Posts Tagged ‘tree’
Waning
Monday, July 19th, 2021
Waning, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper
This misprint had an alignment issue that made it all sky and no earth. I couldn’t resist painting in the very end of twilight in rich blue and fading violet. The moon is a special iridescent paint that looks white at some angles and lavender at others. The tree has some intriguing physical texture, painting over with soft-body acrylic paint, and its details were extended into a network of lacy growth.
There’s a few little birds in the sky as well, hidden mostly behind the mist of tiny dots that might be fireflies or snowflakes or even a light rain reflecting moonlight at the viewer.
Every part of this artwork got a touch of new life, from the waning gibbous moon to the color-washed streaks in the sky.
Waning, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the paint shines, the moon going purple and the tree’s texture picking up the golden sunlight. Below, this piece is in a frame and happily showing itself off for you.
Waning, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: acrylic, blue, crow, inkjet print, interference, mixed media, moon, more cowbell, primatek, purple, tree, watercolor
Artifacts of the Resolution
Wednesday, July 14th, 2021
Artifacts of the Resolution, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper
Making prints work out is always an interesting challenge with a new program and a new printer.
Instead of recycling this low-res misprint, I used my mineral-based watercolors to paint over it. I added the cloudy russet sunset and gave the tree texture, body, and new details. All of the birds stayed at their original resolution, which gives the painting its name.
Look, I can’t be expected to resist a pun that good.
Artifacts of the Resolution, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see up close the motion-blur of the branches next to the clear pixelation on the birds, as though they’re visiting from some other, lower-resolution reality. Below, the painting is resting in a frame, waiting to be sent to someone new.
Artifacts of the Resolution, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: crow, ghost, inkjet print, mixed media, more cowbell, nfs, primatek, print, sold, tree, watercolor
Old Haunts
Saturday, September 5th, 2020
Old Haunts, 8″x4″ brush & ink and watercolor on paper
I’ve had the spooky, misty-dusk background of this piece sitting around my studio aka living room for ages, and finally one day I just pulled it out and put some trees on it. The light in the middle begged for its own something, and this loosely-constructed, half-overgrown haunted house grew out of that.
It’s possible your artist watches a few too many Halloween movies.
There’s a trio of trees, a handful of crows, and of course the spooky old house rising up out of the mist.
Old Haunts, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some spooky trees and spooky birds and the misty gloaming sky behind them both. Below, it’s on my shiny new table easel, waiting to haunt its new home.
Old Haunts by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: brush and ink, crow, haunted house, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Where Lightning Once Was
Thursday, March 12th, 2020
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
Tags: crow, moon, nfs, primatek, raven, sold, sunset, tree, watercolor
Both Alike in Dignity
Sunday, March 8th, 2020
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
Tags: bird, crow, more cowbell, nfs, primatek, sold, tree, watercolor
Three Crows 2
Friday, March 6th, 2020
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
Tags: crow, duochrome, nfs, primatek, sold, sunset, tree, watercolor
Inktober 2019, week 1 plus
Friday, October 11th, 2019
Normally I do these on Mondays, but I was out of town and then there was some kind of power shutoff madness (mine was supposed to go but did not? whatever, PG&E, you run your public utility like the Muppet Show.) So, anyway, here you go, week one-and-then-some of Inktober!
Inktober 2019 day 1: Ring, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper
Inktober 2019 day 2: Mindless, 5″x7″ pen & ink and ink wash on paper
Inktober 2019 day 3: Bait, 3.5″x2.5″ pen & ink, glitter gel pen, and ink wash on ACEO bristol, nfs
Inktober 2019 day 4: Freeze, 3″x3″ pen and ink on paper, wip
Inktober 2019 day 5: Build, ink wash on paper bookmark, sold
Inktober 2019 day 6: Husky, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper, wip
Inktober 2019 day 7: Enchanted, 5″x7″ ink wash on paper
Inktober 2019 day 8: Frail, pen and ink on a bookmark, wip
Inktober 2019 day 9: Swing, 7″x5″ pen and ink on paper, wip
Inktober 2019 day 10: Pattern, 3.5″x2.5″ brush and ink on ACEO card, nfs
Inktober 2019 day 11: Snow, 6″x4″ white ink on black paper
Abbreviation decoder ring!
- wip = work in progress, ie, I’m probably going to color some or all of the drawing before it’s really done
- nfs = not for sale, ie, it’s a Patreon sketch and already belongs to someone else
- ACEO = Artist Card, Edition Original, also known as ATC or Artist Trading Card when traded rather than sold, which is a standard size I use for all my Patreon sketches these days
Want to get your own sketches, dibs on art, or just feel the warm glow of being part of my community of supporters? Head over to Patreon and pick a tier to get started! There’s also bonus cat photos sometimes, if that helps.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, brush and ink, brush pen, cthulhu, futhark, hockey, inktober, mcu, patreon, pen and ink, rey, tony stark, tree, water brush, zelazny
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