landscape

The last autumn

| Anna Cull

This commission was a bit special, both for the client and for me. The Press Building was the home of The Press newspaper from 1909 until February 2011. A beautiful building situated in Cathedral Square, it was one of the casualties of the Christchurch 2010–2011 earthquakes. Even though the painting shows its last autumn (in 2010), we wanted it to represent happier times and evoke fond memories.

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The painting is a combination of two of my In the Style of… paintings: the building and tree from The Press and the leaves from Tram. The red geraniums originally appeared in Press Lane, an experimental sketch I did in 2013. I photographed the final painting on a dull day — the tree is actually very dark brown, not black. And at 40″ x 54″ (1015mm x 1370mm), it’s my largest ever painting.

It’s Thursday again

| Anna Cull

I’m in the middle of working on the large painting I mentioned last week ― a very exciting and all-consuming commission ― so until I have something else to show you, here are a few WIPs of ‘Thursday (Avon River)’…

WIP underpainting the basic composition
WIP underpainting the basic composition
WIP adding colour
WIP adding colour
WIP adding more colour
WIP adding more colour…
WIP getting bolder...
WIP getting bolder…
Thursday (Avon River) – acrylic on canvas, 510 x 760 mm, 2015. For sale at The Christchurch Art Show, June 2015.
until… Thursday (Avon River) – acrylic on canvas, 510 x 760 mm, 2015. SOLD

I had something quite different in mind when I started this ― yes, I wanted bold, but I hadn’t counted on there being an explosion in the paint factory. I’ve thought about tweaking it here and there, taming some of the bright colours and lightening the water, but my husband really likes it and won’t let me touch it again ; )

Thursday

| Anna Cull
Thursday (Avon River) – acrylic on canvas, 760 x 510 mm, 2015. For sale at The Christchurch Art Show, June 2015.
Thursday (Avon River) – acrylic on canvas, 760 x 510 mm, 2015. SOLD
Poplars, Christchurch (NZ), 2014
Poplars, Christchurch (NZ), 2014

“Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” Claude Monet

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” Andy Warhol

This is my third painting created especially for this year’s Christchurch Art Show. I hope to finish several more before the exhibition in June. I also have a large (and I mean LARGE) commission work I’ve just started on : )

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Begin it now

| Anna Cull

Warm Night, Southern Sky – acrylic on canvas, 605 x 910 mm, 2015. For sale at The Christchurch Art Show, June 2015.
Warm Night, Southern Sky – acrylic on canvas, 605 x 910 mm, 2015. Private collection.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” W. H. Murray

As I mentioned last week, I’ve started preparing for this year’s Christchurch Art Show. It will be my first exhibition* and all artworks will be for sale. I’ll be surrounded by talented artists and awesome art (there’s a video of last year’s event on their website) and I’m a little nervous about it ― but when the opportunity presented itself last year (a nice lady from the show contacted me, having seen my work on this blog, and suggested that I apply), it seemed like the right ‘next step’ for me and my art. I’m now doing my best not to stress about it but I have quite a few large and large-ish canvases I need to paint in order to have enough work for the four-day exhibition. I’m telling myself: one painting at a time… and the show isn’t until June…

‘Warm Night, Southern Sky’ is the first of those canvases ― one down, (at least) six more to go.

THE CHRISTCHURCH ART SHOW  11th–14th June 2015
Tickets on sale now : )

My thanks to Kathie Pugaczewski for making me aware of the W. H. Murray quote.

Red sky at night, original photo – Christchurch, 2012
Red sky at night, original photo – Christchurch, 2012

This is the second time I’ve used my ‘red sky at night’ photograph as a reference for a painting. The first was an ink and watercolour sketch (click here to see the post).

* Strictly speaking, I have had student exhibitions and I did take my work to a mini market last year — this event, however, is much (much) bigger. And scarier. Onward and upward.

Shoot it, Sketch it: Fly by

| Anna Cull
Fly by – acrylic on canvas, 230 x 305 mm, 2015. Private collection.
Fly By – acrylic on canvas, 230 x 305 mm, 2015. Private collection.

I finished my galah painting over the weekend and finally uploaded the photos this morning. There are so many layers of paint on it (which I hope you can see in the close-up below) that I’ll have to wait a few days for it to dry properly before varnishing it. I posted the reference photograph and sketch here last week.

Fly by – detail
Fly by – detail

P.S. This is what became of the blank canvas featured in December’s Anything can happen… post.