Posts Tagged ‘tree’

Windblown

Wednesday, April 6th, 2016

Windblown by Amy Crook

Windblown, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

Brilliant oranges, pinks, and golds paint the sky as the red sun sinks below the horizon. A lone figure stands next to the tree, both of them tousled by the unseen winds. A raven heads for them both, graceful despite the headwind.

What’s the story here? You could hang this up in your home and contemplate the possible tales as you go about your day, each glimpse sparking a new line of thought.

Windblown, detail, by Amy Crook

Windblown, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of our big black bird, flying headlong into the wind. Below, the whole windblown tableau is waiting in a temporary frame to find its permanent home.

Windblown, framed art by Amy Crook

Windblown, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Discontent

Tuesday, March 8th, 2016

Discontent by Amy Crook

Discontent, 10″x8″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper

There is something very wintry about this painting, the shivery glow of light behind the sharply pointed tree without a hint of spring in the air.

Beautiful and eerie as a winter’s twilight, this piece would make a striking addition to your home or office.

Discontent, detail, by Amy Crook

Discontent, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the sharply directional branches in this wintry, windblown tree. Below, the piece is framed in matte black, adding to the drama.

Discontent, framed art by Amy Crook

Discontent, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Cloud Skimming

Saturday, February 6th, 2016

Cloud Skimming, autumn watercolor by Amy Crook

Cloud Skimming, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

As predicted on Instagram, the scanner ate away much of the delicate detail in the clouds and sky of this painting. You can see the texture best in the framed photograph, the soft mounds of the clouds.

This painting is an optical illusion, the geese skimming over distant clouds they are clearly far in front of and yet still seeming like they could almost land upon the fluffy white. The trees rise up in front, a shock of beautiful autumn flame, setting the stage for the migrating geese.

Cloud Skimming, detail, by Amy Crook

Cloud Skimming, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the hints of texture in the clouds and the geese gliding above, bright foliage peeking up from the bottom. Below, you can see how petite these geese are, flying above the fluff.

Cloud Skimming, framed art by Amy Crook

Cloud Skimming, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Three for a Girl

Friday, February 5th, 2016

Three for a Girl, watercolor by Amy Crook

Three for a Girl, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper

A third installment to one of my favorite series of last year, Three for a Girl continues the Counting Crows theme with another eerie tree and ghostly figure.

The titular girl is almost lost in the mists, fog drifting through and obscuring everything but the tree and its trio of visitors.

Three for a Girl, detail, by Amy Crook

Three for a Girl, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see how the off-black paint granulates into beautifully textured mist, pigment pooling in the hollows of the watercolor paper. Below, the painting is waiting in a frame, a season and a mood in one small, eerie package.

Three for a Girl, framed art by Amy Crook

Three for a Girl, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Ghost Trees

Thursday, January 7th, 2016

Ghost Tree by Amy Crook

Ghost Tree, 6″x4″ ink wash on Fluid watercolor paper

Everything about this ink wash is understated, soft, and ghostly. The pale sky just as the sunset fades into the gloaming. The shadowy tree like a ghost against the ink-streaked clouds. The birds flitting past like memories, barely there in the distance.

The first hints of night haunt the top of the page, washing away the color as the evening threatens to fall, dropping its curtain over those last washes of pink and violet and gold still lurking in the soft clouds.

Ghost Tree, detail, by Amy Crook

Ghost Tree, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the ghostly little ink wash birds swooping through the pale, fading daylight. Below, the tree sits in a frame, ready to haunt its new home.

Ghost Tree, framed art by Amy Crook

Ghost Tree, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Halloween Trees 2

Friday, October 2nd, 2015

Halloween Trees 2 by Amy Crook

Halloween Trees 2 by Amy Crook

The original Halloween Trees is only a year old, but it feels very different from this sequel. The sky is softer and has more cloud shapes, and the trees are a less imposing brown rather than the starkly silhouetted black. Even the crows are different, coming in for a landing instead of taking off into the sunset.

The brilliant swath of pink behind the lightning-struck tree lets that whole bank of clouds really glow. The three trees each have their own character, slightly different patterns in their branches that make it clear even without leaves that they’re not the same species. If the crows are roosting in the middle one, one might wonder what lives in the lightning-struck tree on the left?

Halloween Trees 2, pen & ink, brush & ink, and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Halloween Trees 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Halloween Trees 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the tiny birds up close, coming in to land in the lacework of branches. Below, the piece is in a temporary frame, just waiting for its new home.

Halloween Trees 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Halloween Trees 2, 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
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Liminal Autumn

Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

Liminal Autumn by Amy Crook

Liminal Autumn by Amy Crook

The leaves have fallen but the cold hasn’t yet set in. Autumn still reigns, with fluffy October clouds rolling across the sky on playful breezes. Winter is just around the corner, but for now there’s still sunshine and a hint of comfort lingering around the edges of the world.

These trees have even more detail than my usual horizons, because the trees are painted in a gorgeous brown ink instead of a stark black. You can really see the texture of bark and the way the light shines through the branches, strong enough at the edge of fall still to make them seem almost translucent against the cloudy blue sky.

Liminal Autumn, 8″x4″ ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Liminal Autumn, detail, by Amy Crook

Liminal Autumn, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the intricate branches of the intertwining trees. Below, the painting is temporarily in a frame, waiting to be claimed and loved.

Liminal Autumn, framed art by Amy Crook

Liminal Autumn, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
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