Posts Tagged ‘spirals’
Spiral Bookmark 3
Friday, August 17th, 2012
Spiral Bookmark 3
by Amy Crook
This little bookmark uses dark, warm earth tones to in its climbing pattern of lightening spirals. The golden glow at the center of each one has a secret little scattering of subtle salt crystals that give the bookmark an interesting touch of texture. The paper itself is quite soft and thick, almost felt-like, and slightly cream-colored, and invites the fingers to touch.
Spiral Bookmark 3, 1″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper.
Spiral Bookmark 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the textures of paper, paint and salt interacting on this dark, subtle bookmark. Below, it’s hanging out with a book, just waiting to go to its new home.
Spiral Bookmark 3, with book, by Amy Crook, $13.13
(book and iPhone not included)
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: for sale, salt, spirals, watercolor
Spiral Bookmark 2
Thursday, August 16th, 2012
Spiral Bookmark 2
by Amy Crook
This series of overlapping spirals uses three shades of purple Copic marker, none of which show up as warm as the real thing. I enjoyed doodling the idle spirals, overlapping the layers to make a dizzying feast for the eyes.
Spiral Bookmark 2, 1.5″x5″ Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).
Spiral Bookmark 2, detail, by Amy Crook
A close-up tinged with cool blue from the bright afternoon sunlight is above, and below you can see it looking even bluer with the book and my phone. Silly computer.
Spiral Bookmark 2, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: bookmark, copic marker, nfs, spirals
Insomnia City
Friday, July 27th, 2012
Insomnia City, watercolor by Amy Crook
I couldn’t sleep the other night, so I pulled out some paper and my new palette of almost-black paints and painted. It started out with similar spiral clouds as Dirigible, but instead of filling up the whole image, I created a stormy blue-grey sky and then painted the city below in a deep, dark plum color. I wanted to give the whole thing a but of surreal whimsy while keeping the feel of a proper skyline, and keeping the buildings from actually running into the clouds. I kind of like how the lower right ended up shadowed by its incoming cloud bank there, too.
Insomnia City, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper, nfs (sold).
Insomnia City, detail, by Amy Crook
Above I turned up the saturation a little so you could see the subtle purple and blue and the contrast between them. Below, you can see the piece in all its muted glory, tucked into its temporary frame and hanging out with my iPhone in the sunshine.
Insomnia City, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: blue, city, clouds, nfs, sold, spirals, watercolor
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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
Filigree Moon 2
Monday, July 9th, 2012
Filigree Moon 2 by Amy Crook
This painting is the shining golden harvest moon version of the cool Filigree Moon from two weeks ago. The moon is rising up in one corner, covered in gold spirals, adding its light to a sky full of stars. There’s faint white salt pools, deep golden yellow ones, and some glittery gold spirals as well decorating the black paper the same way the stars dot the sky.
I’d been using my cooler glitter pens for my planets, the blue and purple, and I wanted to use the gold for a bit. So, I got out some black paper and first made the golden moon background, then scattered in some stars with salt, water and paint, then a few more of just salt water. Finally once it was all dry, I came in and added spirals, first to the moon and then to give the sky even more sparkle.
Filigree Moon 2, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor and glitter gel pen on Arches cover black paper.
Filigree Moon 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a very close photo of two of the tiny salt pools, including the one big crystal that formed. Below is a shot of the moon itself, in all its glittery glory, with the same two pools in the distance on the upper left.
Filigree Moon 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook
And finally, you can see it in a frame (with the glass left out), hanging out with my iPhone so they can talk about whether size matters.
Filigree Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, filigree, for sale, glitter gel pen, gold, moon, salt, spirals, watercolor
Tentacle Spiral 3
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
Tentacle Spiral 3, original art by Amy Crook
I used red-brown at one corner and yellow ochre at the other to make an earthy, warm wash, and then it sat around for a while while I wasn’t sure what to do with it. But when in doubt, I always turn to tentacles, and so I’ve added a third painting to the series. I rather like the effect of the lunar black tentacles on the powdery-matte Japanese watercolor background, with the warm glow coming through them.
Tentacle Spiral 3, watercolor on paper.
Tentacle Spiral 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a close-up of the tentacles, and the textures of paper and paint together. I’ve made the detail photo into a computer wallpaper, this one’s less widescreen than yesterday’s for those of you with more square monitors. Below, I’ve put the painting in a frame so you can see how it might look, tucked in a frame on a shelf or perhaps a little piece of wall somewhere, adding tentacles to your home or office.
Tentacle Spiral 3, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books
Tags: brown, for sale, spirals, tentacle spiral, tentacles, watercolor, yellow
Filigree Planet 2
Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Filigree Planet 2 by Amy Crook
One more example of all the tiny spirals, this one with a few purple spirals sneaking in among the blue just to switch things up. The planet itself is a rich, grapey purple with some splashes of lighter periwinkle as highlights. The black space around it has quite a mysterious, almost wormhole-like texture to it, swirling around the planet’s inexorable gravity.
Filigree Planet 2, 7″x5″ watercolor and glitter gel pen on paper.
Filigree Planet 2, detail, by Amy Crook
I love the way the light shimmers off these glittery pens, but they fade to near-invisibility at other angles and distances. I even made you, well, okay, I made myself a computer wallpaper off of the detail shot above, but you can use it, too. Below, you can see the piece tucked into a black frame, reflecting serenely in my iPhone (as usual, it’s not included, heh).
Filigree Planet 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books
Tags: blue, filigree, for sale, glitter gel pen, planet, purple, spirals, violet, watercolor
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