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Lee Wing-Sze

There are different skills to be mastered in painting, from choosing the subject to applying the right colours.

Australian  Suzanne Lindhorst is famous for her  landscape paintings. Lindhorst, who recently staged a solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, shared some tips with Young Post on how to create a good landscape painting.

Drawing skills

In order to become an outstanding painter, the self-taught artist says strong drawing skills are essential.

'I don't believe it is possible to make good paintings unless you can make good drawings,' says Lindhorst.

'If you have strong drawing skills, that's the foundation and a really good starting  point.'

Colour sense

The veteran painter thinks having a good  sense of the colours is important for any artist.

'Some people are just natural 'colourists'. I think that's what I am. I like colour, I call myself a 'colourist',' she says.

Even if you don't have a natural understanding of colour, this can be learned,  the artist adds.

'Colour theory is something that you could study to improve your understanding and quality of your  painting.'

For instance, warm colours bring the image closer, while cooler shades make it recede.

'Using a cooler colour as the background gives you a distance in your painting and creates a perspective,'  she says.

Good fundamentals

Having a  fundamental knowledge of things such as lines, colours and tone are vital.

'After painting all these years, I have something  called artistic licence,' Lindhorst says.

It is about breaking the rules, she explains.

'To  create unique artworks, you have to allow yourself to break the rules. But you can't break the rules until you know what the rules are.'

Choosing a subject

'It's a really individual and personal thing. I think one of the most common excuses that a lot of people make when they're not making art is: 'I don't know what to paint',' she says.

'All I say is open your eyes and just look straight ahead, and whatever it is in front of you, paint it.  There're subjects all around. It depends on how you look at them. I think it's important for any artist to look at all the things and find their beauty.'

Watch out for the biggest lie. English Corner will publish selected articles from students of the Creative Writing Workshop, week of October 20. The topic is 'the  biggest lie'.



Drawing on your artistic skills