Posts Tagged ‘tree’
I Hear the Rain
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015
I Hear the Rain by Amy Crook
I wembled about this painting a long time — this amazing, dramatic sky sat on my art table for weeks before I drew in the tree, and then weeks more while I waffled about what else it needed.
Finally, I gave in to my gothy heart and drew this gorgeous graveyard, the mysterious silhouettes blending beautifully with the descending torrent of rain.
The painting gets its title from the Violent Femmes song “I Hear the Rain,” which is about being buried in a shallow grave and hearing the rain pound on the earth above you. It seemed apropos.
I Hear the Rain, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
I Hear the Rain, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the way the gorgeously layered rain crashes down through the silhouetted graveyard. Below, the piece is in a temporary frame, just waiting to find a new home.
I Hear the Rain, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: blue, graveyard, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, rain, sold, tree, watercolor
Two for Joy
Friday, June 5th, 2015
Two for Joy by Amy Crook
If this painting feels familiar, that’s because it’s a relative of last month’s One for Sorrow 2. The figure this time is more androgynous, and their clothing seems to be blowing against the prevailing winds that bend the trees to their will.
Just like its predecessor, this piece has a lot of soft, pale fog that gets lost when it’s reproduced, but adds a lot of rich texture to the original. You can see it in the trees in the detail photo, a delicate sweep of wind moving across the paper grain.
Two crows sit low on a branch in the lee of the wind, harbingers of some unnamed joy. Whose joy and about what is left up to the imagination of the viewer, or perhaps it belongs to the apparition staring blankly back out of the page.
Two for Joy, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Two for Joy, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the staticky figure staring back at you, his clothing seemingly blown by an opposing wind. Below, I’ve displayed the painting in a temporary frame, where it awaits its new home.
Two for Joy, 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
Tags: bloodstone, counting crows, crow, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
One for Sorrow 2
Friday, May 8th, 2015
One for Sorrow 2 by Amy Crook
I’m not entirely happy with the title One for Sorrow 2, but this painting definitely needed that name, prior use notwithstanding. The single baleful crow sits high in the branches of the windswept tree, its image smeared out into the fog like an apparition, as though the bird is more of a ghost than the figure below.
There is a lot of very pale detail in the trees and sky which is hard to photograph, but shows up beautifully in person and adds another layer to the sense of windswept, foggy unreality. The detail photo shows a little of the sky, but it’s hard to spot on the sun-drenched page.
The lovely, textured greys are also not entirely black, but have a mix of reddish brown bloodstone in them to give the whole piece a more organic, grounded atmosphere.
One for Sorrow 2, 6″x6″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
One for Sorrow 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can just barely see the texture in the fog, a hint of wind and motion and shapes looming large and distant. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, just waiting to haunt your house.
One for Sorrow 2, 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
Tags: bloodstone, counting crows, crow, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
Spring Blossoms
Thursday, May 7th, 2015
Spring Blossoms by Amy Crook
Despite the lack of rain, spring is most definitely here in California, and the pollen right along with it. The one consolation is the proliferation of beautiful flowering trees, including the famous cherry blossoms.
With this series, I often paint the skies and decide on what goes on the horizon later. This time the clouds came out so fluffy and friendly that I wanted to honour the beautiful spring sky, and so I mixed up a pale, petal pink to bring a sense of warmth and hope to the bare branches.
The colors are very hard to capture when it’s all pale blue and soft pink, and no matter what I do the sky ends up much greener than in real life, so do take the images with a grain of salt. As with anything online, what you see is probably neither what I see nor what reality looks like.
Spring Blossoms, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Spring Blossoms, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the beautiful raised droplets of paint that create the feeling of a cherry tree in full bloom, and a few of the little songbirds flitting in and out of the branches. Below, you can see the painting in a temporary frame — the odd size means it will need a mat of some kind before it goes up on the wall. This is also the photo of the three that best represents the ‘true’ colors, at least on my monitor.
Spring Blossoms, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, spring, tree, watercolor
Winter Sun
Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
Winter Sun by Amy Crook
It’s really hard to photograph and reproduce a blue this light, but I did give a better view to my darling patrons, who got to see how the painting grew its dormant winter trees a few weeks ago.
The pale blue skies of winter hold an equally wan sun shining above these barren boughs. Five trees stand together with branches like lacework, intricate fractals silhouetted against the afternoon sky. A few little birds have braved the cold, can you find all three?
Winter Sun, 7″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on watercolor paper.
Winter Sun, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see all the tiny detail in one little tree. Below, the painting waits in a frame for a spring that will never quite arrive.
Winter Sun, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
Core Freedom
Monday, February 23rd, 2015
Core Freedom by Amy Crook for Jo Van Every
Another commission done, this one a new addition to my Horizons series. This one is entirely watercolour, even the raptor circling above in the clear blue sky. Jo had this to say about her newest acquisition:
Since moving out to a rural area and acquiring dogs, I walk through woods and fields daily. I’ve been paying attention to subtle differences in colour as the seasons change. I can identify several tree species by shape in winter. I am more aware of the subtle differences in bark colour and leaf colour, especially in spring. I also notice the change in the colour of the sky depending on season and humidity. Amy’s paintings of bare trees and crows resonate with this landscape that I observe daily. She painted another painting of autumn trees with a moodier, cloudy sky. While I liked that one, the orange leaves against a blue sky speaks to me much more clearly and Amy was happy to paint one just for me.
Core Freedom, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
Tags: all rights reserved, bird, commission, horizons, raptor, tree, watercolor
Windswept 2
Thursday, February 5th, 2015
Windswept 2 by Amy Crook
Stormy skies give the color scheme of Autumn to this second Windswept watercolor. There’s a lone figure at the bottom trudging past the trees, leaning into the wind, just trying to get where they’re going.
If only they’d look up, they might see the color all around them, but sometimes we get so focused on our journey we forget to see the world we’re traveling through.
On the other hand, windblown leaf bits in your eyes suck, so I don’t really blame them.
Sometimes, life is like that.
Windswept 2, 8″x4″ watercolor and Japanese watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Windswept 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the tiny grey figure struggling against the wind with the storm-tossed trees all around. Below, you can see the painting in a temporary frame, just waiting to bring its vibrant colors into your home.
Windswept 2, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: horizons, nfs, sold, tree, watercolor
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