Posts Tagged ‘moon’
Lost Arcadia
Monday, November 5th, 2012
Lost Arcadia, watercolor by Amy Crook
I’ve been reading a lot of HP Lovecraft lately, and aside from being occasionally stunned by the epic racism, I’ve noticed that a lot of his descriptions of paradise have a certain common form. There’s tall spires, glowing domes, beautiful temples and perfumed gardens awaiting the lucky person who can find the various lost cities. Of course, doom (or DOOM in the case of Sarnath) often comes to destroy those idyllic cities or sink them to the bottom of the ocean, but it wouldn’t be Lovecraft if it didn’t.
This is painted using three shades of near-black, the soft green, midnight blue and deep purple, and a tiny bit of actual black thinned out to almost nothing to give texture to the glowing moon, plus a wee bit of white for the few stars that peek out above the clouds. I like the loose way I can just paint with no sketch or reference using the blacks, getting a whole range of values that aren’t just plain grey due to the subtle tinting.
Lost Arcadia, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Lost Arcadia, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I have a hard time convincing Photoshop to clear away the blue tinge of sunlight from the image without over-saturating the subtle colors on the image, so I left the one above without much adjustment so you can see the detail on the buildings. Below, you can see the swirling blue-black clouds and violet-tinted night sky as it lightens up in the glow of the city below.
Lost Arcadia, detail 2, by Amy Crook
And finally I have it in a frame! My 8×8 frames don’t have stands, just wall hanging hardware, and my iPhone couldn’t jump that high, so I’m afraid you’ll have to imagine how they look together.
Lost Arcadia, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: city, lovecraft, moon, nfs, sold, spirals, watercolor
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Fairytale Sky 4
Monday, October 29th, 2012
Fairytale Sky 4 by Amy Crook
I have to admit, this particular version of the moon and clouds is done to my very own color preferences, so it’s one of my favorites. There’s a hint of periwinkle in the curve of the huge horned moon, and the clouds are a soft, wispy mix of iridescent blue, interference purple and soft white. The silver stars are smudgy and twinkling on the black paper background, and the whole piece has the feeling of a magic in the air.
Fairytale Sky 4, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the interplay of blue and purple in the shimmery clouds. Below, the piece is tucked into a frame (with no glass to reduce glare for the photo), and sitting with my iPhone 4s so you get an idea of the size.
Fairytale Sky 4, framed art by Amy Crook
(iPhone not included)
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, for sale, iridescent, moon, periwinkle, watercolor
1 Comment »
Fairytale Sky Bookmark
Monday, October 22nd, 2012
Fairytale Sky Bookmark by Amy Crook
It’s Bookmark Week once again! We’re starting out with a lovely new moon for Monday, which happens to already have found a home. If you were on my email list, you, too, would have had a chance to snag the bookmark of your choice ahead of everyone else.
I’ll have one more Bookmark Week in November so there’s still time to pick up a stocking stuffer for the holidays, though they will of course be more Amy-themed than holiday-themed. I already have two of the new set done, in fact!
Fairytale Sky Bookmark, 5″x1″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Fairytale Sky Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a close-up of the texture on the moon and the curling periwinkle clouds. Below, the bookmark is sitting on a hardcover book so you can see the size.
Fairytale Sky Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, bookmark, fairytale sky, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
Silver Lining
Monday, October 15th, 2012
Silver Lining by Amy Crook
This piece combines elements from several of my series: whimsical clouds from the Fairytale Sky paintings, a blue filigree moon, and salt-pool stars. The shining blue of the clouds is matched by the swirls of blue in the filigree on the moon, where the silver of the filigree is echoed in the clouds.
Silver Lining, 10″x8″ iridescent and Japanese watercolor, salt, and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.
Silver Lining, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the various elements all catching the sunlight, shining against the black paper background. Below is the moon itself, a soft periwinkle blue with shimmering silver and blue filigree giving it an otherworldly feel.
Silver Lining, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Finally, the piece is hanging out on my desk with my iPhone, though I think it would look gorgeous on a wall as well.
Silver Lining, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, blue, fairytale sky, filigree, for sale, glitter gel pen, iridescent, moon, periwinkle, salt, silver, spirals, watercolor
Misty Moon
Monday, October 1st, 2012
Misty Moon, watercolor by Amy Crook
This piece is of course related to the Fairytale Sky series, but something about the way the moon was surrounded by a halo of silver demanded a different name. The clouds are looser, too, lots of extra curls and and brushstrokes escaping the main spirals. I got to use some nifty new paint on them, a duochrome aqua that changes from bluer to greener depending on the angle and the light.
The whole painting is small enough to tuck into a corner of your desk and give you a bit of mystery whenever you want it.
Misty Moon, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Misty Moon, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above and below you can see the art from different angles, with the mist showing up sky blue or aqua green depending on how the light hits.
Misty Moon, detail 2, by Amy Crook
And below you can see it in its frame, all ready to make its way to your desk, bedside table or bookshelf.
Misty Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
(iPhone included for scale)
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, duochrome, fairytale sky, iridescent, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
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Vampire Moon
Monday, September 17th, 2012
Vampire Moon by Amy Crook
(Halloween is on its way, hooray, hooray!)
Skulls and candy and spooky things are starting to appear all over the US, and it put me in a Halloween mood. I’d been meaning to see if I could control the shadowy patterns on my moons better, so this was an excellent way to experiment. The fanged skull on the ghostly white full moon is accompanied by a reddish, iridescent mist curling through a night sky strangely devoid of stars.
Spooky!
Vampire Moon, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Vampire Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the iridescent red paint shimmering against the matte black paper, with the moon lurking in the background. Below, I’m all ready for Halloween with my Godiva Bear and the framed art.
Vampire Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
(bear and iPhone not included)
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: black paper, for sale, halloween, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, skull, spirals, watercolor
Fairytale Sky 2
Monday, September 3rd, 2012
Fairytale Sky 2 by Amy Crook
I liked the larger Fairytale Sky from a couple of weeks ago so much that I decided to try a smaller version with a slightly different focus. This one’s got clouds made of mysterious iridescent blue, with stars in silver and purple, and the moon itself done in a mix of silver and white with the dark side painted in in a slightly deeper black than the paper. I really like how the whole thing came out, dreamy and welcoming with just a hint of otherworldly mystery and shine.
Fairytale Sky, 6″x4″ iridescent watercolor on Arches cover black paper, nfs.
Fairytale Sky, framed art by Amy Crook
Above you can see the art piece with my phone, even smaller than my usual and fitting neatly into its frame like a tiny window peeking out onto the night sky of some fairytale.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, iridescent, moon, nfs, watercolor
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