Posts Tagged ‘postcard’
Hibiscus Violet
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Hibiscus Violet, abstract art by Amy Crook, $99
Something about having painted the iridescent oils onto this watercolor postcard before gracing it with the hibiscus tea caused the tea to stop at a lovely violet mid-stage between the vibrant pink and soft blue of my other hibiscus pieces. I used salt to add some extra texture to the tea wash, but most of the texture comes from the peaks of dried oil paint.
This piece rides the edge of being busy, the harmonious color palette keeping it from being too random. I really like the way the paint shimmers in the light, but the areas of tea are a soft matte, which makes the paint seem to float above the background just a tiny bit.
Hibiscus Violet, 4″x6″ mixed media on watercolor postcard, $99, framed, with free shipping.
Here you can really see how the paint rises up from the page, and get a sense of the iridescent effect.
Hibiscus Violet, detail, by Amy Crook
I’ve put it in a simple black frame, you can see how the colors change depending on the light.
Hibiscus Violet, framed art by Amy Crook, $99
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, hibiscus, iridescent, oil paint, postcard, tea, violet
Box of Envy
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Box of Envy by Amy Crook
I was torn for what to call this experimental little watercolor piece, so I poked around quote sites until I found a Shakespearian insult from Troilus and Cressida, “Thou damnable box of envy.” I liked the way the metaphor fit with the one I’d created, especially mixed with the shades of green from teal to chartreuse that permeate the image.
Box of Envy, 6″x4.25″ watercolor on handmade watercolor postcard.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, postcard, watercolor
Clusters and Swirls
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Clusters and Swirls, 6.5″x4.25″ watercolor on handmade postcard
I’ve been experimenting a lot with my watercolors this weekend, and I think this is the most successful of the oddities I finished. I loved the warm orange-gold, dotted with little hints of rose, even before I got out the reds and started playing around with the idea of clusters and filaments again. I tried not to be too precious about things, just painting whatever came to mind, making patterns and then breaking them. When I was done there was still something missing, so I took a different shade of red and put in the swirls, and that really brought the whole piece together for me.
I tend to like working with pure pigments more than mixing sometimes, though I’m trying to move myself away from that tendency. The background was definitely a mix of different colors blended wet-in-wet on the paper, but all the foreground details were done with two pure Japanese inks, one in a deep bloody red and the other in a bright fire-engine red.
One cool thing about getting more serious about making art every single day is that I’m using up a ton of art supplies I’ve hoarded over the years. I’ve probably had these handmade postcards from India for over a decade, they’re thick and stiff like cardstock with an interesting and uneven texture that varies between watercolor paper and canvas.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, postcard, watercolor
