Press Articles

THE FIJI TIMES - Tuesday, June 13, 1995 - Lifestyle

Lynette brings paintings to life

By Amelia Makutu

The painting was a sea of colour and could have been just that until the artist Lynette ten Krooden started explaining what it was about.

Suddenly it came to life- you could almost hear the wind in the coconut trees, the water and birds twittering and feel the rain on your face.

Lynette, a South African artist based in Pretoria was in Fiji recently to paint wall hangings for the Namale Resort near Savusavu.

She calls her visit to Fiji a miracle.

She gave a few of her works to friends and resort managers Piet and Karin Van Zyl who by chance showed them to the resort owner, he was impressed and commissioned Lynette to do work for the resort.

Mention her name to art lovers not only in South Africa, but elsewhere and it will ring a bell.

Lynette has "a thing" for rocks, painting them that is. She also does silk tie paintings and ostrich egg paintings.

Lynette is a pioneer in gold leaf painting. Gold leaf is usually used for gilt edged cards and certificates by printers.

She admits that most of her work is the result of experimentation.

"Simply because I did not have any books or guides to work from," she said.

Lynette uses them (gold leaf) on her paintings along with oils and water colours.

The gold leaf is what gives the paintings that "real" look.

Lynette does not paint portraits or still life paintings, she is into metaphysical landscapes combining them with themes such as heavenly bodies, horizons and waters beneath the earth.

That is why you will find in one painting, coral, fish, birds, trees, landscape, original art work.

And in the case of the Namale painting masi designs, a tanoa and two tabua.

Everything in her painting symbolizes some form of life.

Since her work covers a wide area, Lynette said it can be quite difficult to find a name for her painting.

"Sometimes I have a name in mind, by the time I've finished I have to change it because the painting is so big," she said with a laugh.

An artist with a difference, Lynette makes her own paper.

"I like using them as colours flow with the texture of the paper," she said.

"And I can an actually explain to my blind friends who feel the painting what it is all about," she explained.

She brought with her some of her artwork including painted ostrich eggs.

Mind you, the eggs are X-rayed and if some defect is found they are removed from the nest, emptied and sterilized before Lynette starts working on them. Lynette has traveled extensively exhibiting her art in America and Germany.

She holds a degree in Fine Arts- Painting and was once head of the Graphic Design Studio at the Human Sciences Research Council in Pretoria!

She now freelances and lectures in Graphic Design at the University of Pretoria, and the Art School of the Pretoria Technikon.

Married to an economics teacher and with two children, Lynette finds that the best time to work is at night.

"I work from 9pm to 3am," she said. "It is the best time to work and I am able to put on canvas or paper what I have seen in the days or sometimes weeks before".

To get "the feel" of what she does, Lynette scuba dives, climbs mountains and camps out at the sight! And just recently started sky diving.

Happy about her recent visit, Lynette said it would take her some time to put on canvas all that she has seen in Fiji.

"I see them and it has to go through here," she said pointing at her head, "before it comes out here," wriggling her hands.

To be a successful artist, Lynette has done a lot of reading and listening to music which inspires her.

"It is not just standing in front of an easel and painting away. I research a lot on what I am about to paint," she said.

"But then again when I see something new I just have to put it in," she said shrugging her shoulders.