Shoot it, Sketch it: Little angel

Little angel – ink and watercolour, 230 x 160 mm, 2012.
Little angel – ink and watercolour, 230 x 160 mm, 2012.

Anna Cull Little Angel

The little angel on the top of our Christmas tree inspired this week’s Shoot it, Sketch it (yes, it’s a fake tree — I’m allergic to the pine variety). I knitted her years ago using one of Jean Greenhowe’s wonderful patterns — she was a fairy in the pattern book but I turned her into an angel by making a halo instead of a bow. She’s about 100 mm tall.

Others participating in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of ColourThe Little LeafLunch Sketch and Poppytump.

Happy Christmas, everyone : )

Love Your Body campaign poster

Love the shape you're in – mixed media, 297 x 210 mm, 2012.
Love the shape you’re in – mixed media, 297 x 210 mm, 2012.

Here is my entry for a poster competition run by the NOW Foundation promoting the positive, healthy, inclusive portrayal of girls and women. Yes, another competition. It’s been a busy month.

My aim was to put a positive spin on the idea of body types and to create an image that would make people smile. All too often, we hear ‘pear’ and ‘apple’ shapes (et cetera) described as problems that require fixing in some way. Instead, celebrate your shape because it’s all natural and naturally beautiful. Love the shape you’re in!

The fruit characters are ink and acrylic — one is a self-portrait : )  The background collage was created using paper and gesso. I added the heart spotlight in Photoshop.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Leaf study

Leaf study – ink, watercolour and digital, 175 x 210 mm, 2012.
Leaf study – ink, watercolour and digital, 175 x 210 mm, 2012.

This week’s sketch was a bit of an experiment. I wanted to see how watercolour behaved when applied to art board. Now I know. The biggest surprise was just how much water I could wash over the surface without it buckling.

All it needed was a little poem to finish it off (so I wrote one).

Leaf study in Golden Bay, 2011.

Follow the links to see what Clouds of ColourThe Little LeafLunch Sketch and Poppytump have been doing for Shoot it, Sketch it.