Posts Tagged ‘pathways’
Purple Pathways
Thursday, February 4th, 2016
Purple Pathways, 6″x4″ duochrome watercolor and interference watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Silvery blue becomes iridescent lavender, a trick of the light, a visual mirage. The black is an endless sky behind it, a void, a road not taken as the paint makes its own pathways and claims its space with sparkle and color.
It’s always hard to capture the qualities of metallic and duochrome paints with a still photo, but you can see two of the angles and imagine the rest, the changes that happen in daylight or lamplight, at this vantage or that.
It would fit perfectly on a desk or a bit of wall that you pass often, somewhere where it can catch the light, and your eye, and bring a smile to your face and some beauty to your day.
Purple Pathways, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight picking out a plethora of glittery colors against the velvety black paper. Below, the piece is in a frame, showcasing its small size.
Purple Pathways, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, duochrome, for sale, interference, pathways, watercolor
Jack Frost
Friday, January 8th, 2016
Jack Frost, 10″x8″ watercolor and interference watercolor on Arches cover black paper
Most of the paint on this lovely black paper is white, but mixed in there’s just a little bit of interference blue. When it’s in normal light, the blue just looks white like the rest, but in sunlight or strong indoor light it adds a sparkle to this piece that makes it really magical.
Just like winter, it’s something lovely and stark that holds hidden depths of color and light.
And with the weather we’ve got out here in SF, Jack Frost might even pay me a visit this year — brr!
Jack Frost, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a little bit of the sparkle peeking out of the chilly frost. Below, you can see the painting in a temporary frame, like a window on a cold winter’s night.
Jack frost, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, interference, nfs, pathways, sold, watercolor
Ferns
Saturday, September 5th, 2015
Ferns, abstract art by Amy Crook
A snail’s-eye view of ferns unfolding above you like a forest, full of strange detail and secret sparkle.
The green is a mix of deep Jadeite, mysterious Duochrome Tropic Sunrise, and two different yellows, bringing a bright, new-leaf quality to the foliage. The paint lies thickly on the paper, runnels carved into it like veins in the long leaves, the green settling out to let the sunny yellow undertones shine through.
The sparkle is only really visible in strong light, a secret bit of magic like pollen dusting the leaves.
I’ve done a lot of greens and blues in my Pathways series, perhaps next time I’ll go boldly into the warm end of the spectrum.
Ferns, 8″x8″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Ferns, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the delicate veins running through the ferns, and the tiniest sparkle of the paint. Below, the ferns are overrunning their terrarium, er, frame.
Ferns, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: duochrome, green, nfs, pathways, sold, watercolor
Rainforest
Tuesday, August 4th, 2015
Rainforest, abstract art by Amy Crook
As an antidote to Monday, I give you another contribution to my Pathways series. This one is a vibrant turquoise softened by cool blue and granular black, with the tiniest hint of shimmer hiding in the highlights.
It makes me think of the Amazon jungle rising up to the sky, taking over wherever it can.
There’s a glow of life at the core of each growth, especially along the bottom where they stretch up out of a mound of colour, reaching upward and spreading outward like plants seeking the sun.
Rainforest, 8″x8″ watercolor and iridescent watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Rainforest, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the intricate, organic shapes of the runnels and fronds. Below, the piece is nestled in a frame, already growing upward out of sight.
Rainforest, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: green, iridescent, nfs, pathways, watercolor
Winter 2
Tuesday, July 7th, 2015
Winter 2 by Amy Crook
The original Winter has some very soft greenish undertones that play beautifully off the cream of the page. This sequel has violet undertones instead from genuine Amethyst pigment, making it seem icier than its counterpart.
There’s a real, physical sparkle to this painting with the inclusion of salt crystals, but it’s very subtle and mostly evident in the way it interacts with the paint.
The winter also has another feature, a burst of color where it deliberately breaks the invisible border and reaches up toward the sky in its exuberance. Even in the coldness of winter you can find nature’s enthusiasm.
Winter 2, 9″x12″ salt and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Winter 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can just see the subtle sparkle of the salt and the beautiful way it interacts with the watercolor mix. Below, you can see the painting with my old glasses for scale.
Winter 2, abstract art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, salt, watercolor
Mistwood
Thursday, June 4th, 2015
Mistwood by Amy Crook
This beautiful sheet of Twinrocker Handmade Simon’s Green paper is about 22 years old — I acquired it many years ago when I had a model named Simon, and never found the right use for it. I pulled it out specifically thinking it make an intriguing addition to my Pathways series, and I’m quite pleased with the result.
Strong green spikes rise upward, spreading out into leaves and branches, spreading further into mist and obscurity. Hints of earthy ochre lurk in the depths where surprising blues emerge through the fog. The tops of the trees disappear off the natural deckle edge of the paper, and the whole forest is bowed ever so slightly in some unseen wind.
Mistwood, 24″x18″ watercolor on Twinrocker handmade paper.
Mistwood, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the areas of “mist” where the greens break up and fade out in soft layers of color. Below, you can see the dark “trees” with their rich, strong forest colors still intact.
Mistwood, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, green, handmade paper, pathways, twinrocker, watercolor
Loom
Friday, April 3rd, 2015
Loom, abstract art by Amy Crook
Light shines through the dark columns, but something dark looms among them, here and there a shape, almost a whole shape, eerie and mysterious and growing ever closer.
Or, there is warp on the loom, fuzzed and soft and waiting for its weft, waiting to be woven into something more.
Or, the dusk outside makes strange shapes of the rain running down the window, spattered into dark drops that refract and reflect the word behind them.
Whether you love this as a window into darkness or light, this beautiful abstract watercolor – the latest in my Pathways series – will add a rich shot of purple and creamy white to anywhere you choose to hang it. The larger size allows for more detail, more tiny subtle changes in colour and texture that will draw the eye and give you something new to find among the lines for years to come.
Loom, 12″x9″ watercolor on Strathmore watercolor paper.
Loom, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the paint granulated and separated, adding subtle variations in color and texture. Below, although I haven’t actually got a frame this big (oops!), you can see the painting with my (old) glasses for size.
Loom, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, purple, watercolor
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