A pre-modern business card

January 31, 2013June 24, 2020 | Anna Cull

I posted the artwork for Tim Gallant’s business card a couple of months ago but needed to finalise a few details before completing the design. Tim has a longbow-making business and is a talented drum teacher/musician.

The two finger salute included in the design is a gesture sometimes referred to as the Longbowman Salute and may or may not date back to the 1415 Battle of Agincourt. I drew the ‘salute’ as a medieval gauntlet and added a couple of other elements to create a logo that is, I hope, more humorous than offensive. The colours and layout were inspired by the Gallant Family coat of arms.

The background (below) was serendipity at its best. I painted it on a piece of nothing-special cardboard using some acrylic paint left over from another project. I thought it would be quite a smooth surface but, instead, the paint accentuated every little bump and ridge…but it scanned beautifully. I tweaked the colours in Photoshop to better suit the business card and voilà. Where would we be without happy accidents?

Shoot it, Sketch it: Windermere

January 28, 2013August 26, 2015 | Anna Cull

Windermere, Akaroa – ink and watercolour, 210 x 295 mm, 2013

Windermere, Akaroa – ink on watercolour paper, 2013

Windermere historic house, Rue Lavaud, Akaroa, 2012

I drew a quick sketch of this historic Akaroa house a couple of years ago (see below) and thought it might be fun to revisit it — figuratively and literally. The photo was taken a few months ago with this Shoot it, Sketch it project in mind. Windermere was built as a boarding house in 1877.

Can you spot the subtle difference? The house no longer has a chimney (the earthquakes that have rattled the Canterbury region over the last couple of years are probably to blame — an awful lot of chimneys and brick buildings were damaged in 2011).

Others participating in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, and Poppytump.

Cozy

January 24, 2013July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

Cozy Knit (spots and stripes) #2 – surface pattern.

Cozy Knit (spots and stripes) #3 – surface pattern.

Cozy Knit (spots and stripes) #4 – surface pattern.

Cozy Knit (spots and stripes) #5 – surface pattern.

These were my entries for the recent Tigerprint Spots and Stripes design competition. The brief was to come up with a fresh take on surface patterns featuring spots and stripes and to follow key colour trends for spring/summer 2014.

The main pattern was taken from the little angel I drew for Shoot it, Sketch it a few weeks ago. I scanned the original ink drawing and edited it as a vector illustration. I ended up with quite a few combinations I really liked but had to narrow it down to just five. I picked a couple of the brighter patterns, a couple in some rather yummy grey-blue tones and one that looks a bit like knitted brown paper.

No, they didn’t win, but that’s not why I enter competitions. I do it for the challenge, for the experience and because it’s fun to have a go. Anything more than that is a bonus : )

Shoot it, Sketch it: Uncharted waters

January 21, 2013February 11, 2014 | Anna Cull

Uncharted waters – acrylic, ink and digital, 2013.

Acrylic Islands, 2013 – there be treasure buried here... — The Acrylic Islands, 2013 – peeled acrylic paint

I ventured into unfamiliar territory to produce today’s Shoot it, Sketch it. Well, it’s really more of a Shoot it, Sketch it, Peel it, Shoot it, Sketch it!

My inspiration was the leftover paint from last week’s random texture. When I lifted the dry paint off the plate I use as a palette (it just seems a bit more environmentally friendly than rinsing it down the sink), I thought the blobs of acrylic paint (shown in the photograph) looked quite beautiful and wondered if they could be used in a kind of Rorschach inkblot kind of way to inspire a new painting. And the answer is yes. Yes, blobs of paint CAN be remote islands on an old map — if that’s what you want them to be.

Also taking part in the Shoot it, Sketch it experiment are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch, Poppytump and Two Scamps.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Room with a view

January 7, 2013February 8, 2014 | Anna Cull

Room with a view – ink, watercolour and digital, 265 x 195 mm, 2013.

My new workbench and the view of our beautiful plum tree.

I’m so thrilled to have a workbench I can stand at to draw and paint — it is SO MUCH BETTER than sitting at a desk all day. It is perfect for me and I love it. Goodbye horrid old computer desk that didn’t even have enough room for an A3 sheet of paper. Hello beautiful (and, let’s face it, unashamedly sexy) oak workbench with cupboards and drawers and lots of space. What a great way to start the new year.

The sketch was done with a dip pen and ink. I’m afraid some abuse of the pen was necessary to get those scratchy textures — but it has survived to dip another day. The watercolour ‘tree’ was painted on a separate piece of paper and added in Photoshop.

~ new year ~ new work space ~ new outlook ~ and a new WordPress header : )

Also participating in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch and Poppytump. Why don’t you join us?

2013…

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 | Anna Cull

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and creative 2013.