to use the gold for a bit. So, I got out some black paper and first made the golden moon background, then scattered in some stars with salt, water and paint, then a few more of just salt water. Finally once it was all dry, I came in and added spirals, first to the moon and then to give the sky even more sparkle.
Filigree Moon 2, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.
Filigree Moon 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a very close photo of two of the tiny salt pools, including the one big crystal that formed. Below is a shot of the moon itself, in all its glittery glory, with the same two pools in the distance on the upper left.
Filigree Moon 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook
And finally, you can see it in a frame (with the glass left out), hanging out with my iPhone so they can talk about whether size matters.
Filigree Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, filigree, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, moon, salt, spirals, watercolor
Filigree Moon
Monday, June 25th, 2012
Filigree Moon by Amy Crook
I’m utterly delighted by this piece, from the salt pools with their soft, chalky centers to the fine filigree of glittering spirals over the subtly colored moon. I almost didn’t put a price on it at all, and I’ll definitely find a spot for it among my shelves where it can bring me delight for as long as it lives here.
The glitter gel pen has no actual pigment in it, and the glitter in it is remarkably large, so that you get an effect of translucency that reminds me of glitter nail polish. From some angles the filigree is bright and obvious, but from others, like the one in the scanner, it’s barely there at all. The tiny salt-pool stars add their own bit of sparkle to the piece, and the velvety black paper makes the perfect space backdrop.
Filigree Moon, 7″x5″ salt, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.
Filigree Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the filigree lit up by the sunlight, spirals and curlicues that shimmer and vanish when you turn the painting away from the sun. Below, you can see that I’ve finally had the brilliant idea to photograph the black paper pieces without the glass in the frame, and magically there’s no glare. Fancy that.
Filigree Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, filigree, for sale, glitter gel pen, moon, periwinkle, salt, spirals, watercolor
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