exhibitions

As good as a holiday?

| Anna Cull

It’s been a little quiet in the Art Cave lately. No new paintings, no new songs, not even a haiku. I’ve been spring cleaning (an extremely rare event in this house) and while the dusting and tidying has been strangely satisfying (and quite a nice change of pace given the flurry of painting activity in the first half of the year), it really doesn’t make for very interesting blog posts. But now it’s show time again.

I will be one of more than 70 local contemporary artists exhibiting at this year’s Artarama in Christchurch. Gala Opening Night is this Friday (tickets $25pp) and then it will be open to the public over the weekend (there is a small entrance fee on show days, with proceeds being donated to BrainTree Wellness Centre). Please visit the Artarama Facebook page for more details.

I will eventually return to the easel ~ I have a whole year’s worth of paintings planned which is quite exciting ~ but now that I’ve almost finished the house, I’m pretty sure I can hear the garden calling my name.

ARTARAMA
Gala Opening Night: Friday 11th October, 6pm – 8:30pm
Show Days: Saturday 12th October, 10am – 4pm and Sunday 13th October, 10am – 2pm
Cobham Intermediate School Hall, 294 Ilam Road, Christchurch (NZ)

A little surreal

| Anna Cull

More than six months in the planning and it’s finally here… and yes, it’s a little surreal.

Friends and family joined us for the opening last night, braving the near-freezing winter evening to see our art and hear our speeches (we did reward them with wine and nibbles). Everything I’ve painted this year is in the exhibition (plus a few paintings from last year) alongside work from the very talented Georgette Thompson and Della Goodinson.

Thank you Eszter Biczok and the Liffey for organising such a fab opening night. And thank you everyone who came along to support us.

Here are a few photos taken before our guests arrived…

  • Welcome to the Liffey…
  • Georgette’s paintings, Della’s pottery…
  • my trees…
  • my skies…
  • my landscapes…
And this is me : )

THE REAL AND THE SURREAL
WEDNESDAY 12TH JUNE — SUNDAY 7TH JULY
DOWN BY THE LIFFEY GALLERY, 1 JAMES STREET, LINCOLN, CANTERBURY, NZ

exhibition poster featuring my painting of spring blossoms in Hagley Park

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.

Balancing Act

final painting of a power pylon in a summer landscape with small white clouds and pale purple mountains in the distance
| Anna Cull
‘Balancing Act (Little Fluffy Clouds)’ acrylic on canvas, 305 x 405 mm, 2023. Available.

When the world gets busy, sometimes something has to give. In my case, it has been keeping my blog updated. Sorry about that. I am in the middle of preparing for an exhibition in June and that means that I have been painting painting painting and not much else. As a result, I seem to have misplaced January.

  • Photo reference
  • WIP 1
  • WIP 2
  • WIP 3
  • final painting of a power pylon in a summer landscape with small white clouds and pale purple mountains in the distance
    Final

‘Balancing Act (Little Fluffy Clouds)’ was actually my last painting of 2023. It celebrates the Southern Alps in high summer with clouds replacing snow on the mountains, a power pylon and, yep, even more little fluffy clouds. It won’t be available to purchase until exhibition time but I’ll tell you more about that a little closer to the time : )

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!