sunlight

A Break in the Weather

| Anna Cull

I love the way seagulls park on street lights. What views they must have! I gave this painting the working title ‘Seagull Parking’ but I always knew that was a little too obscure to be a keeper. The inspiration was a photo I took in a carpark ~ in the golden hour before the sun sets ~ while we were waiting to collect our pizza. Yes, inspiration is everywhere : )

  • reference photo
  • work in progress
  • final painting

The original plan was to create something more like the reference photo, quite subdued and almost monotone with the seagull as the focal point, but the purple/grey underpainting took it in a different direction ~ one which was more in keeping with how spectacular the sky really looked that evening ~ and that meant rethinking the title.

‘A Break in the Weather’ acrylic on canvas, 500 x 500 mm, 2020

P.S. I’m particularly pleased with those two birds flying in the background. The simpler it is, the harder it is.

Here Comes the Sun

| Anna Cull

Here Comes the Sun — acrylic on canvas, 305 x 305 mm, 2018

So… I’m starting to get experimental with paint again : ) This quirky abstract was inspired by one of the digital collages I created on Polyvore.

Most days I veer wildly between two extremes, from being certain that I am on the right path creating art and building up my portfolio… to being certain that I am, in fact, not. Some days I don’t get out much and that doesn’t help either.

I have spent quite a lot of time over the last 18 months making digital collages in a social, encouraging environment online (the now defunct Polyvore website). I stepped away from the “business” side of art and immersed myself again purely in the process.  I learned to create in different ways, and it really sparked my imagination. I started getting bolder, discovered new motivations and perspectives, and it was brilliant fun.

Many people were shocked when Polyvore was shut down without warning. We lost the ability to make art in a particularly supportive yet challenging environment, we lost the ability to contact the friends we’d made, and it left a huge hole in our lives. But it hasn’t been all bad. When Polyvore’s new owners pulled the plug on the website, yes, it was horrible, but it was also my chance to get away from the computer and start painting in the “real” world again.

Another factor that comes into play here is that I recently started a year-long project writing six-word stories. I’ve already written more than 90 stories/poems in two months and I’m now thinking that quite a few of them would make really good painting titles.

Yes, here comes the sun! 🌧⛅☀

Both sides of the line

| Anna Cull

Landscape in the late afternoon (with cows) – acrylic on canvas, 510 x 760 mm, 2015. For sale at The Christchurch Art Show, June 2015.
Landscape in the late afternoon (with cows) – acrylic on canvas, 510 x 760 mm, 2015. Sold.

“Draw on both sides of the line, not just what you’re enclosing. The shape you’re making on the outside is as important as the one you’re making on the inside.” Leon Polk Smith

My latest painting, the one that began last week with this photo and sketch: a combination of brilliant sunlight and playful cloud shapes. And who doesn’t love finding things in the clouds?

I’m reminded of the Joni Mitchell song Both Sides, Now: “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow it’s cloud illusions I recall ― I really don’t know clouds at all.”

Landscape in the late afternoon (with cows), landscape detail
Landscape in the late afternoon (with cows), landscape detail

Landscape in the late afternoon (with cows), cloud detail
Landscape in the late afternoon (with cows), cloud detail