Painting nature has always been a pleasure for artists, but some are exceptional in the way they bring viewers into contact with nature through the canvas. Dr Masooma Abbas is one such artist.

Dr Abbas was the first Pakistani to be awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, has participated in various group shows and in chiefly interested in painting landscapes.

Last week, her work was exhibited at the Pakistan National Council of Arts, which is when Dawn spoke to her about her work.

Q: What is your inspiration to choose landscapes instead of modern styles, such as the abstract and semi-abstract?

A: I was always inspired by nature. For me, it is not a pleasure to paint nature as most artists consider. I wanted to bring human being into close contact with nature. I always do symbolic work. In some of my landscape work, I present symbolic themes. I visited the United States, the northern areas and Punjab and tried to bring the variety of colours and nature to my canvas.

Q: Why do you use soothing colours instead of vibrant colours in your landscape work?

A: I am inspired by Chinese and Japanese philosophies, as they were believed that ancient spirits are penetrating nature, so I’ve used soothing colours instead of vibrant colours traditionally used for landscapes. With soothing colours, one is able to create depth. I have also done portrait and still life work but gradually moved to landscape.

Q: How do you teach fine art while also maintaining your own style?

A: It is not difficult to do the work while teaching. While imparting the techniques of painting, the teacher has to read and watch more.

Q: What is future of fine arts in the country?

A: More people have turned to this field in the last two decades. The young generation is more talented and more sensible. They need the right platform and the government should do this for them in colleges and universities.

They mostly wanted work in abstract and semi-abstract styles, instead of landscape and figurative work. They have more creative ideas for marketing their work as compared to senior artists. The arrival of social media and the internet has made it easy for them to watch the work of senior artists across the globe and do the creative work. They are focusing on human study and emotions to express their feelings on canvas.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2016