mixed media

Self-portrait in progress

| Anna Cull

Anna Cull Work in progress

Here is a little something I’ve been experimenting with as a way of making use of an old (vintage 1970s), much loved and sadly threadbare tea towel.

Work in progress #1 – using gel medium as a glue, I covered a piece of artboard with the teatowel to make a linen canvas
Work in progress #1 – using gel medium as a glue, I made a linen canvas by covering an artboard with the tea towel (I have enough fabric left over to make another canvas)
Work in progress #2 – I began painting with acrylics thinned with polymer medium and used a photo of myself as a child for reference
Work in progress #2 – I began painting with acrylics thinned with polymer medium and used an old photo of myself as a reference
Work in progress#3 – I continued to build up the layers with thicker, more opaque acrylics to unify the different elements
Work in progress #3 – I continued to build up the layers with thicker, more opaque acrylics to unify the different elements

I’ll post the finished painting tomorrow.

Shoot it, Sketch it: City lights

| Anna Cull
City Lights, original photo – Christchurch, 2012.
City Lights, original photo – Christchurch, 2012.

Today’s Shoot it, Sketch it offering is based on a photo I took on my way to LUXcity last year. For one night, Christchurch was illuminated by 16 light installations created by architecture and design students from across New Zealand. The event provided an opportunity to visit a part of the central city that many of us hadn’tseen since the earthquake in February 2011. An hour before the event, the Great Airbrush Artist in the Sky painted a breathtakingly beautiful sunset and stole the show.

City Lights – mixed media, 2013.
City Lights – mixed media, 2013.
City Lights – chalk pastel and tinted charcoal, 210 x 297 mm, 2013.
City Lights – chalk pastel and tinted charcoal, 210 x 297 mm, 2013.

Also participating in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch, Poppytump, Two Scamps, Breana and 30 Minute Art.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Uncharted waters

| Anna Cull

Uncharted waters – acrylic, ink and digital, 2013.
Uncharted waters – acrylic, ink and digital, 2013.

Acrylic Islands, 2013 – there be treasure buried here...
The Acrylic Islands, 2013 – peeled acrylic paint

I ventured into unfamiliar territory to produce today’s Shoot it, Sketch it. Well, it’s really more of a Shoot it, Sketch it, Peel it, Shoot it, Sketch it!

My inspiration was the leftover paint from last week’s random texture. When I lifted the dry paint off the plate I use as a palette (it just seems a bit more environmentally friendly than rinsing it down the sink), I thought the blobs of acrylic paint (shown in the photograph) looked quite beautiful and wondered if they could be used in a kind of Rorschach inkblot kind of way to inspire a new painting. And the answer is yes. Yes, blobs of paint CAN be remote islands on an old map — if that’s what you want them to be.

Also taking part in the Shoot it, Sketch it experiment are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch, Poppytump and Two Scamps.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Hello?

| Anna Cull

Random texture #2 – mixed media, 175 x 235 mm, 2013.
Random texture #2 – mixed media, 175 x 235 mm, 2013.

Random texture #2, original photo, 2011.
Random texture #2, original photo, 2011.

Here is a second random texture for Shoot it, Sketch it. The inspiration was my photo of a manual telephone exchange/switchboard we discovered at a machinery museum a couple of years ago. It was an odd museum too — a collection of old farm machinery and equipment that seemed abandoned and forgotten. There was no one around and yet it was unlocked and ‘open’. Donations welcome.

I’ve shown the final painting (above) as well as various stages (below).

Random texture #2a
Random texture #2a – the acrylic background

Random texture #2b
Random texture #2b – more paint, more details

Random texture #2c
Random texture #2c – more colour, more contrast

Also participating in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch and Poppytump.

The Word is Love

| Anna Cull

The Word is Love – billboard design – acrylic on board, 2012.
The Word is Love – billboard design – mixed media, 2012.

This is my entry for the Embracing Our Differences billboard design competition. The centrepiece of the project — which is a celebration of diversity and inclusion — is an outdoor art exhibition featuring 39 billboards created by artists, writers and students from all over the world. It will run during April–May in Sarasota, Florida. 2013 will be the project’s 10th anniversary. Whether this makes it into the exhibition or not, it was a lot of fun to research and paint.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Random texture

| Anna Cull

Random texture #1 – acrylic and collage on card, 180 x 260 mm, 2012.
Random texture #1 – acrylic and collage on card, 180 x 260 mm, 2012.

Random texture #1, original photo, 2011.
Random texture #1, original photo, 2011.

Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying the Shoot it, Sketch it challenge? I’ve now painted four of the photographs I took in Nelson/Golden Bay last Christmas. All were taken with art projects in mind but have been in the ‘I will get around to these one day’ pile. It is very satisfying to have the bird of paradise, leaf study, toy museum and this random texture marked off the list.

Also participating in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch and Poppytump.