Posts Tagged ‘more cowbell’
Storm Crow
Saturday, June 4th, 2022
Storm Crow, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper
A blooming tree takes up most of the paper, black branches holding up blue-green puffs of foliage and deep fuchsia blossoms.
Despite that, the crow with rain falling from beneath its wings is the first thing to draw the eye, caught in fluid motion as it brings a storm with it. A glowing full moon ducks behind the tree, but it can’t hide from the clouds forever.
Despite the darkness of the color palette, this painting has a lovely whimsy to it that belongs in someone’s home, adding some dark delight to their decor.
Storm Crow, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the crowd raining droplets down from its wings onto the swirling tree. Below, this larger painting fills its frame beautifully.
Storm Crow, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: crow, for sale, moon, more cowbell, watercolor
Concentric 13
Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
Concentric 13, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper
A gorgeous deep violet wash hides hints of teal spirals beneath it, while the concentric dot patterns bring in a shine of purple, blue-green, and silver. The light makes the firework bursts shine, while a change of angle lets all but the silver fade into the paper. The colors all have a dark base with the bright sparkles to better help it shine!
There’s a little hint of the Growth series around the edges as the silver circles break up and float off, waiting to see their own bright bursts further out in the galaxy. The shapes are like dandelions going to seed, explosions of life ready to find somewhere new to take root.
Concentric 13, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bright purple centers on each burst and how they fade first to blue then soft green and finally silver. Below, the painting is in a frame, just bursting to belong to someone — maybe you!
Concentric 13, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: concentric, duochrome, for sale, iridescent, metallic, more cowbell, purple, watercolor
Concentric 11
Saturday, April 2nd, 2022
Concentric 11, 5″x5″ watercolor on black paper by Amy Crook
The soft black Arches paper, originally created for printmaking, makes a gorgeous charcoal surface to use with metallic watercolor.
Blue and gold spirals made a soft layer on which to build the concentric shapes, which stick to the palette and come in many shades of blue, gold, and silver. There’s even a few that mix the blue and gold to make soft greens, and one that fades into warm coppery golds from a nearly-silver center.
This shining painting is just the right size to bring some beauty to a little corner of of your desk, a tiny hidden bit of wall, or to nestle among some books on a shelf.
Concentric 11, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can really see the colors of the dot pattern as they flow one into another, and the hints of spirals hiding beneath the bursts of metallic shine. Below, this small painting is in a temporary frame, just waiting to come live on your desk and give you some good good dopamine throughout the day.
Concentric 11, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, concentric, duochrome, iridescent, metallic, more cowbell, nfs, sold, watercolor
The Sight of the Stars
Thursday, July 22nd, 2021
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
Tags: acrylic, aglow, blue, inkjet print, metallic paper, more cowbell, nfs, purple, soft body acrylic, sold, van gogh
Waning
Monday, July 19th, 2021
Waning, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper
This misprint had an alignment issue that made it all sky and no earth. I couldn’t resist painting in the very end of twilight in rich blue and fading violet. The moon is a special iridescent paint that looks white at some angles and lavender at others. The tree has some intriguing physical texture, painting over with soft-body acrylic paint, and its details were extended into a network of lacy growth.
There’s a few little birds in the sky as well, hidden mostly behind the mist of tiny dots that might be fireflies or snowflakes or even a light rain reflecting moonlight at the viewer.
Every part of this artwork got a touch of new life, from the waning gibbous moon to the color-washed streaks in the sky.
Waning, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the paint shines, the moon going purple and the tree’s texture picking up the golden sunlight. Below, this piece is in a frame and happily showing itself off for you.
Waning, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: acrylic, blue, crow, horizions, inkjet print, interference, mixed media, moon, more cowbell, nfs, primatek, purple, sold, tree, watercolor
Artifacts of the Resolution
Wednesday, July 14th, 2021
Artifacts of the Resolution, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper
Making prints work out is always an interesting challenge with a new program and a new printer.
Instead of recycling this low-res misprint, I used my mineral-based watercolors to paint over it. I added the cloudy russet sunset and gave the tree texture, body, and new details. All of the birds stayed at their original resolution, which gives the painting its name.
Look, I can’t be expected to resist a pun that good.
Artifacts of the Resolution, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see up close the motion-blur of the branches next to the clear pixelation on the birds, as though they’re visiting from some other, lower-resolution reality. Below, the painting is resting in a frame, waiting to be sent to someone new.
Artifacts of the Resolution, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: crow, ghost, horizions, inkjet print, mixed media, more cowbell, nfs, primatek, print, sold, tree, watercolor
Concentric 9
Monday, July 12th, 2021
Concentric 9, 5″x5″ watercolor on paper
A fitting start for a gallery full of abstract artwork and reclaimed images, here’s an old painting that gained a lot more cowbell.
This mostly-green painting had some sneaky color-changing shine to it already, so I doubled down on that palette and brought in some blue to go with the gold, green, and surprising pops of red. There’s just one big set of Concentric bursts that fade through the palette, and finally trail off and fade out into nothingness.
This is a painting I wish I could show you in person, since it looks different from every angle and has a lot more to offer than I can capture in photos. A very familiar complaint, sadly!
Concentric 9, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight reflecting off the green-gold and green-red paints, turning everything into new colors and showing off hidden details. Below, the painting is in a frame, ready to bring a bit of peace and beauty into your life.
Concentric 9, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, concentric, duochrome, green, iridescent, japanese watercolor, more cowbell, nfs, sold, watercolor
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