Posts Tagged ‘periwinkle’
Painted Ladies
Thursday, August 6th, 2015
Painted Ladies by Amy Crook
This is the summer of paintings that take months to complete! I started this last month with the off-kilter row houses all leaning together against a midnight sky. Then it sat around for weeks while I contemplated this sky or that sky, and finally I found clouds that match with the same whimsical, half-surreal feel as the townhouses below.
Perhaps this is where the London Addams clan lives, the houses joined up by tunnels and secret passages until it’s really one big, beautiful wall of weird. Instead of a swamp they have walled-up cellars that suspiciously moan. Instead of an unmarked, abandoned well, there’s a root cellar that doesn’t seem to stop going back and down into the deep earth.
Which of these painted ladies would you like to live in?
Painted Ladies, 10″x8″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Painted Ladies, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a the detail of the moon and a few of the lovely, strange roofs it’s shining down upon. Below, the painted ladies are in a frame, like a window to another, odder reality.
Painted Ladies, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: city, japanese watercolor, moon, nfs, painted ladies, periwinkle, row houses, sold, stars, watercolor
Fairytale Sky 9
Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
Fairytale Sky 9 by Amy Crook
A lovely, shadowed full moon hangs in a sky full of stars, but the real shine is from the mysterious spiraling clouds. They gleam subtly in blues and purples, stately shapes with just a hint of soft brushwork about the edges. This addition to the Fairytale Sky series is very reminiscent of the first, but refined by the iterations in between.
Sometimes I think it’s good to treat life like you’re in your very own fairytale. Do good deeds when you can, and you’ll find them returned when you least expect it. Don’t cause harm through inattention or ignorance. And always wear good walking shoes.
Fairytale Sky 9, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 9, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the subtle shimmer of the paint together with the soft shine of the stars and the bright gleam of the moon. Below, I’ve put this sky in a frame, like a window to another world, one full of magic and fairytale logic.
Fairytale Sky 9, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, duochrome, fairytale sky, for sale, moon, periwinkle, spirals, watercolor
Frost Ghosts
Thursday, June 5th, 2014
Frost Ghosts, watercolor by Amy Crook
This painting, too, is hard to convey online. There’s no shiny paint or other special effects, but the way the paint seems to have depth is somewhat lost, and the subtle shadings and chilly colors get warmed and muddied.
I let the paint on this one mostly do its own thing with only a little direction from me to tease out the handprints on the right and the strange, creepy face in the upper left. The frostlike bloom of lighter paint happens when the dark purple and pale, opaque periwinkle interact in a pool of color, and are allowed to dry as they will.
The ghosts put their mark on this painting just for you.
Frost Ghosts, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Frost Ghosts, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the handprints that bloomed above the surface of the dark paper and darker paint like frost traced on a window at night by a ghostly hand. Below, the painting sits in a frame in the incongruous sunshine, showing off more of its depths.
Frost Ghosts, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: black paper, for sale, japanese watercolor, periwinkle, spooky
Periwinkle Flowers
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Periwinkle Flowers, watercolor by Amy Crook, $250
I was thinking more of clouds when I first started painting these little puffs of periwinkle, but they came out so flower-like that I surrounded them with leaves and grass and gave them swirly centers of overlapping yellow and white spirals. I let them sit around in a frame for a few days while I decided if I liked them, and they grew on me (pun acknowledged if not intended).
Periwinkle Flowers, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper, $250 with free shipping.
Periwinkle Flowers, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a slightly color-shifted detail of one of the soft watercolor flowers, which was blued over a bit by the bright sunshine. Below, the piece is framed and hanging out with my plush of Mei dressed as a Totoro, because it can.
Periwinkle Flowers, framed art by Amy Crook
- Title: Periwinkle Flowers
- 5 in. x 7 in. Japanese watercolor on paper
- $250 for the original (tax will be added if you live in CA)
- Frame is not included, but can be added for $50 (shipping included)
- Shipping is free anywhere in the world
- Payment plans are available, just email me
- The button below will take you to Paypal – if you’d like to pay another way, just let me know and we’ll work it out
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: flowers, for sale, periwinkle, watercolor
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Y is for Yarn
Thursday, February 7th, 2013
Y is for Yarn, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I was having trouble thinking of something good to do for Y, when the lovely ladies in the Starship suggested what was to them the obvious solution – yarn! I got a skein of handdyed cotton yarn from the wonderful Blonde Chicken Boutique, and then set to work. She sent me this gorgeous variegated light pink, so I used my favorite periwinkle paint and purple gel pen to create a background that looked like a tangle of yarn, then embroidered in the letter and border with the lovely pink yarn. I glued the paper to a cardboard backing so it wouldn’t tear through, and now it’s all ready for your favorite knitter, Yael or Yakov.
Y is for Yarn, 5″x5″ handdyed yarn, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper and cardboard.
Y is for Yarn, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of light off the purple glitter, and the textures of real and imagined yarn juxtaposed on the mottled periwinkle background. Below, the Y is hanging out with W and A to make WAY on my desk.
W is for Watercolor, A is for Arabesque and Y is for Yarn, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, illumination, periwinkle, pink, purple, watercolor, yarn
Fairytale Sky 4
Monday, October 29th, 2012
Fairytale Sky 4 by Amy Crook
I have to admit, this particular version of the moon and clouds is done to my very own color preferences, so it’s one of my favorites. There’s a hint of periwinkle in the curve of the huge horned moon, and the clouds are a soft, wispy mix of iridescent blue, interference purple and soft white. The silver stars are smudgy and twinkling on the black paper background, and the whole piece has the feeling of a magic in the air.
Fairytale Sky 4, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor and duochrome watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the interplay of blue and purple in the shimmery clouds. Below, the piece is tucked into a frame (with no glass to reduce glare for the photo), and sitting with my iPhone 4s so you get an idea of the size.
Fairytale Sky 4, framed art by Amy Crook
(iPhone not included)
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, fairytale sky, for sale, iridescent, moon, periwinkle, watercolor
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M is for Majuscule and Miniscule
Thursday, October 18th, 2012
M is for Majuscule & Miniscule, calligraphic illumination by Amy Crook
I like to think of the little m as snuggling up to the big M, miniscule trustingly at the feet of the majuscule. The background on this one seems simple, but the crosshatching like that is always quite time-consuming, especially with a glitter gel pen.
M is for Majuscule & Miniscule, 5″x5″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold). If you’d like an M of your own, you can find out how to commission one here.
M is for Majuscule & Miniscule, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the green pen shining against the soft periwinkle blue background, with the rich purple and green of the two Ms surrounded by glitter. Below, a shot of the background in progress, to see the way the texture really changed the whole look of the piece.
M is for Majuscule & Miniscule, work in progress by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Illuminated Alphabet, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, blue, calligraphy, glitter gel pen, illumination, nfs, pen and ink, periwinkle, purple, sold, watercolor
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