A road runs through it

February 3, 2017June 19, 2019 | Anna Cull

“The painter knew that color was not something you controlled but something you set free. He believed that color knew its way home.” Thomas Lloyd Qualls

I really like the idea that colour knows where it wants to go and the best thing the painter can do is relax and get out of the way. To not try so hard. To not worry so much about getting it right or wrong.

Looking back at the journey this little study has taken me on, I realise that I actually painted about three different paintings, each one over the top of the other. I’m quite happy with the final version with its blue and purple mountains and dramatic shadows, but I really could have stopped sooner and I would have been happy with those paintings too.

Late last year, I started several larger versions of this landscape but I stopped working on them because I couldn’t quite manage to get the colours I wanted. Putting the paintings to one side and taking time out to do this one has helped me to relax and stop worrying about them. And now I’m finally ready to put them back on the easel, move a bit of paint around and see what happens.

Photos from the road

January 27, 2017October 2, 2022 | Anna Cull

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Here are a few of the photos I took while travelling to and from Dunedin last weekend. Note the snow on the Southern Alps in the middle of summer! Well done, New Zealand!

I couldn’t help myself… the rolling hills, the purple mountains, the different textures and patterns in the landscape, the shifting light, the fascinating clouds… I think I took close to 200 photographs! And now many of them are whispering (quite loudly) “paint me”…

Curves Ahead

January 17, 2017May 29, 2020 | Anna Cull

Here is the third in my ‘roads and signs’ series. (Please see my earlier posts for the background story.)

The landscape is typical of the stunning scenery as seen from the road between Christchurch and Akaroa. I’ve posted the original photograph, the study and WIP images below:

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I didn’t intend to use such a vivid green in the foreground — yes, it’s the same colour that crept into the other two paintings in the series — and now I can’t imagine the painting without it.

Summer Hills

January 13, 2017August 14, 2020 | Anna Cull

Here is the second in my ‘roads and signs’ series of landscapes based on photographs I’ve taken over the years as a passenger, being driven from one place to another along Canterbury’s beautiful winding roads but rarely having the opportunity to stop and take a proper photo. I started turning some of my slightly random through-the-window shots into paintings last year and I suspect I’ll continue to do more again this year.

‘Summer Hills’ is a landscape somewhere on the road from Akaroa to Christchurch and very near the location of the painting in my previous post. I’ve included the original photograph, the initial study and several WIP images below:

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You may be able to tell from the WIPs that I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the lower half of the painting — the sky was pretty much there from day one but the foreground was another story. I solved it in the end by mixing a really bright lime green and a vivid blue and just ‘going for it’ (I believe that’s the technical term).

Summer Roads

January 12, 2017August 17, 2020 | Anna Cull

I began a series of landscape studies last year based on some of the many (many) photographs I’ve accumulated over the years as a passenger, being driven from one place to another along Canterbury’s beautiful long and winding roads but rarely having the opportunity to stop and take a proper photo. So I have all these images of roads. And signs. I rather like the perspective of these slightly random through-the-window shots. They’re familiar; more like memories of having been somewhere and less like formal compositions carefully considered before painting (although of course they are that too).

First up is ‘Summer Roads’ which was based on a photo taken as we were driving into Takamatua on the road from Akaroa to Christchurch. I’ve posted the original photograph, the study, and a few WIP images below:

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Anyone for coffee?

October 28, 2016April 17, 2018 | Anna Cull

They finally arrived in the post… my samples of ‘Canterbury in Pink Light’ as a paper cup! My painting of the Canterbury Plains and Southern Alps was chosen to be one of the artworks in the current BioCup Art Series. I was thrilled when they contacted me earlier in the year and asked me to be part of the project. And now here they are, and they’ve started popping up all over the place… so far I’ve seen photos on Instagram of my cup design in Sydney and Brisbane. I can’t wait to see where they turn up next!

The Art Series is produced by BioPak, an Australian-owned environmentally responsible packaging company that supports and promotes New Zealand and Australian artists by printing their work on BioCups. The cups are available from cafés around New Zealand and Australia. Click here to see the current BioCup Art Series and read about the artists and their artworks.