drawing

Self-portrait in charcoal

| Anna Cull
Charcoal self-portrait – semi-blind drawing, 320 x 280 mm, 2011.

I learnt to draw the Danny Gregory way — slowly and deliberately with a pen. No pencil. No eraser. Mediums like graphite and charcoal really throw me now. This preliminary sketch is a semi-blind drawing (that’s where you spend most of your time looking at the subject, NOT the paper).

Charcoal self-portrait – charcoal on paper, 380 x 280 mm, 2011.
Charcoal self-portrait – charcoal on paper, 380 x 280 mm, 2011.

I persevered with the exercise and ended up with a self-portrait that I quite like. It is based on a photo of me when I was a young ballerina.

Self-portrait in vector

| Anna Cull
Pop art self-portrait, vector illustration, 2010.

This was a personal project undertaken when I had time on my hands following the September 2010 earthquake(s). The illustration has proved to be quite useful.

I tweaked the colours for print, added a background pattern, and used these as the first and last pages of my D&A diary.

I’ve also been using it as my WordPress Gravatar and as my profile picture on Facebook.

Self-portrait in pen

| Anna Cull
Objects as self-portrait – sketches.

One of the first projects of the D&A graphic design course was similar in nature to the still life/oil painting: a self-portrait using objects. The objects in my portrait are a character teapot from Golden Bay, a bottle of Pinot Noir, precious family letters, a little leather bag (for guitar picks), greenstone earrings made by yours truly and my 35 mm camera.

Objects as self-portrait – pigment liner on paper, 290 x 180 mm, 2010.
Objects as self-portrait – illustration and digital colour, 290 x 180 mm, 2010.

Self-portrait in oil

| Anna Cull

Looking back at the body of work I’ve acquired as a student over the last two years, I’m a little surprised to see how many self-portraits there are. Very few are what you’d call ‘traditional’.

Personal still life – sketch.
D&A Foundation course project.

A favourite bag, a peacock feather I’ve had for years, a bottle of Chanel No. 5, nail polish and paracetamol.

Personal Still Life – oil on panel, 400 x 300 mm, 2010.

Not too bad for my first oil painting.