Cullen Libby has been a creative for as long as she can remember. Growing up, she was deeply interested in interior and fashion design, sewing, crafting, visual arts, music, and dance. Her visits to the local library would often result in large stacks of books that would further inform her on these different disciplines of art and artistic expression. Her parents encouraged her, supporting her in whatever direction her creative pursuits took her. Cullen recounts a Christmas where she made everyone “clothes” out of paper and tape. Even though they nearly instantly disintegrated upon being “worn”, her family indulged her in trying them on. As time went on, Cullen taught herself how to collage, how to do website design, and how to paint a room. In college, she studied visual art formally.
As luck would have it, Cullen grew up next door to Deborah Pollard, who inspired in her a love of drawing and watercolor. Cullen’s family and the Pollards shared 40 acres of land. The two families were best friends, and they spent their time together building and creating in nature and enjoying all kinds of creative pursuits. Deborah, who was an accomplished watercolor artist, taught Cullen from a young age how to paint and draw. “Under Deborah’s tutelage,” Cullen told us, “I learned to balance my inner-perfectionist critic with a true belief in myself as I developed a personal identity as an artist.”
Though Cullen has learned to work in many mediums, she considers herself primarily a watercolor artist. For her, working in watercolors is something that just flows. “It fits me,” she told us. “There is something so ethereal about watercolor and how it depicts the layers of color and light in life in such a unique and joyful way.” Cullen started out as a realist. In school, her aim was to represent her subjects in a way that was as lifelike as possible, possessing, even, an almost photographic quality. As she has developed her talent, she has relaxed her style and embraces the ease and fluidity that watercolor painting offers. She also feels inspired by the playful use of color, texture, and imagery that watercolor makes possible. Increasingly, she enjoys mixing mediums which offers endless project possibilities, particularly in the form of collage.
Cullen describes herself as intensely creative and sensitive, and as such she finds inspiration in the beauty that surrounds her, whether it’s outside in nature or inside in the complexity of her own emotions. There is inspiration to be found in the ethereal and abstract nature of storytelling, or in the here-and-now world of the pets and animals that populate her more immediate environment.
For her process, Cullen usually starts out with an image, often a photograph one of her clients has provided, or it might be a picture she has taken herself or has found which provides her with her subject matter. She then draws the basic composition in pencil, setting up perspective and blocking out the angles of light. Then she begins the hard work of painting. She starts with masking liquid, which protects the parts of the painting that she intends to keep white. “A painting usually takes me several sittings as I bring the image to life layer by layer,” she told us. In between sessions, the painting gets a chance to dry. Sometimes a piece comes easily and seems to flow onto the paper as if it is manifesting itself. Other times the piece will require more sittings, a second attempt, or she’ll simply scrap it altogether.
In addition to painting, Cullen enjoys making cards, journals, bookmarks, and she’s always learning new skills and mediums. Often, she creates for loved ones, and the reception to those gifts motivates her to keep creating. “My goal is to share some of the joy, emotion, and beauty I find in our world with others, hoping to brighten their day or help them remember a special pet, place, or moment in life.”
To learn more about Cullen Libby and to see more examples of her work, visit her website at
https://cullenlibby.square.site/
