Posts Tagged ‘tiny painting’

Sunset Bees

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Sunset Bees, tiny watercolor by Amy Crook

Sunset Bees by Amy Crook

Somehow, when I don’t know what to paint, bees keep coming to mind! I suppose they do figure in two things I love quite a bit, Winnie-the-Pooh and Sherlock Holmes. Who can forget “In Which We are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees, and the Stories Begin”? And Holmes’ desire to retire to Sussex and keep bees is equally famous, though in the modern day I keep wanting to see him take up urban beekeeping instead and have box-hives on the roof.

This painting was a bit of an experiment with using watercolor ground to prime over the gesso on the canvas, and then using watercolors for the painting. The color tended to sink into the grooves and dry pale, which gives the sky a dreamy feeling of a sunset seen obliquely through the branches, and the bees flitting overhead.

Sunset Bees, 2.75″x2.75″ oil paint on canvas with 5″ wooden easel.

Below you can see the painting tucked into a bookshelf with my Pooh and Piglet bank, though in this case it looks a bit like Pooh is protecting Piglet from a horror of bees. Hah.

Sunset Bees with easel, by Amy Crook

Sunset Bees with easel, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
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Ever Outward

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Ever Outward, tiny oil painting by Amy Crook

Ever Outward, tiny oil painting by Amy Crook, $129

This is a companion piece to another little oil painting, In and In and In. After the “light at the end of the tunnel” feeling of the first painting, I wanted something that instead felt like emerging from the heart of a mystery. Most of the paint on this is iridescent, the purple and even the black in the middle, though the paint around the outside is an opaque blue-white that frames and grounds the piece.

Ever Outward, 2.75″x2.75″ oil paint on canvas with 5″ wooden easel, $129 with free shipping.

Here you can see the piece on its easel, with the shimmering paint highlighted despite the back lighting that darkens up the white frame.

Ever Outward, tiny painting on display easel by Amy Crook

Ever Outward, with easel, by Amy Crook, $129

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
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WIP: Tunnel in the Light

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Work in Progress by Amy Crook

Work in Progress by Amy Crook

After making In and In and In, I wanted to try out the opposite sort of impression, of descending from light into a dark tunnel or well. I had some iridescent paints out while I was working on a commission, so after that got to a stopping point, I worked up this little canvas. I’ve still got a bit more I want to do with it, so it’s a work in progress – it doesn’t even really have a name yet.

Categories: Daily Art, Works In Progress
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In and In and In

Monday, January 17th, 2011

In and In and In by Amy Crook

In and In and In by Amy Crook

I’m so pleased to finally be back painting again, after a long winter of no sunlight, no energy, and no time. This is a tiny painting, mostly in shades of blue, and it looks to me like some sort of well or tunnel with a light beckoning at the end, luring one to explore what’s beyond the buff frame.

I’m actually very happy with this painting, as well. I love doing abstracts like this, I always have, but I’ve been drowning in weebles lately trying to get my Valentine’s Day projects done for my Etsy shop. I love doing the weebles, but like anything, sometimes variety is better.

I have a sort of a show next month! The Book Shop in Hayward, CA, has artists in their shop window every month, and I’m to be Miss February. This piece is among the ones slated to go in the window, provided it dries in time. Like all the other tiny paintings, this one comes with a wooden easel for display, which can tuck into a bookcase, sit on top of a computer monitor or mantelpiece, and bring a bit of mystery into your space.

In and In and In, 2.75″x2.75″ oil paint on canvas with 5″ wooden easel.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
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School of Squid

Saturday, December 11th, 2010

School of Squid by Amy Crook

School of Squid by Amy Crook

This tiny oil painting is perfect to bring the ocean to your desk, bookshelf, or little niche. I saw a documentary about squid in the waters of Monterey, and they all looked so pale as they swarmed together, rather than the usual giant squid pink, that I was inspired to create this painting. I added a little dimension to them with some glazing, but I liked the way their underpaintings came out so ghostly that I left them mostly as is.

The edges of this little canvas board are finished, the image wrapping around to the sides to add a little dimensions to this tiny bit of undersea paradise. There’s a touch of pearlescent white in the shining water and on the shimmery squid, just to add a little sparkle.

School of Squid, 4″x6″, oil paint on canvas board, 5″ tall easel.

School of Squid, with easel, by Amy Crook

School of Squid, with easel, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles
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Bobtail Squid

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Bobtail Squid by Amy Crook

Bobtail Squid by Amy Crook

I think bobtail squid are just the cutest of the squid family, so I decided to paint one up for another tiny painting. He’s actually a deep-sea creature, so he should rightly be floating in a serene black depth, but I wanted to give him a little lighter of a background, so I made it a dark blue with a bit of sunshine coming in. Maybe it’s really the lights of an oncoming research vessel, who knows?

Bobtail Squid, 4″x6″ oil paint on canvas board with a 5″ wooden easel.

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Sea Turtle

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Sea Turtle by Amy Crook

Sea Turtle by Amy Crook

After I painted a sea turtle for my contest winner, I decided I wanted to do another one just for the heck of it. This little painting depicts a green sea turtle swimming in shallow ocean waters, frolicking through the sunbeams streaming in from above. He’s a perfect size to fit in a little niche on a bookshelf, desk, or side table.

Sea Turtle, 2.75″ x 2.75″ oil on canvas, nfs (sold). This painting comes with a little 5″ wooden easel for display.

Sea Turtle, step 1, by Amy Crook

Sea Turtle, step 1, by Amy Crook

First, I laid down the background, fading from the sunlit top of the water to a clear blue near the bottom, including the edges of the tiny canvas. Then I added in the turtle himself, or at least his shape, which had to dry before I could put in his details and create the charming fellow you see above.

Sea Turtle, step 2, by Amy Crook

Sea Turtle, step 2, by Amy Crook

You can see how the finished product looks on a shelf with some other tiny paintings (and a little friend) here:

4 tiny underwater scenes by Amy Crook

4 tiny underwater scenes by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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