“If you want a subject, look around you.” Peter Brook
If you want a subject, look around you
sketch
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 : )
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.
Life is too short to blend in
Sometimes the only opportunity to take photographs is from the back seat of a moving vehicle. No time to think ― just point and click. It helps if you are really quick and a little bit lucky. When you see the original shot prior to cropping (below), you could be forgiven for thinking that there was nothing much in this scene worth painting…
…but I zoomed in and used the scribble sketch to figure out my composition. I’m now painting the landscape and building up lots of lovely textures, and then I’ll have to figure out the best way to paint the cockatoo — too realistic and he won’t have the sense of fun I want to create; too abstract and no one will know he’s a bird. Wish me luck : )
I can see for miles and miles
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 