acrylic

By the time you’ve finished, you’ll know how to do it

| Anna Cull

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One of the biggest challenges I faced when painting the ‘Sign of the Times’ triptych was writing the words legibly forwards and backwards. It took a bit of trial and error before I figured out the best way of doing it was to print copies of my handwritten and scanned words (i.e. using my inkjet printer) having first worked out their position and size in Photoshop, paint over the letters and use the painted paper to ‘print’ the writing on the canvas. I filled in any gaps in the letters by hand with a brush. By the time I’d finished, as is so often the way, I knew exactly how to do it.

‘Sign of the Times, Sonya’s Landscape’ — acrylic on canvas, 2015
‘Sign of the Times, Sonya’s Landscape’ — acrylic on canvas, 2015
Sign of the Times — the mirror image
Sign of the Times — the mirror image

Sign of the times

| Anna Cull
Sign of the Times, Sonya’s Landscape — acrylic on canvas, 20” x 30” each canvas, 2015
Sign of the Times, Sonya’s Landscape — acrylic on canvas, 20” x 30” each canvas, 2015
Sign of the Times — the mirror image
Sign of the Times — the mirror image (i.e. as seen in the salon mirror)

Here, at last, are photographs of the commission I painted a few weeks ago for Sonya’s hair salon. We put the paintings up this afternoon and we’re really pleased with how they look. There’s a photo of Sonya with her paintings in the slideshow below.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the inspiration came from the salon, from nearby Barrington Park and the Cashmere hills, and of course from Sonya herself. Prince’s purple love symbol was a last-minute addition that Sonya requested and although it wasn’t part of the original composition, now I can’t imagine the paintings without it — I like the way it transforms the landscape from something abstract into something more personal.

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Black rose?

| Anna Cull
Black Rose – acrylic painting with haiku title, 102 x 102 mm, 2015
Black Rose – acrylic painting with haiku title, 102 x 102 mm, 2015. SOLD

The faint impression
of a black rose at midnight:
real or imagined?

Underneath several layers of black paint (and quite a few layers of varnish) is a painting of a gold rose I didn’t like. Now that it’s almost completely black, I’ve decided I quite like the texture and the way the light catches the flecks of gold… I’m just not sure if it’s still a rose.

On the road again

| Anna Cull
On the road again – acrylic on canvas, 455 x 610 mm, 2015
On the Road Again – acrylic on canvas, 455 x 610 mm, 2015. SOLD

Here is the final painting (click here to see the original post). Yes, the colours are a little unusual ― it makes me think of old photographs and also the way memories can play tricks on us.

On the road again in more detail
On the road again, motorbike detail