Here is the finished painting based on last week’s photo and sketch. In real life, the texture of the night sky is quite subtle and, in some lights, the surface looks smooth and the dark purple appears almost black. I wouldn’t mind painting a few more of these : )
I painted this little Beatles record as a test for my new Golden satin varnish — I’m preparing to varnish the Peonies triptych and I read somewhere that dark colours can appear cloudy under satin or matte varnish if not applied correctly. So I bought a cheap stretched canvas and had a bit of fun.
Here is Auckland’s Sky Tower ― the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand ― surrounded by little fluffy clouds. The sketch was an exercise in simplicity and contrast. Left to my own devices, I would have added more details and shading, but that’s not really the point of this exercise. I used watercolour pencils and my new Molotow acrylic paint markers (oh what a wonderful world we live in!).
Images from www.pickmix.co.uk
I’m a little jealous of American-born artist and designer Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890–1954). He studied in Paris, illustrated several of T. S. Eliot’s books (apparently he was Eliot’s preferred illustrator) and designed posters for the London Underground. Not a bad career.
In the style of… appears occasionally instead of my regular Shoot it, Sketch it posts. Using my own photographs as a starting point, I’m drawing inspiration from some of the world’s greatest illustrators. It’s not about slavishly copying someone else’s art; it’s an experiment in seeing things differently.
I now have a page on Facebook: Anna Cull – Art. To mark the occasion, I’ve updated my avatar (I tweaked a few things and added an acrylic background). The next step will be selling my art on Etsy… but I’m not quite ready for that sort of commitment.
Happy client = happy artist : )
Work in progress photos of my first painting commission… I’ll post photos of the finished painting tomorrow.
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 