Posts Tagged ‘underwater’
Jellyfish Bloom
Monday, October 6th, 2014
Jellyfish Bloom by Amy Crook
I went to Monterey Bay Aquarium recently, where they have two different exhibits full of jellyfish. I love the way the jellies just float serenely along, totally oblivious to the tug of gravity, going up or down or whichever way suits them at the moment. Their tentacles trail along behind like the tails of comets, following with the same slow, careless air.
The splash of sunlight at the top of this painting made me want to give them a bit of a gold sheen, so I used the palest gold paint I have (doesn’t everyone have 7 shades of gold paint?). There’s a tiny bit of salt hiding in this painting, and the background is shining and iridescent, giving everything an ethereal, underwater glow.
Jellyfish Bloom, 7″x5″ salt, metallic watercolor, and iridescent watercolor on paper.
Jellyfish Bloom, detail, by Amy Crook
It’s annoyingly difficult to photograph shiny things, because the white of the paper ends up looking grey by comparison, but you can get a little hint of the iridescent sheen that hides in the turquoise waters with the shiny gold jellies in the photo above. Below, the piece in a frame, looking rather more green from the bright sunlight.
Jellyfish Boom, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: iridescent watercolor, jellyfish, metallic, metallic watercolor, more cowbell, nfs, salt, sold, underwater
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Sunlit Stingray
Monday, June 24th, 2013
Sunlit Stingray, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper
I finally decided what to go on this background, which made me think of clear, sunlit tropical waters. This little guy looks a bit melancholy, but i like the sense of movement and shimmer in him, and I seem to remember all the rays we saw at the aquarium kept their smiles hidden underneath.
Sunlit Stingray, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the actual sunlight catching on the shimmery paint, both the silvery body and odd little golden-green highlights on the stingray, and just a tiny bit on the coppery-gold water. Below, you can see it hanging out with one of my awesome new tentacle critters from under the sea or possibly Arizona.
Sunlit Stingray, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: iridescent, nfs, sold, stingray, underwater, watercolor
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Green Sea Turtle
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Green Sea Turtle by Amy Crook
A few months back I held a contest on the Not Dead Yet Studios blog to give away one Cartoon, and one custom tiny painting. The very patient CaZ from 2 Chicks at Home won the painting, and it’s finally done.
She asked for a green sea turtle (which I was surprised to find after some Googling wasn’t particularly green), and so I went looking for reference photos and got started. Rather than using one of the tiny 2.75″ square canvases, I decided to go with a slightly larger canvas board to give the little guy some room to swim.
As soon as he’s dry enough, he’ll get packed up and shipped off to his new home. He was fun to paint, and I’m thinking perhaps I need to do another contest soon — though maybe this time for an existing work.
Green Sea Turtle, 4″x5″ oil on canvas board, commission.
Read on to watch the turtle swim into being.
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, nfs, oil painting, sea turtle, tiny painting, underwater
