AslansChild: Thank you, I'm glad you like the colours! No, I didn't use any kind of reference, just tried to remember what modern lamp-posts look like and then un-modern it a bit. As to how long I have been painting, well, this kind of paintings for about three and a half years (acrylics on canvas) and other kinds of art for nearly all my life.
The canvas is a bit difficult to describe, it's like a sketch pad with A3 size canvas instead, so you can just tear the canvas from it, tape it on a hard surface and start painting. The pad doesn't anymore have any kind of text on it, so I have no idea what the canvas is made of (or even if it is canvas and not thick paper with canvas-like texture! but no, I think it really is canvas...).
narnian1: Thanks! I'm happy to hear that you like it (and think it like THE lamp-post!).