Posts Tagged ‘salt’
June 2022 Patreon sketches
Thursday, March 30th, 2023
Not a ton of requests from June, so there’s a wee trio of cards. These are all the size of a standard playing card, known as ATC or ACEO for Artist Trading Card (when traded) or Artist Card, Edition Original (when sold). The more you know.
June 2022 ACEO sketches by Amy Crook
- Jefferson asked for “Cherry Festival”
- Eric asked for “gloom”
- R&A asked for “Do not sell the baby online!”
These were all claimed before they were even made, whee!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: copic marker, nfs, rey, salt, sold, tree, watercolor
Yupo sketch cards
Tuesday, May 25th, 2021
I got a new substrate to try, Yupo, which is an interesting synthetic that comes in a transluscent thin sheet, a more normal sheet, and a fat cardstock, all very smooth and non-absorbent. Basically the opposite of watercolor paper! I got a package of sketch card sized pads, and did some non-request sketch experiments on them in various media.
5 sketch cards by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: aceo, cat, counting crows, crow, duochrome, salt, watercolor, yupo
Hurtling Through the Void
Saturday, November 4th, 2017
Hurtling Through the Void, 7″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover black paper
A pockmarked planetoid hurtles through the nothingness of space in this subtle, fascinating mixed media work. Reds and golds ride on the velvety charcoal background, and a subtle debossing effect makes the corona and tail of this coment seem to disappear.
This painting is perfect for someone who likes to be surprised, to find the hidden details in a seemingly simple image, to imagine their own narrative in abstract art.
Who do you know like that in your life?
Hurtling Through the Void, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the divots left by the ink pen and the way the red ink catches the light in chameleon colors. Below, the frame makes a portal to some outer space where you can watch asteroids go by at your leisure.
Hurtling Through the Void, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: black paper, for sale, metallic, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
Fairytale Sky 11
Monday, September 7th, 2015
Fairytale Sky 11 by Amy Crook
Against the soft background of salt-created stars and matte teal night, the glowing moon and iridescent clouds look like enamel, more substance than mist and light. The clouds are mainly a beautiful turquoise with odd purple lowlights that appear and disappear as you move past it, lined with pearlescent moonlight along the spiral curves and sinuous shapes.
Every Fairytale Sky painting is a little different. This one’s got some serious shine that give it a beautiful feel of a fairy tale just waiting for you to step through and find your magical adventure.
Fairytale Sky, 7″x5″ watercolor, pearlescent watercolor, duochrome watercolor, and salt on paper.
Fairytale Sky 11, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the velvety softness of the sky and the bright enameled moon floating atop it. Below, the night is captured in a frame, safe and cool even in the day.
Fairytale Sky, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: duochrome, fairytale sky, iridescent, moon, more cowbell, nfs, salt, sold, spirals, watercolor
Winter 2
Tuesday, July 7th, 2015
Winter 2 by Amy Crook
The original Winter has some very soft greenish undertones that play beautifully off the cream of the page. This sequel has violet undertones instead from genuine Amethyst pigment, making it seem icier than its counterpart.
There’s a real, physical sparkle to this painting with the inclusion of salt crystals, but it’s very subtle and mostly evident in the way it interacts with the paint.
The winter also has another feature, a burst of color where it deliberately breaks the invisible border and reaches up toward the sky in its exuberance. Even in the coldness of winter you can find nature’s enthusiasm.
Winter 2, 9″x12″ salt and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Winter 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can just see the subtle sparkle of the salt and the beautiful way it interacts with the watercolor mix. Below, you can see the painting with my old glasses for scale.
Winter 2, abstract art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, salt, watercolor
Jellyfish Bloom
Monday, October 6th, 2014
Jellyfish Bloom by Amy Crook
I went to Monterey Bay Aquarium recently, where they have two different exhibits full of jellyfish. I love the way the jellies just float serenely along, totally oblivious to the tug of gravity, going up or down or whichever way suits them at the moment. Their tentacles trail along behind like the tails of comets, following with the same slow, careless air.
The splash of sunlight at the top of this painting made me want to give them a bit of a gold sheen, so I used the palest gold paint I have (doesn’t everyone have 7 shades of gold paint?). There’s a tiny bit of salt hiding in this painting, and the background is shining and iridescent, giving everything an ethereal, underwater glow.
Jellyfish Bloom, 7″x5″ salt, metallic watercolor, and iridescent watercolor on paper.
Jellyfish Bloom, detail, by Amy Crook
It’s annoyingly difficult to photograph shiny things, because the white of the paper ends up looking grey by comparison, but you can get a little hint of the iridescent sheen that hides in the turquoise waters with the shiny gold jellies in the photo above. Below, the piece in a frame, looking rather more green from the bright sunlight.
Jellyfish Boom, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: iridescent watercolor, jellyfish, metallic, metallic watercolor, more cowbell, nfs, salt, sold, underwater
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Observance
Thursday, July 3rd, 2014
Observance by Amy Crook
I almost managed to get all the pieces for July’s Floating Gallery into the blog beforehand, but this one was finished just under the wire. I think this is the single most reworked salt painting I’ve ever done, using multiple applications of both water and very watery paint to give the appearance of scattered stars and nebulae in the sky above the observatory in the mountains below.
There’s a lot of sparkle in this painting, too, each little salt crystal catches the light at a slightly different angle, making the stars twinkle as the light moves over the surface.
Observance, 6″x6″ salt and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Observance, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the formations of salt and watercolor that catch the light, sparkling into strange shapes in the night sky. Below, the painting is temporarily tucked into a frame, full of subtle color and light despite the dark palette.
Observance, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: for sale, more cowbell, salt, stars, watercolor
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