Posts Tagged ‘primatek’

Storm Crows

Tuesday, March 17th, 2020

a watercolor painting of five black crows with shiny purple highlights against a dark roiling blue stormcloud, by Amy Crook

Storm Crows, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper

The abstract blue-green sky of this painting is so rich and dark, all it needed was some birds fading in and out of the roil of storm clouds. The crows are highlighted with a touch of purple that only shows up at certain angles, just enough that you’ll never entirely lose track of them.

This isn’t an easy one to photograph, and will reward the brave soul who takes it into their home and makes it their own.

Storm Crows, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the purple sheen on the crow’s wings against the dull roil of blue-black clouds. Below, the painting is resting in a frame, waiting to be taken on the winds to its final destination.

Storm Crows, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Where Lightning Once Was

Thursday, March 12th, 2020

a watercolor painting of a raven in flight, coming to land on the lightning-struck center of a spiky tree in front of a sunset, by Amy Crook

Where Lightning Once Was, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper

Another richly-colored sunset, this one is a smooth wash of red and orange with only the early moon to break it up.

The tree is spiky and strange, not quite a silhouette and filled with surprise sparkle in the depths of the trunk. Perhaps it’s all that’s left of the thorns that once caged in Sleeping Beauty, before the lightning and the prince both. In A purple-tinged raven is coming in for a landing in the open space amidst the destruction, finding room to accommodate its wingspan there.

There’s something a little vicious and rough about both the tree and the bird; they’re clearly made for each other.

Where Lightning Once Was, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see this mantled raven, its eye a baleful glint out of its dark feathers. Below, the painting is framed, though it will soon make its way to another frame, another home.

Where Lightning Once Was, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Both Alike in Dignity

Sunday, March 8th, 2020

a watercolor painting of a dove in a branch, a flying crow, and a stormy sky behind them both, by Amy Crook

Both Alike in Dignity, 5″x7″ watercolor on paper

Two birds, both alike in dignity…

This is one of those “more cowbell” pieces that used to be something else, and now is something better. It’s the same storm as above, perhaps, but lower to the ground, closer to home. Leaves and the first drops of rain are suspended in the moment, with the carefree crow below while the dove above is already safe in its nest.

Which one are you, the one out playing in the rain, or the enjoying the weather from home where it’s warm and dry?

Both Alike in Dignity, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the crow silhouetted against the stormy sky, determined to get home despite the winds and clouds. Below, the painting is framed and waiting to find shelter in its new home.

Both Alike in Dignity, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Three Crows 2

Friday, March 6th, 2020

three crows with shining eyes flying past a setting sun, and a twisted, spooky tree, watercolor by Amy Crook

Three Crows 2, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper

Sometimes original, amazing titles come to me, and sometimes you get Three Crows 2.

The art that goes with the uninspired title, however, has a gorgeous sky full of hidden shimmer in the sunset-painted clouds. The tree twists out into the middle ground with gorgeously shaded branches, and the three crows have just enough spook and shimmer to them to stand out beautifully against both. Their eyes are painted with a dot of one of my favorite weird paints that shimmers from red to green like a scarab.

Where do you need a little bit of spookiness in your spring?

Three Crows 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see two of the crows flying past the shimmering clouds, their eyes reflecting unknown secrets. Below, this deceptively small painting is waiting in its frame to be whisked away to a new environment, with new secrets to be learned.

Three Crows 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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The Skies of Unknown Kadath

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

dreamy abstract art featuring clouds of iridescent color on black paper, by Amy Crook

The Skies of Unknown Kadath, 6″x8″ watercolor on black paper

In this month’s lone abstract painting, shiny paints layer over black paper to get this dreamlike effect.

“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” is a novella by horror writer HP Lovecraft, best known for creating Cthulhu and also being hugely bigoted (even for 100 years ago). It’s a fascinating trip into dreams and obsession and madness, like so many of his works, and the painting’s title is a nod to the surreal descriptions that keep his work in our collective memory.

There’s a lot hiding in this painting, full of pigments that shine at different angles, in different colors, that peek through the less-glittery mineral paints and stand out against the black background.

The Skies of Unknown Kadath, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of the shining paints at a close up and oblique angle, the pigments catching sunlight and showing the layers of texture and detail. Below, it’s in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right dreamer.

The Skies of Unknown Kadath, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Overcast

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019

Overcast by Amy Crook, an imaginary city skyline below a vast cloudy sky

Overcast, 8″x8″ watercolor on paper

A soft, subtle glow of sunshine just along the horizon warms up the gloom of this overcast sky. The city below seems almost familiar until you look closer and see buildings that no human architect has yet designed. Also, there’s a cat.

A random photo on Warren Ellis’ blog sent me down this visual rabbit hole. The idea of the last vestiges of light glowing up through the oncoming storm was a compelling one that seemed to work better for me as a cityscape than in nature.

Where do you need a little glimpse of impending, refreshing rain?

Overcast, detail, by Amy Crook

Overcast, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a small section of the buildings up close and in detail, including a sneaky bird hanging out in the updrafts. Below, the piece is framed and ready to add some moody urbanity to your space.

Overcast, framed art by Amy Crook

Overcast, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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Concentric 6

Thursday, July 11th, 2019

Concentric 6 by Amy Crook, abstract concentric circles of dots in shiny watercolors

Concentric 6, 6″x4″ watercolor on paper

Irresistibly textured dots adorn this odd Concentric abstract, the paint a strange beast that shimmers from deep red to metallic green in the light. Made to imitate the oil-slick colors of a scarab, the colors shift from dried blood to old bronze in a manner befitting the gloomy violet-grey fog it’s floating against.

The depths of the purple have their own little sparkle in the brightest sunlight from the amethyst ground up into it, because if one is going to go goth, one might as well go all the way.

Concentric 6, detail, by Amy Crook

Concentric 6, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the iridescent paint catch the light and even a hint of sparkle in the amethyst. Below, the painting is hiding in a frame, waiting for its chance to shine.

Concentric 6, framed art by Amy Crook

Concentric 6, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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