Posts Tagged ‘pen and ink’
Iridescence 3
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Iridescence 3, abstract art by Amy Crook, $333
I admit, I wanted to post both of these in the same week because they feel like different sides of the same coin to me. They use similar color schemes and techniques, but where Iridescence 2 is all soft glowing colors and indistinct shapes, Iridescence 3 is all sharp-edged spirals and visible brush strokes.
Even the haloes of complementary color around each salt pool are sharper and more distinct than in the previous piece, with more areas of pure white paper peeking through as a result. I’m not sure which of the two I prefer, though this is the one I’ve got out on display right now.
Iridescence 3, 7″x5″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
This is a closeup of the green salt pool in the lower left, so you can really see how the paint is layered in distinct circles with watercolor’s characteristic dark, sharp edges.
Iridescence 3, detail, by Amy Crook
The bold black frame works really well with the blue-black and violet-black in the darkest, sharpest of the paint swirls, and protects the fragile salt crystals from damage.
Iridescence 3, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, hibiscus, iridescence, pen and ink, purple, salt, tea, watercolor
Cousin Godiva
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Cousin Godiva by Amy Crook
This idea came to me when I was walking to meet a friend, my (ridiculously) long hair blowing in the breeze. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the idea of Lady Godiva, and of course Cousin It is a theme anyone with long brown hair will find in their life. The combination of Addams Family and legendary lady was irresistible to my cartooning fingers.
With all the cartoons I do, I’m getting to be an old hand at drawing and coloring hair, so Cousin It was pretty easy overall. It’s the first time I’ve tried to weeble-ify a horse, though!
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: addams family, copic marker, hair, lady godiva, nfs, pen and ink, weeble
2 Comments »
Iridescence 2
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Iridescence 2, abstract art by Amy Crook, $333
Going in the opposite direction of yesterday’s art, this one expands the color palette along the entire cool end of the spectrum. I used green, aqua, blue and violet pens for my salt circles. Then I supplemented it with a layer of hibiscus tea in its low-saturation periwinkle shades. After that I used watercolors in matching hues, the dark indigo-black and violet softened by swirls of complementary colors around each salt pool. Finally, I used a little bit of salt to add texture to a few of the darkest places, giving the whole piece a layered complexity.
I decided to continue naming them as a series after one of my favorite of the salt pieces, Iridescence, because they had the same quality of seeming as though they were reflective without anything shiny, other than the sparkling salt crystals.
Iridescence 2, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
You can see one of the wonderfully complex salt structures here, a little lopsided ziggurat of crystal formations saturated with ink and ever overdyed with paint. If you click on the image you can see it even bigger and really get a sense of the detail, though of course the actual circle is barely the size of a dime.
Iridescence 2, detail, by Amy Crook
The piece looks beautiful safely tucked into its frame, the soft lines and cool colors offset by the simple black wood.
Iridescence 2, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, for sale, green, hibiscus, iridescence, pen and ink, purple, salt, tea, watercolor
1 Comment »
Green to Blue
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Green to Blue, abstract art by Amy Crook, $299
This abstract work uses the same soft celadon green Crane & Co. cardstock as Hibiscus Green, but is a much more complex piece. I used a green pen for the salt pools, which ended up with a much less uniform color to them than most of mine, the ink staying more firmly soaked into the paper so that the salt rises pale and shining above the darker green centers. I used watercolor for the surroundings, trying to expand the palette without covering up the gorgeous, subtle hue of the paper completely.
Green to Blue, 6.375″x4.25″ mixed media on paper, $299 with free shipping.
Here you can see a view of one of the formations at the center of the piece, with light shining on the fine line of redistributed salt in the blue paint.
Green to Blue, detail, by Amy Crook, $299
I don’t have a frame for this piece yet, but I’ve made a computer wallpaper and iPhone wallpaper of this piece for you to enjoy.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers
Tags: blue, crane and co, for sale, green, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
Vine Glory
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Vine Glory by Amy Crook, $333
I wasn’t sure what to do with these glowing green florets after I’d created them on the page, but after looking again at Goth Vines I decided to take a different tack with the same idea. The hibiscus tea I used for the flowers blurred out into softer shapes than I’d originally expected, but it went with the softness of the green florets. I used a the green pen on the vines as inhabits the salt circles, and then signed the piece with the same orange that decorates each blossom with a hint of pollen.
The pink trumpet-like flowers look a bit like morning glories to me, and so I couldn’t resist punning a bit with the title. Since this piece is so decorative, I also made an iPhone wallpaper and computer wallpaper out of it for you.
Vine Glory, 5″x7″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $333, framed, with free shipping.
I used the other side of this paper, which has a different texture, and the result was much softer salt formations, though I still got the haloing effect the crystals aren’t nearly so defined as in Snowflakes or Aglow.
Vine Glory, detail, by Amy Crook
I ended up having to remove the very bottom of this piece in order to make it fit in a frame, just the last, translucent 1/8″ or so where the ink was blurring anyway.
Vine Glory, framed, by Amy Crook, $333
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Free Wallpapers
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, pen and ink, salt, tea
Hibiscus Blue 4
Monday, August 1st, 2011
Hibiscus Blue 4, abstract art by Amy Crook, $444
This fourth installment of my Hibiscus Blue series is even simpler than #2, with thin, sharp-edged indigo spirals swirling around the lighter blue salt circles. The cool, subdued colors let the lines themselves set the tone. The rhythm of this piece is quite playful, like raindrops in a puddle at the very start of a warm summer storm when only a dozen or so drops have hit.
Hibiscus Blue 4, 7″x5″ mixed media on watercolor paper, $444, framed, with free shipping.
Hibiscus Blue 4, detail, by Amy Crook
The salt circles are very simple this time, no fancy formations, just a soft hint of blue with an echo of the original spiral at the center of each one. When it’s tucked into its simple black frame, you can really get a sense of the motion of the brush in every stroke and swirl.
Hibiscus Blue 4, framed art by Amy Crook, $444
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, hibiscus blue, pen and ink, salt, tea
7 Seconds
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
7 Seconds, abstract art by Amy Crook, $399
I can’t really explain the title of this painting, other than to say it suggested itself to me when I was contemplating what to name the file when I was scanning it. There are seven pools of salt, rather more distorted from perfect rounds than usual because the paper was already slightly warped by the wash of hibiscus tea before I made them.
This is one of my first pieces combining watercolor with tea, though I’ve since worked on several more. I really like the way the rich turquoise paint works with the softer green of the salt, and the muted blue-violet of the tea.
7 Seconds, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $399, framed, with free shipping.
Here you can see the initial wash drying — the lightest spots turned to blue almost immediately, leaving the original pink lingering in the pools of tea, though as you can see they, too, changed as they dried.
7 Seconds, work in progress, by Amy Crook
This photo gives away one of my cheater secrets — I use the knickknacks off my shelves to flatten out the pages when they get too warped. Though it’s far from perfect, that’s part of the point, the compromise between order and entropy, deliberation and natural randomness.
7 Seconds, work in progress by Amy Crook
It was quite warm the day the salt water was drying, which created unusually delicate salt formations.
7 Seconds, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Some of those formations were washed away by the paint, turning instead into small crystals haloing the original salt pools.
7 Seconds, detail 2, by Amy Crook
This is definitely one of those paintings that looks much better once it’s framed. The black really makes the colors look richer and deeper, and helps showcase the harmony of the piece.
7 Seconds, framed art by Amy Crook, $399
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, for sale, green, hibiscus, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
