“Paint like nobody is watching and paint like you don’t need any money.” John Ferrie
Nobody is watching
New Zealand
Begin it now
“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.
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.
Happy 3rd Annaversary
Friday will be the third anniversary of my little blog. My, how time flies!
Three years ago, I graduated from Design and Arts College NZ with a Diploma in Communication Arts and Design (graphic design). I started this blog as a way of putting my student projects online ― and then I wondered what to do next:
There were graphic design jobs (logos, business cards, posters), a couple of research projects (when I considered becoming a children’s book illustrator), and I even entered a few design competitions (which I didn’t win):
Nothing motivated me quite like my blog, though, to experiment and really explore my options. In particular, there were the ‘Shoot it, Sketch it’ posts…
…the ‘Thank You’ posts…
…and the ‘just for the heck of it’ posts:
Two years ago, I started getting more serious about painting. I taught myself about underpainting and painted on canvas for the first time:
I began my ‘In the Style of…’ posts and was inspired by some of my favourite artists and illustrators to experiment and see things differently:
I was thrilled when, out of the blue, I got my first commission…
…and over the moon when someone asked to buy one of my ‘Shoot it, Sketch it’ paintings:
About a year ago, I opened my Etsy shop… and sold my first painting online!
2014 was also, rather astonishingly, the year I passed the ‘1000 followers’ milestone on WordPress:
Since then, it’s been more of the same, really ― I’ve painted and sketched, posted ‘Wordless Wednesday’ photographs and inspirational quotes, I participated in my first craft market late last year…
…and I’m still happily working from home as a graphic designer:
Phew!
Now I’m getting ready for my first big (proper big) art show… but I’ll tell you more about that next week. Thanks for reading : )
Interview for Australian Wandarrah
[No, I’m not Australian… Wandarrah is an aboriginal word meaning ‘meeting place’ and Australian Wandarrah is group of Etsy* sellers and buyers from Australia and New Zealand. One of our members has started a WordPress blog and my interview has just been posted.]
If you’re interested in reading about me and my Etsy shop, here’s the link: Anna Cull Art interview.
*Etsy is an online marketplace that specialises in handmade or vintage items and supplies.
The red gate
The brief was to design a business card to advertise a self-contained studio flat for rent in Cashmere, one of Christchurch’s prettiest suburbs. The flat is separated from the main property by a fabulous wrought iron gate. I was asked to make this gate the main feature of the design.
For the curious, this is what the gate and geranium sketch looked like prior to adding the red and green watercolours (painted, scanned and edited) in Photoshop:
And for those wanting to visit Christchurch and stay in a beautiful location with friendly hosts, here is the link to the Cashmere Road Studio Flat.
Time warp (pen vs earthquake)
This coming Sunday will be the fourth anniversary of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that rocked Christchurch (22nd February 2011). Four years on and we are still the City of Orange Road Cones. One sign of progress is the restoration of the Jubilee Clock Tower ― the road cones are now gone and the clock is no longer frozen in time!
Other pen vs earthquake updates:
The deconstructed band rotunda Retour is still in a sorry state. I have no idea what they plan to do with the dome that has been salvaged.
As far as I know, Christchurch resident Peter Croft is still planning to restore Shand’s Emporium but progress has been slow, apparently due to new city council rules and regulations.
Update: Shand’s Emporium touches down on Manchester Street, Christchurch. June 2015
The Octagon is being repaired and earthquake strengthened, and work is finally underway on Mona Vale Homestead. If all goes according to plan, Mona Vale will re-open in June 2016.
My pen vs earthquake sketches are originally from a student project. Ben Heine’s ingenious Pencil Vs Camera images inspired the series.
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 