Christchurch

Garden City Blocks II

final painting of buildings and trees in the foreground, and the green trees of Latimer Square park in the background
| Anna Cull

‘Garden City Blocks II’ acrylic on canvas, 510 x 510 mm, 2024. Available.
  • the photo reference that inspired the painting of buildings and trees in the foreground, and the green trees of Latimer Square park in the background
    Photo reference
  • work in progress charcoal sketch on canvas
    WIP 1
  • work in progress tonal underpainting in greys, white and yellow ochre
    WIP 2
  • further progress in the tonal underpainting
    WIP 3
  • work in progress adding colour to the landscape
    WIP 4
  • final painting of buildings and trees in the foreground, and the green trees of Latimer Square park in the background
    Final

The second in my Garden City Blocks series, the reference photo (below) was taken high above Christchurch from the window of a DC-3. I only painted one tiny section, so there’s still plenty left for me to paint if I decide to continue with this series. After a little Google Maps research, I discovered that the view was overlooking Latimer Square. I think the light underneath the trees in the park may be the hero of this particular landscape but the car-shaped objects were the most fun to paint.

The section I painted is somewhere near the lower right.

‘Garden City Blocks II’ will be part of next month’s exhibition at Down by the Liffey Gallery.

The Real and The Surreal Exhibition
Wednesday 12th June — Sunday 7th July
Down by the Liffey Gallery, 1 James Street, Lincoln, Canterbury, NZ

The other artists exhibiting will be potter Della Goodinson and painter Georgette Thompson.

Garden City Blocks I

final painting on canvas of Christchurch Hospital in the foreground, green trees, and the Arts Centre in the background, all bathed in the warm light of summer
| Anna Cull
final painting of Christchurch Hospital in the foreground, green trees and the Arts Centre in the background, presented in the context of a line-drawn living room to give an idea of the size

‘Garden City Blocks I’ acrylic on canvas, 510 x 510 mm, 2024. Available.
  • the photo reference used to create the painting, with Christchurch Hospital in the foreground, an abundance of green trees, and the Arts Centre in the background
    Photo reference
  • work in progress charcoal sketch on canvas
    WIP 1
  • work in progress tonal underpainting in greys, white and yellow ochre
    WIP 2
  • work in progress tonal underpainting, with more greys, whites and yellow ochre
    WIP 3
  • work in progress adding colour to the landscape
    WIP 4
  • final painting on canvas of Christchurch Hospital in the foreground, green trees, and the Arts Centre in the background, all bathed in the warm light of summer
    Final

This is the first of two local landscapes painted in a style similar to the Pleasant Valley Sundays. The reference photo was taken a little over ten years ago, high above Christchurch city, from the window of a DC-3. I zoooooomed in and found a view overlooking Christchurch Hospital with the Arts Centre in the background. So that you can appreciate exactly how much I had to zoom in to find my composition, I’ve posted the original unedited photograph below…

The section I painted is in the middle distance on the far left, near the wing.

The painting is, I think, now finished, and will be part of next month’s exhibition at Down by the Liffey Gallery in Lincoln.

The Real and The Surreal Exhibition
Wednesday 12th June — Sunday 7th July
Down by the Liffey Gallery, 1 James Street, Lincoln, Canterbury, NZ

The other artists exhibiting will be potter Della Goodinson and painter Georgette Thompson.

Pegasus Bay Art Show 2023

six New Zealand landscape paintings of trees and houses by Anna Cull exhibited at Pegasus Bay Art Show 2023
| Anna Cull
landscape paintings by NZ artist Anna Cull
My panel at this year’s Pegasus Bay Art Show

It’s officially the first day of spring here in New Zealand and it’s raining art shows. Following on from a successful exhibition at The Bridge Hub in August, last night we set up for the Pegasus Bay Art Show.

My panel this year includes four brand new paintings. And by “brand new” I mean that I finished painting them over the weekend. When I signed up to take part, I only had two paintings that met the criteria (which included that artworks be less than three years old). Silly me, I thought that three months would be enough time to sort that out… but then I decided to exhibit at The Bridge and paint three new paintings for that show. Time was ticking. Ticking. Ticking.

It was the Pleasant Valley Sundays (the three square landscapes, bottom left) that almost broke me. But I made it. Just. I’ll write more about them and the new treescape painting (top left) and show you some WIPs in my next two posts.

The Pegasus Bay Art Show is open Saturday and Sunday with more than 70 artists taking part this year. And tonight is opening night. Exciting!

Diary of an Optimist

the artist, Anna Cull, at the exhibition with her paintings
| Anna Cull

My solo exhibition is now all set up and I’m thrilled with how it looks in the gallery space. You can see a video walk through on my Facebook page.

I’ve called the exhibition ‘Diary of an Optimist’ because my paintings are like a diary — the view from a window, memories of a holiday, the words of a poem or a song — real and imagined landscapes celebrating the beauty of everyday places.

  • The Gallery
  • The Cabinet
  • ‘Te Waikoropupū Springs I & II’
  • …word art…
  • …purple art…
  • ‘Tin Roof Rusted’

There are several paintings that have never been out of the studio before… so that’s exciting too. The exhibition is on until the last Sunday in August at The Bridge Hub Gallery, 51 Bridge Street, South New Brighton, Christchurch.

Spring Snow

painting study of snowflake flowers with tall trees in Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand. Painted in an abstract style with lots of texture
| Anna Cull
‘Spring Snow’ acrylic on canvas, 155 x 155 mm, 2023. Available.

Here’s another small offering ready just in time for my solo exhibition at The Bridge Hub Gallery. ‘Spring Snow’ is a very textured study of snowflakes (the flowers) in Hagley Park. We still have another month before it’s officially spring here in New Zealand but these hardy little bulbs always show up early.

The exhibition ‘Diary of an Optimist’ 🙂 will start tomorrow and run until the last Sunday in August at The Bridge Hub, 51 Bridge Street, South New Brighton, Christchurch.