A passion for portraits
A painting of a traditional Sri Lankan dumbara mat weaver working on her creation, a portrait of a member of the Veddha community and a colourful drawing of a rural housewife are amongst a collection of paintings put together by the veteran artist, Jayantha Silva for his forthcoming exhibition – Expressions 13 to be held on May 6, 7 and 8 at Lionel Wendt Colombo. The preview of the exhibition will be held on May 6 at 6.30 p.m.
Pix by M.A Pushpa Kumara
Jayantha’s 13th solo exhibition, this year’s edition of Expressions will showcase a collection of portraits and figurative art done using the medium of acrylic, soft pastels and charcoal.
Painting was a passion with which Jayantha reconnected 13 years ago.
Jayantha gave up his childhood intent in painting to move into the field of advertising and commercial art as a fulltime venture but after a 20 year break, in 2003 he decided to have his first solo exhibition at the Lionel Wendt. Its success motivated him to pursue his art.
He took painting seriously thereafter, dedicating his spare time to add creative pieces to his collection of portrait and figurative art and to organize annual exhibitions to showcase his work to his art lovers.
“Each time I held an exhibition, I found a new set of fans and clientele,” he says, adding that he has done a few commissions in addition to holding a mini exhibition in Australia.
Even as a child artist, Jayantha had a liking to capture the human form on canvas. In art, portraits and figurative art are the most difficult, which is probably why there is less focus on these areas, he says adding that he however finds these two types the easiest.
“Many of the exhibitions I went for, before I held my first solo exhibition, had abstract paintings, landscapes and sceneries. So I wanted to deviate from that common practice by focusing on portraits and figurative art. Besides, observing people is what I do best,” he says adding that he generally studies the subject matter well prior to working on a painting.
“Before I painted this dumbara mat weaver, I studied a weaving – the intricate pattern- how the thread is being twisted and turned to create a beautiful pattern,” he explains.
Jayantha invites all art lovers to attend his exhibition – Expressions 13, which is open to the public free of charge.
