The Invaders

September 27, 2013November 14, 2013 | Anna Cull

Stamp design, artwork – mixed media – student project, 2011

One of the best things about this project was getting to draw all the titles. Every single one of them is deliciously quirky but The Invaders’ title font is a work of art.

The Invaders (1967-1968): Architect David Vincent happens upon an alien invasion and spends 43 episodes spanning two series trying to convince others that Earth is under threat.

The stamp design, poster and text are from one of my favourite student projects. Each stamp depicts an iconic science fiction TV series from the 1960s. For a recap on the project, click here.

Science Fiction stamp poster (594 x 420 mm) Stars and planets (background collage) courtesy of the Internet Student project, 2011 — Science Fiction stamp poster – student project, 2011

My old stamping ground

September 25, 2013September 18, 2013 | Anna Cull

Another illustration from the vaults. This seahorse image was made using a stamp carved out of a rubber/eraser (see below) and then edited digitally.

As he is currently quite purple, I’d say the last time I used him was on the ‘breathing underwater’ pages of my Book without boundaries project in 2010.

In the style of… Nancy Ekholm Burkert

September 23, 2013January 30, 2014 | Anna Cull

Lake Taupo – graphite and charcoal, 205 x 255 mm, 2013

Today’s In the style of… drawing was an excuse to test my Derwent tinted charcoal pencils. Some of the colours are VERY similar (especially the darker tints) but they do have lovely names: Driftwood, Glowing Embers, Ocean Deep, Sunset Pink). I wonder how they’d respond to water…

Nancy Ekholm Burkert

Roald Dahl’s classic story James and the Giant Peach has been illustrated a number of times. The original illustrations (and possibly my favourites) were by Nancy Ekholm Burkert in 1961.

In the style of… appears occasionally instead of my regular Shoot it, Sketch it posts. Using my own photographs as a starting point, I’m drawing inspiration from some of the world’s greatest illustrators. It’s not about slavishly copying someone else’s art; it’s an experiment in seeing things differently.

Star Trek

September 20, 2013November 14, 2013 | Anna Cull

Star Trek original pilot theme music

Star Trek (1966-1969): The original series of 79 episodes has become a cult classic. “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Numerous movies and spin-off series have followed, including The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

My all-time favourite episode is The Trouble with Tribbles. I’m quite enjoying the movie prequels too.

The stamp design, poster and text are from one of my favourite student projects. Each stamp depicts an iconic science fiction TV series from the 1960s. For a recap on the project, click here.

Has anyone seen my submarine?

September 18, 2013September 18, 2013 | Anna Cull

Yellow Submarine – ink and digital, 2002

By the way, 2002 is not a typo ― I’ve been raiding the vaults again : )

Shoot it, Sketch it: Historic Empire Hotel

September 16, 2013February 8, 2014 | Anna Cull

Historic Empire Hotel, Ross – ink and watercolour, 200 x 255 mm, 2013

Fresh off the drawing board, here is a little sketch of the hotel we stayed at in Ross last weekend. The town was established in 1865 during the West Coast gold rush and once had a population of more than 3,000 ― now it’s closer to 300. We had a wonderful time at a friend’s ‘When I’m 64’ birthday party and jam night : )

On the way there, I took a few photos of the mountains which are looking positively picturesque at the moment (Christchurch to Ross via Arthur’s Pass). I’ve posted my absolute favourite shots on my Facebook page.