drawing

Shoot it, Sketch it: A trip down memory lane

| Anna Cull
Press Lane – Christchurch, 2010.
Press Lane – Christchurch, 2010.

I was looking for photographs to put on my new portfolio site over the weekend when I came across an image I’d completely forgotten about. It’s a picture of Press Lane in central Christchurch taken a few months before the September 2010 earthquake.

Press Lane – mixed media, 290 x 205 mm, 2013.
Press Lane – mixed media, 290 x 205 mm, 2013.

I wish it wasn’t quite so hard to tell what the image is (you’re looking over a flower box, down the lane and seeing the buildings in the next street). My husband took a long, hard look at it and announced that I had drawn a kitchen ― and I can see it too now! It was still an interesting exercise… putting my own spin on the out-of-focus shapes and shadows.

The sketch is mainly ink and watercolour with touches of gouache and graphite. I’m not sure what the splash of orange is at the top (I’m sure the building wasn’t on fire) but it was in the photo, so it’s in the sketch : )

Unexpected outcomes, part one

| Anna Cull
sketch ink drawing stamp
Penguins — sketches and final image

Some people call them mistakes. I like to call them unexpected outcomes.

It can be very frustrating when a drawing doesn’t turn out as planned. Why can’t I draw a straight line? Why isn’t the perspective right? The figures are flat. The colours are wrong. The ink has dripped onto the paper and now the sky is frowning.

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this kind of creative struggle. Quite the opposite. I believe that unexpected outcomes are an essential part of the creative process. They’re an indication that we’re exploring possibilities, stretching ourselves and continuing to grow as artists.

You start with a blank piece of paper. You draw. After ten minutes (or an hour or a day), you’ve created something that NOBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD has created. Something new exists because of you. Okay, so it’s not what you imagined it would be and maybe you’re a bit disappointed. But sometimes, sometimes it takes your breath away. I did that? How did I do that? I wonder if I could do that again?

Sometimes the very thing that we didn’t intend is where the magic happens.

Happy Annaversary

| Anna Cull

Today is my blog’s first anniversary. Yes, it’s been a whole year since my first post. A little retrospective seems in order.

Here are my top ten posts based on your likes and comments. It’s interesting to see what made the list and what didn’t.

#1 Room with a view
#1 Room with a view
#2 Windermere (ink & watercolour)
#2 Windermere (ink & watercolour)
#3 Windermere (acrylic)
#3 Windermere (acrylic)
#4 Little bear
#4 Little bear
#5 Uncharted waters
#5 Uncharted waters
#6 Paradise
#6 Paradise
#7 Black bird on a grey day
#7 Black bird on a grey day
#8 Leaf study
#8 Leaf study
#9 Red sky at night
#9 Red sky at night
#10 Over the line – two hundred followers!
#10 Over the line – two hundred followers!

Of all the things I’ve drawn, painted and designed over the last year, the little sparrow watercolour (below) — which didn’t make it into the top ten — is my personal favourite : )

On a good day...
On a good day…

Thank you all for your interest in this blog and for liking what I do.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Red sky at night

| Anna Cull
Red sky at night – mixed media, 187 x 297 mm, 2013.
Red Sky at Night – mixed media, 187 x 297 mm, 2013.
Red sky at night, original photo – Christchurch, 2012.
Red sky at night, original photo – Christchurch, 2012.

This is my second sketch based on photos I took on my way to LUXcity in Christchurch last year. It is the companion piece to City Lights. The end result is not quite what I had in mind when I started sketching. It’s full of unexpected outcomes — and I’m okay with that.

Other bloggers taking part 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: 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.