Posts Tagged ‘nfs’

Violet Way

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Violet Way, abstract art by Amy Crook

Violet Way, abstract art by Amy Crook

This is a larger piece like Golden Moon, done with the same black paper. This time I used a pearlescent violet paint and created a swath of larger stars, then filled in with smaller, salt-free spirals to give a feeling of clustered stars, like looking up at the Milky Way. This paint looks white from some angles and a lovely pale violet from others; the scanner picks up the violets pretty well, so for once I think the colors are pretty accurate.

Violet Way, 10″x8″ iridescent Japanese watercolor and salt on Arches cover black paper.

Like most of my salt paintings, this one started in the spirit of experimentation. I just bought some new watercolors from Japantown (along with ALL the pens), and I wanted to see how they’d work with the salt. techniques. I made a special effort to mix extra paint into the water droplets after they were on the paper, and you can see how it looked while I was working on it below.

Violet Way, work in progress by Amy Crook

Violet Way, work in progress, detail 1, by Amy Crook

You can see one freshly-painted spiral at the bottom, and then the water droplet just above that and to the left is opaque with swirled paint. It settled out after a while, as you can see in the droplets further away, but the salt pools have a definite coating of iridescent paint you can see in the next photo.

Violet Way, work in progress, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Violet Way, work in progress, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Below you can see a more oblique shot of one tiny detail in the finished piece, one single pool of salt surrounded by the little echoing spirals. I really love the way you can see each individual salt crystal, especially if you click through to the larger version of the image.

Violet Way, detail, by Amy Crook

Violet Way, detail, by Amy Crook

I’ve also made a computer wallpaper, should you like to splash my artificial stars across your computer screen. Finally, you can see it in its frame below, attempting to turn itself into a mirror. Glass reflects, who knew?

Violet Way, framed art by Amy Crook

Violet Way, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Free Wallpapers
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Tea Mug sketch

Sunday, March 11th, 2012

Tea Mug, sketch by Amy Crook

Tea Mug, sketch by Amy Crook

This little sketch christened my new pocket sketchbook! I drink my tea super cream-and-sugary (mmm half’n’half), so the white at the bottom is actually my drink. I didn’t let myself spend too long fussing over perspective or shading, so it’s got a funky slant I quite enjoy.

Have a cup on me this Sunday — what’s your favorite sort?

Categories: Daily Art
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Tentacle Deeps 28

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 28 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 28 by Amy Crook

You can’t have these tentacles, they’re sold! A friend of mine came over to hang out, asked if he could peek in the Big Drawer of Art, and went home with this piece (he left a check behind, yay!).

This paper is interesting, it’s not really meant for watercolors, I don’t think. It’s very absorbent, almost too much so, and it buckles quite a bit when it’s wet. On the other hand, the interesting particulates in the paper shine through the watercolor, giving an impression of distant lights, whether stars or some underwater bioluminescence isn’t clear. I liked the effect so much I started another one in a different shade of blue.

It’s also bigger than my usual tentacles. I’ve been trying to vary my paper sizes more lately (though 5″x7″ is still the dominant size), so I tore this paper down to two 8″x10″ pieces. I guess sometimes size does matter.

Tentacle Deeps 28, 8″x10″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).

Tentacle Deeps 28, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 28, detail, by Amy Crook

Nifty shot of tentacles is nifty. Here, have a wallpaper. Below, you can see the tentacles in my frame with my iPhone, though my friend took the original home all naked to put in a frame he already had. Big tentacles are big!

Tentacle Deeps 28, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 28, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books, Tentacles
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Grinning Whatever

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

Grinning Whatever sketch by Amy Crook

Grinning Whatever sketch by Amy Crook

I have no idea what he is, but he’s one of my favorite coloring book doodles in a while. He’s just so happy! And fuzzy! And evil!

Categories: Daily Art, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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There Wolf

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

There Wolf, sketch by Amy Crook

There Wolf, sketch by Amy Crook

Werewolf? There wolf!

What? You knew I was a nerd.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Blue-Green Spirals

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Blue-Green Spirals, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook

Blue-Green Spirals, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook

And here’s the last of the Spirals Trio, the blue-green ones that don’t overlap at all. The two darker shades of green are nearly the same here, though there’s a little more variation in real life. Blue-green shades are really the hardest to reproduce electronically, they always end up muddy or too much in one or the other direction. In this one I tried to let the spirals really dance together without putting one atop the other, so they swirl and snuggle and intertwine instead.

Blue-Green Spirals, 5″x7″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Spirals Trio, framed art by Amy Crook

Spirals Trio, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Blue-Violet Spirals

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Blue-Violet Spirals, abstract art by Amy Crook

Blue-Violet Spirals, abstract art by Amy Crook

A companion to Monday’s piece, this one overlaps the one big purple spiral that’s barely visible in the background with a play of lighter ones in bluer tones. The lightest is a lovely periwinkle, and the three colors together (and really this whole series) reminds me forcefully of my crayon box from childhood. The pure tones of this paint scan horribly, though really the dark purple really does sink into the black paper to become barely visible the way it is here. You can see the play of shapes better in the bigger version of the scan.

Blue-Violet Spirals, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

You can see the color better in its frame below despite the glare, especially the darker background spiral.

Spirals Trio, framed art by Amy Crook

Spirals Trio, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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