Posts Tagged ‘pathways’

I Won’t Be Your Winter

Thursday, August 16th, 2018

I Won’t Be Your Winter by Amy Crook, a bloody red grafitti star against a silver and black backdrop

I Won’t Be Your Winter, 5″x7″ watercolor on Arches cover black paper

Bucky Barnes has one of the most tragic backstories in a whole universe full of them. A very goth approach to his painting seemed in order.

Metal runs like rain along lines that echo the plates in the Winter Solider’s arm. Graffiti of a red star bleeds down the page, the image splotched like a splatter of blood.

The title is from another song, this one from an unrelated movie soundtrack, that seemed to fit. The next line is, “I won’t be anyone’s excuse to cry.”

It felt very fitting for a man who finally got away from HYDRA and the people who wanted to use him for destruction.

I Won’t Be Your Winter, detail, by Amy Crook

I Won’t Be Your Winter, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a closeup of the “grafitti” star on the background that echoes the silver plates in the Winter Soldier’s arm. Below, the painting waits behind glass to be given its final mission.

I Won’t Be Your Winter, framed art by Amy Crook

I Won’t Be Your Winter, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself

Sunday, August 5th, 2018

I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself by Amy Crook, abstract art of gold lines on a red field

I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, 7″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper

In the first Iron Man movie, Tony Stark is listening to “Institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies while he’s tinkering on a beautiful old car in his garage. The title on this one is a line from that song that fits him to a T, figuring things out for himself when no one else was there to help.

This one is the most like the Pathways series, the lines of brilliant gold fire rising up against Iron Man’s classic hot rod red.

It’s also a beautiful, subtle reminder that even if you wobble a little taking off, you can teach yourself anything if you’re willing to put in the hard work and learn from your failures.

All I wanted was a Pepsi. Just one Pepsi!

I'll Just Figure It Out Myself, detail, by Amy Crook

I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the subtle sparkle of gold and hot rod red, the flame-edge whoosh of upward mobility. Below, the piece is in a frame, hinting at a greater reality just outside the boundaries.

I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, framed art by Amy Crook

I’ll Just Figure It Out Myself, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Winter 3

Sunday, September 3rd, 2017

Winter 3, abstract art by Amy Crook

Winter 3, 12″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Continuing the tradition, this Pathways art to calls for winter, for coolness, for the rise of trees from the depths of snow, for the white of a sky bleached by a distant sun.

Wide and low, this glimpse into the wintry forest is an odd shape that would go perfectly in a bookshelf, or matted into a bigger frame as shown here.

Where do you need the crisp bite of winter in your life?

Winter 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Winter 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the cool blue-violet shapes that feel like trees, or vines, or rain down a window. Below, the painting is in its temporary frame, waiting for a new home.

Winter 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Winter 3, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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River Hallway

Saturday, September 2nd, 2017

River Hallway, abstract art by Amy Crook

River Hallway, 4″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Like soothing waves of water, this blue-violet color contains surprising amounts of detail once you look past the initial impression. There’s a very subtle hint of sparkle here and there, the smallest shapes of water and spray, and of course the more obvious gradations of flow.

The tall, narrow rectangular shape echoes a hallway flowing with water rather than a more natural stream.

River Hallway, detail, by Amy Crook

River Hallway, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the tiny details, flecks of paint and flecks of white like foam and stones in the water. Below, the painting is trapped in its frame, a piece of time forever frozen under glass.

River Hallway, framed art by Amy Crook

River Hallway, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Dark Grove

Monday, July 3rd, 2017

Dark Grove, abstract art by Amy Crook

Dark Grove, 4″x6″ gel pen and watercolor on Arches cover buff paper

A strange, swirling white mist furls through the tops of the strange trees in this grove. Or perhaps it’s flowers, or low-hanging clouds that’s half-obscured by the reaching, rattling black branches.

The Pathways series takes a strange turn with this one, almost not an abstract at all with is tree-like shapes and hints of deliberation among the randomness.

There’s a beautiful simplicity to the materials in this painting, opaque black paint, opaque white gel ink, and the swirling interactions between the two on top of the warm buff of the soft, textured paper.

Dark Grove, detail, by Amy Crook

Dark Grove, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the ghostly white shining through the deep black and floating atop the warm buff paper. Below, you can see this tiny painting in a frame, ready to add some spook to your space.

Dark Grove, framed art by Amy Crook

Dark Grove, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Halloween Pathways

Thursday, May 4th, 2017

Halloween Pathways, abstract art by Amy Crook

Halloween Pathways, 7″x5″ watercolor on Arches Cover black paper

Deep charcoal supports and subdues the bright Halloween orange in this latest Pathways painting.

The image suggests bold autumn trees, lit by the last orange rays of sunlight slanting towards them. Or is it a bright potion bubbling over the sides of an iron cauldron? Perhaps you see the stripes on some deadly orange monster instead.

The simple-seeming monochrome hides a depth of color and detail that will give you hours of peaceful contemplation while you sit and sip cider and think of Halloweens to come.

Halloween Pathways, detail, by Amy Crook

Halloween Pathways, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the the way the charcoal blackness of the paper draws the orange into itself, lending a base of deep gloom to the holiday brightness of it. Below, the painting is tucked into a frame, just waiting to haunt your home.

Halloween Pathways, framed art by Amy Crook

Halloween Pathways, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Mirage

Wednesday, March 8th, 2017

Mirage, abstract art in the Pathways series by Amy Crook

Mirage, 8″x10″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper

Endless-seeming dunes give way near the top to the illusion of water. The warm buff paper breaks through the dull sparkle of yellow rust and copper. The caress of wind over sand exposes variations in shape, color and texture as a muted shine is revealed behind the amber waves.

The Pathways series is turned its side here, trading trees for earth and skies for an endless search for the horizon. The mirage adds a bright pop against the rich layers of sand and ochre and copper.

If you dream of sun and sand and sparkling water, this painting will bring a little piece of that into your everyday life.

Mirage, detail, by Amy Crook

Mirage, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sunlight catching the copper, which only appears at certain angles in amongst the sandy ochres and golds. Below, I’ve trapped the mirage behind glass, so you can safely contemplate eternity without losing yourself in the dunes.

Mirage, framed art by Amy Crook

Mirage, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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