Galaxies

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Galaxies, abstract art by Amy Crook

From some angles the background of this piece looks as black as the space between galaxies, or at least as black as the paper it’s painted on. Shift it just a little though, and a liberal dusting of silver stars sparkles up in the blackness, making the whole piece shimmer. The iridescent green paint, opaque blue and glittering salt form mysterious shapes floating in the black, broken spirals and strange pools of color.

I was just playing when I made the spirals, wanting some different shapes and enjoying the bigger page, which was more forgiving of the lack of precision from the salt water solution. It sat around for a few weeks after it dried while I decided what to do with it, and in the end I decided a subtle dusting of silver paint would best set off the shapes. I ended up brushing most of the silver particles back off the page, which makes the whole effect much more subtly supporting instead of overwhelming.

Galaxies, 10″x8″ salt and watercolor on paper.

Galaxies, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the golden afternoon light reflecting off the salt and paint in this particular spiral formation. Below, the strange little frost that formed where the water flowed off the edge and then soaked into the corner of the paper.

Galaxies, detail 2, by Amy Crook

And of course I’ve taken a photo with frame, desk and iPhone, to give you an idea of how big it is in real life.

Galaxies, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, blue, iridescent, nfs, salt, silver, watercolor