Posts Tagged ‘pink’
Filigree Planet 3
Friday, July 20th, 2012
Filigree Planet 3 by Amy Crook
I used the same rich fuchsia on the stars here as I did on the central part of Monday’s painting, and they make the glittery filigree on the planet look very orange by comparison. The underlying planet is a mix of reds, pinks and oranges, with texture added by salt. Strangely, the crystals on the planet itself grew very flat and dark this time, with almost no shine to them, so I decided to add in the filigree to keep the planet from being outshone by its surrounding field of stars.
Filigree Planet 3, 7″x5″ salt, Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.
Filigree Planet 3, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine of the red glitter, and some of the underlying texture on the planet as well. Below, you can see a close-up of three of the tiny pink salt pools in all their fucshia glory. Pink (the color, not the rock star) and I have a strange relationship, since I usually loathe it, but I’m finding it’s got its uses in moderation.
Filigree Planet 3, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Finally, you can see the piece tucked neatly into a frame. There’s no glass here, but it will ship to you fully protected and ready to hang. I just really hate trying to get the glare out of my photos.
Filigree Planet, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, filigree, for sale, glitter gel pen, pink, planet, red, spirals, watercolor
Make Good Art
Monday, July 16th, 2012
Make Good Art calligraphic painting by Amy Crook
Although I think many people have said this before (including several of my prior art teachers), it’s come most recently from Neil Gaiman. I also find the advice later on about freelancing to be very good and very true — to paraphrase, you must do good work, be on time, and be pleasant, and people will continue to hire you; actually, two out of three will do, most days. And thank goodness for that, because some days all three is more than anyone can manage.
I made this very pink wash when I was mucking about with my red palette of Japanese watercolors, going from the color that is almost exactly the same as the Orchid crayon in my childhood set, through a bright fuchsia pink and on to a lovely deep burgundy. I used my poor abused fountain pen to scribble in the lettering, then took my water brush and blurred it out, which gives an interesting effect, especially in the capitals. Next came the gold glitter paint in the letters, and I left it overnight to figure out what more it needed.
It needed tentacles, of course!
I finally found the fourth palette from the same set, which is six different shades of almost-black, so I took the rich plum-purple one and made a row of tentacles reaching up to tease at the lettering. Then, to balance it, I added the gold filigree at the top, and it finally felt done.
My mental narrative for it is a bit like, “Glimpse of the golden vines of Olympus? Make good art! Chased by tentacles from the Depths? Make good art!”
So, that’s my message for you this Monday – whatever form it takes, whatever inspires you, today, make good art.
Make Good Art, 8″x4″ Japanese watercolor, pen & ink, and glitter gel pen on Fluid watercolor paper on paper.
Make Good Art, detail 1, by Amy Crook
This is one of those pieces that’s very different depending on the lighting; the gold almost vanishes when it’s in low light, but it stands out beautifully when the sun hits it, and the thicker paint on the tentacles also has a bit of a gloss here and there. Below, you can see the effect just on the word “Art.”
And for those of you that’ve read this far, have a wallpaper of the above image, with my gloved fingers sneakily Photoshopped out.
Make Good Art, detail 2, by Amy Crook
I put it in a temporary frame so you can see the scale. Given the odd size, you may want to have it custom framed, or put it on a piece of mat board in a larger frame the way I’ve got it shown below.
Make Good Art, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
Tags: calligraphy, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, neil gaiman, pen and ink, pink, red, watercolor
2 Comments »
Red Planet
Friday, June 1st, 2012
Red Planet, watercolor by Amy Crook
This piece is a combination of old ideas and new toys. I got some nifty waterbrushes to test out, and some new eyedroppers for my salt solution, and used them together to paint another planet. First I used the waterbrushes to paint in the circular wash in two shades of red, and then I added a few drops of salt solution to the mix while the paint was still wet and forced myself to set the whole thing aside to dry without any further interference.
There’s not a lot of sparkle in this one, mostly the salt created texture rather than crystals, but I love the way the texture looks like the surface of some far-away alien planet.
Red Planet, 8″x8″ salt and watercolor on paper.
Red Planet, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the texture and a tiny bit of shine where the salt catches the light. Below, I’ve got it put in a wall frame (they don’t make many 8″x8″ standing frames), which can be yours for a small additional fee mostly relating to the shipping costs where you are.
Red Planet, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pink, planet, red, salt, watercolor
1 Comment »
Red-Violet Spirals
Monday, February 20th, 2012
Red-Violet Spirals, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
I’m going to mix up the schedule this week a little, I have three related pieces (this is the first) that I’ll post Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and then there’s Tentacles for Tuesday of course, and more tentacles in the form of a Weeble Squid for Thursday. In addition, on Friday I’ll post a special button to buy all three pieces framed and ready to display.
I have several sheets of this velvety black paper from days gone by, and I’ve torn it down into smaller pieces that I pull out sometimes when I’m not sure what I want to work on. I was wanting to do something immediate, which meant no salt, and so I got out my big palette of Japanese watercolors (yay birthday presents) and got all the pans wet. I took out three sheets of the black paper and layered spirals on each in a color family, experimenting with light and dark, overlapping and not. I think this was actually the third one finished, but I can’t quite remember.
I decided on the spirals because I love spirals. I have no idea why, I just do, and one of my things I wanted to do this year was paint more spirals on things. This one ended up looking almost like a Valentine, actually, with just a hint of a heart in the final arrangement of shapes.
Red-Violet Spirals, 5″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
My scanner did not like this series, and so you can get a better idea of the actual color in the photo below.
Spirals Trio, three watercolor abstracts by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, burgundy, japanese watercolor, nfs, pink, red, sold, spirals, spirals trio, triptych
1 Comment »
7 Spirals
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
7 Spirals by Amy Crook
I’ve noticed that the dye-based inks I use on some of the salt pieces will fade in strong sunlight, so I’ve been experimenting with using watercolors to dye the salt instead, with mixed results. The color I used in this painting came out clear and strong, making sparkling fuchsia salt crystals.
Even though there’s 15 salt pools, I chose to name it after the purple spirals that fill the white space in loose, haphazard shapes. The spirals are actually made by mixing the pink pigment in the inner ring with the teal pigment in the outer rings, giving surprising violets with unusual tones and highlights where the pigments separated.
7 Spirals, 5″x7″ pen & ink, salt, and watercolor on paper.
7 Spirals, detail, by Amy Crook
You can really see the rich colors in this detail shot, above, and the subtle sparkle of the salt in the waning autumn light in my apartment. Below, the paint seems almost to glow in its matte black frame.
7 Spirals, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, pink, purple, salt, teal, watercolor
Genuine Pink
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Genuine Pink by Amy Crook, $222
It’s quite hard to capture the rich mineral color of the Rhodonite Pink watercolor, which isn’t quite as bright as it shows in the detail image below, but has a dusky quality that’s overly pronounced in the scan above. The salt is fancy pink Himalayan salt, and the orange-pink minerals in it tended to sink and gather at the center of each pool.
Pink isn’t my favorite color, but I have to admit I’m fascinated by all of the genuine mineral paints from this company, which have complex and subtle undertones, and I think this one goes well with the unusual tint from the pink salt.
Genuine Pink, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper, $222, framed, with free shipping.
Genuine Pink, detail, by Amy Crook
I think the framed image gets the best feel for the paint colour, but the salt looks quite like it does in the detail photo, above.
Genuine Pink, framed, by Amy Crook, $222
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: pink, salt, watercolor
Badlands
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Badlands by Amy Crook
This painting reminds me of going through the badlands of South Dakota as a kid on vacation with my family, being surrounded by the pinks and browns and bizarre rock formations that made it seem like being in a whole different world.
Badlands, 5″x7″ ink and salt on watercolor paper.
For whatever reason, a few of the salt formations on this one were particularly tall and strange, especially the one right in the center.
Badlands, work in progress by Amy Crook
You can see here before I added in the brown ink paintings how the shape rises up about a quarter of an inch above the paper, topped with a little plateau-like crystal of darker pink salt.
As a result, I ended up buying a shadow box to frame it in, so the delicate crystals will be safe from jostling and accidental destruction.
Badlands, framed, by Amy Crook
And a couple of extra detail shots, just so you can get a sense of the strange sparkle and depth of the piece.
Badlands, detail, by Amy Crook
Above is another angle on the central salt pillar, now with its accompanying ink washes, and below you can see the heart-shaped crystal formation in the lower left, where three pools merged to form one big shape. You can even faintly see the lines of pink from the original spirals that lend their color to the salt, some of which stayed stubbornly in the paper this time.
Badlands, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: brush and ink, for sale, pen and ink, pink, salt
4 Comments »
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
