Grey duck

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 | Anna Cull

‘Grey Duck’ is one you probably haven’t seen before. He was an art school ‘life drawing’ exercise from a few years ago; a four-hour sketch; a resident of the Canterbury Museum (yes, sadly, an ex-duck)… and I’ve only just decided to let him out into the big wide world. Some art is like that. Some art wants to stay with you ― privately, secretly ― at least for a short time until you figure out what you want to do with it (if anything).

If you like him as much as I do, you can click on the image above and buy him from my Etsy shop : )

Yes, I’ve been having fun styling the cards for my shop. But now it’s back to painting… that way I’ll have something to show you next week. Thanks for reading.

Rediscover

July 3, 2015July 2, 2015 | Anna Cull

“I invent nothing, I rediscover.” Auguste Rodin

Dandelion study — ink on paper, digitally edited, 2015

Moving day

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 | Anna Cull

I wrote about Shand’s Emporium in one of my ‘pen vs earthquake’ posts a couple of years ago (click on the photograph below to read the article). Relocation has taken years rather than months but moving day finally came last week.

Here’s a link to a news report on the move, complete with a video showing how they lifted it over the tram lines: Shand’s Emporium touches down on Manchester Street, Christchurch.

Pen vs earthquake – Shand’s Emporium, 2013 — Pen vs earthquake — Shand’s Emporium, 2013

Time warp (pen vs earthquake)

February 17, 2015June 30, 2015 | Anna Cull

Pen vs earthquake #7 – Jubilee Clock Tower, 2014

This coming Sunday will be the fourth anniversary of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that rocked Christchurch (22nd February 2011). Four years on and we are still the City of Orange Road Cones. One sign of progress is the restoration of the Jubilee Clock Tower ― the road cones are now gone and the clock is no longer frozen in time!

Other pen vs earthquake updates:

The deconstructed band rotunda Retour is still in a sorry state. I have no idea what they plan to do with the dome that has been salvaged.

As far as I know, Christchurch resident Peter Croft is still planning to restore Shand’s Emporium but progress has been slow, apparently due to new city council rules and regulations.
Update: Shand’s Emporium touches down on Manchester Street, Christchurch. June 2015

The Octagon is being repaired and earthquake strengthened, and work is finally underway on Mona Vale Homestead. If all goes according to plan, Mona Vale will re-open in June 2016.

My pen vs earthquake sketches are originally from a student project. Ben Heine’s ingenious Pencil Vs Camera images inspired the series.

Life is too short to blend in

February 3, 2015October 2, 2022 | Anna Cull

Galah, Australia – original photograph, 2014; Galah, pencil sketch – study for painting, 2015

Sometimes the only opportunity to take photographs is from the back seat of a moving vehicle. No time to think ― just point and click. It helps if you are really quick and a little bit lucky. When you see the original shot prior to cropping (below), you could be forgiven for thinking that there was nothing much in this scene worth painting…

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…but I zoomed in and used the scribble sketch to figure out my composition. I’m now painting the landscape and building up lots of lovely textures, and then I’ll have to figure out the best way to paint the cockatoo — too realistic and he won’t have the sense of fun I want to create; too abstract and no one will know he’s a bird. Wish me luck : )

Start drawing

November 14, 2014November 7, 2014 | Anna Cull

Water lilies – ink drawing and digital colour, 2011

‘I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realise how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.’ Frederick Franck