landscape painting

The art of shopping, part one

| Anna Cull

I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been revamping some of the images in my Etsy shop, so I thought I’d show you a few of my favourites. These were all created with digital trickery : ) and each picture is a combination of three different photographs: the original painting + my black travel easel + the photo that inspired the painting (in the background & slightly out of focus to give a kind of ‘depth of field’ effect)…

Sidetracked, 12 x 12 inches
‘Sidetracked’ ~ railway tracks and golden sand near Koekohe Beach in Otago
'Boatsheds' (10 x 30 inches), the Banks Peninsula coastline and boat sheds along Duvauchelle Bay near Akaroa, NZ
‘Purple Haze’ ~ Banks Peninsula coastline with a hint of the boat sheds along Duvauchelle Bay. SOLD
'Thursday, Avon River' (30 x 20 inches), ducks swimming on the Avon River in Christchurch, NZ
‘Thursday, Avon River’ ~ ducks swimming on the Avon River, Christchurch. SOLD
'Riding the Falls' (16 x 12 inches), a Huka Falls jet boat on the Waikato River, NZ
‘Riding the Falls’ ~ a Huka Falls jet boat on the Waikato River

The other idea I’ve been playing around with is showing how my paintings could look on walls in different rooms. Because our house is not very big and much too untidy for a photo shoot, I decided to draw the furniture instead of photographing it. This is the first of what I hope will be a series of illustrated ‘in situ’ paintings…

'Moon Over the City' (16 x 12 inches, unframed), living room illustration
‘Moon Over the City’ ~ living room ‘in situ’ illustration ~ private collection

One of the other things I mentioned last week was that I have discovered the wonderful world of Polyvore… but I’ll tell you more about that and how I came to be involved in yet another social media site (I know, I know…) in my next blog post. Thanks for reading.

Originality is overrated

| Anna Cull

“We think of genius as the ability to dream up something never seen before. But originality is overrated. What matters more is reacting and responding and refining and adjusting and tweaking and struggling and sweating and polishing and finishing and delivering and making a difference.” Danny Gregory

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‘Tasman Bay’ is my latest creation, inspired by (i) recent conversations at The Christchurch Art Show, (ii) my memory of seeing Kaiteriteri Beach for the first time, and (iii) a Google Earth perspective of Tasman Bay, overlooking Takaka Hill with Nelson in the far distance. You can probably see the influence of Mr Vincent van Gogh in the hills and houses too ~ hardly surprising as I’ve been looking at a lot of his work lately.

The work in progress photos show the painting from initial composition, through the refining of colour and exploration of patterns in the landscape to what I think may now be the finished painting. I’m going to leave it alone for a few days and then come back to it and see what I think.

P.S. While originality may be overrated, that doesn’t mean that stealing is okay. Stealing is not okay. Stealing is bad. Influence, on the other hand, is inevitable.

My thanks to Danny Gregory for the original quote.

How do you measure success?

| Anna Cull
The Christchurch Art Show 2016, opening night
The Christchurch Art Show 2016, opening night

The Christchurch Art Show has come and gone for another year. What a fantastic event! I had even more fun than last year and I’ve come away from it greatly encouraged and with a very clear idea of what I want to do next year. Was it successful? Yes. You will, I suppose, want to know how sales went. For me, sales were modest. I’ve returned with a lot of work that ‘almost’ found new homes. Am I disappointed? I guess I am a bit. But it’s not all about selling paintings. It really isn’t. If that’s the only measure of success, we’re all in big trouble.

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been getting more and more interested in painting semi-abstract work like Endless Possibilities, wanting to do more impressionist/expressionist art like Country Gate and Warm Night, Southern Sky, and to incorporate more graphic elements along the lines of Landscape in the Late Afternoon (with cows). Exhibiting at the show this year has helped me to fine-tune these ideas and has strengthened my resolve to continue my art journey (and to not get a day job just yet).

Working in series is still going to be key. I want to create conversations on canvas, stories and poetry that will spill over the edges of one canvas and onto others (I mean that metaphorically but who knows…). But that’s enough for now. I don’t want to give away all my secrets ; )

I’ll leave you with two of my favourite quotes.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw

“Let it go. Let it out.
Let it all unravel.
Let it free and it can be
A path on which to travel.”
Michael Leunig

If things don’t go according to plan…

| Anna Cull
Christchurch Art Show 2016 exhibition plan
Christchurch Art Show 2016 exhibition plan

…it’s still good to have one, right? I can’t believe it’s almost time to set up for The Christchurch Art Show. It certainly doesn’t seem like a year since the last one.

I have several new works on offer this year, including the freshly varnished aerial landscapes, ‘Purple Haze’, the house with the rusty tin roof, and the ‘On the Road Again’ biker. The extra panel (I have three this year compared to two last year) gives me a bit more room to spread out and I think it’s a more cohesive collection this time around.

Tomorrow is opening night. I’ll try to remember to take some photos : )

The Christchurch Art Show
*** Show Days 24th–26th June ***
Wigram Air Force Museum, Christchurch, NZ

Endless possibilities

| Anna Cull
Endless Possibilities — acrylic on canvas, 405 x 510 mm, 2016
Endless Possibilities — acrylic on canvas, 405 x 510 mm, 2016. SOLD

“We live between the act of awakening and the act of surrender. Each morning, we awaken to the light and the invitation to a new day in the world of time; each night, we surrender to the dark to be taken to play in the world of dreams where time is no more.”  John O’Donohue