artist

Trying other things

| Anna Cull
Kererū Morning – acrylic on paper, 130 x 180 mm, 2016.
Kererū Morning – acrylic on paper, 130 x 180 mm, 2016. SOLD

“God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things.” Pablo Picasso

If the little kererū looks familiar, that’s because I sketched him earlier in the year with ink and watercolour. I’m not entirely sure how the magenta got into the trees ~ except that I was using it for the wings and when I wanted to make the greens pop, it was there on my palette and so I tried it and now I really like it. Note to self: keep trying other things.

Elements

| Anna Cull

I’ve been getting reacquainted with working in pen and watercolour. It’s been ages. Too long, really. So I thought I’d ease back into it with a few abstract patterns. One thing led to another and the four mini (3″ x 3″) artworks below are now for sale have sold on Etsy.

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Originality is overrated

| Anna Cull

“We think of genius as the ability to dream up something never seen before. But originality is overrated. What matters more is reacting and responding and refining and adjusting and tweaking and struggling and sweating and polishing and finishing and delivering and making a difference.” Danny Gregory

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‘Tasman Bay’ is my latest creation, inspired by (i) recent conversations at The Christchurch Art Show, (ii) my memory of seeing Kaiteriteri Beach for the first time, and (iii) a Google Earth perspective of Tasman Bay, overlooking Takaka Hill with Nelson in the far distance. You can probably see the influence of Mr Vincent van Gogh in the hills and houses too ~ hardly surprising as I’ve been looking at a lot of his work lately.

The work in progress photos show the painting from initial composition, through the refining of colour and exploration of patterns in the landscape to what I think may now be the finished painting. I’m going to leave it alone for a few days and then come back to it and see what I think.

P.S. While originality may be overrated, that doesn’t mean that stealing is okay. Stealing is not okay. Stealing is bad. Influence, on the other hand, is inevitable.

My thanks to Danny Gregory for the original quote.

How do you measure success?

| Anna Cull
The Christchurch Art Show 2016, opening night
The Christchurch Art Show 2016, opening night

The Christchurch Art Show has come and gone for another year. What a fantastic event! I had even more fun than last year and I’ve come away from it greatly encouraged and with a very clear idea of what I want to do next year. Was it successful? Yes. You will, I suppose, want to know how sales went. For me, sales were modest. I’ve returned with a lot of work that ‘almost’ found new homes. Am I disappointed? I guess I am a bit. But it’s not all about selling paintings. It really isn’t. If that’s the only measure of success, we’re all in big trouble.

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been getting more and more interested in painting semi-abstract work like Endless Possibilities, wanting to do more impressionist/expressionist art like Country Gate and Warm Night, Southern Sky, and to incorporate more graphic elements along the lines of Landscape in the Late Afternoon (with cows). Exhibiting at the show this year has helped me to fine-tune these ideas and has strengthened my resolve to continue my art journey (and to not get a day job just yet).

Working in series is still going to be key. I want to create conversations on canvas, stories and poetry that will spill over the edges of one canvas and onto others (I mean that metaphorically but who knows…). But that’s enough for now. I don’t want to give away all my secrets ; )

I’ll leave you with two of my favourite quotes.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw

“Let it go. Let it out.
Let it all unravel.
Let it free and it can be
A path on which to travel.”
Michael Leunig

If things don’t go according to plan…

| Anna Cull
Christchurch Art Show 2016 exhibition plan
Christchurch Art Show 2016 exhibition plan

…it’s still good to have one, right? I can’t believe it’s almost time to set up for The Christchurch Art Show. It certainly doesn’t seem like a year since the last one.

I have several new works on offer this year, including the freshly varnished aerial landscapes, ‘Purple Haze’, the house with the rusty tin roof, and the ‘On the Road Again’ biker. The extra panel (I have three this year compared to two last year) gives me a bit more room to spread out and I think it’s a more cohesive collection this time around.

Tomorrow is opening night. I’ll try to remember to take some photos : )

The Christchurch Art Show
*** Show Days 24th–26th June ***
Wigram Air Force Museum, Christchurch, NZ

Purple Haze

| Anna Cull
Anna Cull Purple Haze 2016
Purple Haze — acrylic on canvas, 255 x 760 mm, 2016. SOLD

“The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.” Alberto Giacometti

‘Purple Haze’ is now finished and drying. There’s lots of texture on this one, yet again, but also the suggestion of a different way of working — or perhaps a different way of seeing. It’s almost as if this is two different paintings: the tactile, high-contrast foreground and the hazy, purple hills in the distance. The extra texture wasn’t planned but it happens sometimes when I get lost in the process. The two different styles do combine to give it a wonderful 3D quality though. But my favourite part… my favourite part is the clouds. I feel like I really ‘got’ the clouds.