North Haven resident Alan Heather-Xia recently decided to enter his first ever portrait into Australia's most prestigious art competition The Archibald Prize.
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The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics.
Mr Heather-Xia is a self-taught landscape artist and said he believes that sometimes artists focus too much on elements when producing their work.
He said to produce a quality portrait the artist must know the subject, otherwise they will not be able to portray them to their best ability.
The subject for Mr Heather-Xia's portrait was his husband of nearly 20 years, Paul.
Paul is an architect who specialises in environmentally-friendly design.
Mr Heather-Xia said he wanted to embody Paul's ideology and ideas.
"It's important to let the ideas of the subject prevail," he said.
"Too often artists get distracted by form, colour and style.
"It's important to forget yourself and let the subject's ideas come to light."
Mr Heather-Xia said the portrait of Paul was the biggest painting he had ever done and it was a challenge to work with a large space.
He injured his arm while trying to complete the painting on the canvas.
Mr Heather-Xia grew up in China and studied physics at university. However the subject was not his passion.
After Mr Heather-Xia was announced the winner of a Chinese singing contest, he was able to pursue his passion for the arts.
Mr Heather-Xia also entered a landscape painting of the Camden Haven into the Wynne Prize. The Wynne Prize is awarded to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery.
Mr Heather-Xia said he enjoys waking early to capture the beautiful landscapes of the region.
He said people who sleep in until 9am don't realise what they are missing.