Posts Tagged ‘tree’
Halloween Trees
Friday, October 10th, 2014
Halloween Trees by Amy Crook
I suppose I should think of something to call this series of paintings so I can make a tag for it, with the spooky winter trees against the various skies. These trees are so finely detailed it’s almost like lace against the brilliant orange sunset sky. I have to deliberately work against my desire to make things very regular and symmetrical, to put in broken branches and bare spots just like real trees.
Five black crows fly off into the sunset, riding the cool autumn winds. Everything about this piece feels like October, from the orange and black color scheme to the bare trees and exiting birds.
Next time, I’ll have to sneak in some extra bats, though.
Halloween Trees, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Halloween Trees, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, I’ve zoomed in on the fine lacework of branches, and a few crows flying into the intensely orange sunset. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, waiting to go to its new home.
Halloween Trees, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: crow, halloween trees, horizons, nfs, orange, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
Seven More
Wednesday, September 17th, 2014
Seven More by Amy Crook
The wonderful patron who owns Seven for a Secret wanted a similar painting to send as a gift for someone who needed cheering. I painted a lighter, bluer sky with greener, more summery trees for him. The whole painting has a much more cheery sort of sky than the original, with my new favorite flock of crows flying in the distance. I’m really starting to get the hang of the tiny crows, I think, which is why I’ve been painting bats and geese instead. Perhaps October’s trees will get some crows to go with them.
I have reports that it’s been well-received and the recipient was much cheered by it, so hooray.
Seven More, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: commission, crow, horizons, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Flying V
Friday, September 5th, 2014
Flying V by Amy Crook
You can tell I really miss fall, because this is the second painting this month with the lovely dead trees. This time it’s a V of geese flying in the distance, taking the last breath of summer south with them so winter can finally come.
Last month, two patrons were interested in Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, and the one who didn’t buy it told me she’d have preferred geese. Fortunately, I have that power, and now she’s happily bought her own spooky trees.
Flying V, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Flying V, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the geese making their way across the sky in their even formation. Below, you can see them in a frame, hanging out with my iPhone so you can see how tiny they really are.
Flying V, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: geese, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
Stormriders
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014
Stormriders by Amy Crook
Three small crows brave the stormy skies, suspended between the upward-reaching branches of the tree and the downward-reaching fork of lightning. The clouds are limned in violet light all around the silver bolt, adding an extra touch of mystery.
Stormriders, 6″x4″ pen & ink, watercolor, and metallic and interference watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Stormriders, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the light shines off the silver and interference violet paints in the lightning and clouds. Below, you can see the piece in a frame. It’s small, but it’s fierce!
Stormriders, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: clouds, crow, horizons, interference, lightning, metallic watercolor, nfs, pen and ink, purple, sold, spirals, storm, tree, watercolor
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down
Monday, August 4th, 2014
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down by Amy Crook
I’ve painted lots of skies full of crows, but today I decided to go a different way with my dark Halloween heart and paint bats. Because bats!
There’s a tiny hint of nighttime violet in the upper left, but it’s being chased away by the sunrise glowing at bottom of the painting, where seven winter-barren trees peek up into the frame. There’s 13 flying bats (of course) and 3 already sleeping in the lightning-split tree they call their home.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bats coming in for a landing, and the three sleepers at the very top of the tree. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right wall to hold it.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: baaaaaaaats, bats, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
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Five for Silver
Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013
Five for Silver, watercolor by Amy Crook
Tuesday seems like a good day for some crows flying through the gloaming. The moon has risen early, gibbous and pale above the evergreens. Soft clouds curl and five black birds fade ghostlike into the shimmering twilight sky.
This is a mix of very different paints that all fall under “watercolor,” with the trees done in pine-scented Christmas paint, the sky textured layers of shimmering Iridescent Moonstone, the moon made of opaque Japanese watercolor, and the birds a translucent black.
Five for Silver, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Five for Silver, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see some of the delicate shimmer on the sky, and the painterly brush strokes in the trees and birds. Below, I have it temporarily matted into a frame so you can get a feel for the unusual size.
Five for Silver, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: crow, horizons, iridescent, moon, more cowbell, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Ghost Moon
Monday, March 4th, 2013
Ghost Moon by Amy Crook
I can’t honestly remember now which came first, the Ghost Spirals Bookmark or the trees in this piece. I definitely painted them on the same day, but then I came back to this later and added in the moon, and then in a third pass I added iridescent blue stars with the purple meteor, a shine of subtle iridescent green to the treetops, and silver on the moon.
I’m sometimes torn about using so much iridescent and metallic paint. On the one hand, it feels a bit gimmicky (and can’t be made into prints effectively), but on the other hand I think the pieces are more beautiful with the shimmer and shine. And since the real point of my art is to put more beautiful things into the world, I’ve decided to go with what feels right.
Ghost Moon, 7″x5″ Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Ghost Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a bit of the green shimmer on the trees, the silver shine of the moon, and the blue and purple stars, shooting and otherwise. Below, I’ve got the piece in a frame, so you can see how it sizes up to my iPhone.
Ghost Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, for sale, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, shooting star, spirals, tree, watercolor
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