He is a serious bird watcher who has seen around 800 species in the Indian sub-continent. He draws inspiration from the jungle and considers it bliss to be there. Dead leaves with fungus, wild mushrooms, lichen on barks of trees inspire him. For, Lester Perera’s passion, is painting – especially forest birds, both Sri Lankan and Indian.
 |
| North Indian Great Barbets |
Lester is a well-known wildlife painter. Some of his paintings adorn several wildlife books. He has exhibited his paintings abroad, more than in Sri Lanka. In 1992, his work went on display in France and London and in 2005 in Scotland at the prestigious wildlife painting exhibition, ‘Art on the Wing’, along with many world famous artists. It was organized by the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds in Scotland.
Lester last exhibited in Colombo five years ago, while he has held seven exhibitions prior to that. More than being in the city, Lester prefers to be outdoors. When he is not painting he is out at sea, for he is a researcher on whales, formerly attached to the National Aquatic Resources Agency. Recently, he was in the Maldives to present a paper on ‘A Cetacean survey as platforms of opportunity for sea birds’ at the Indian Ocean Cetacean Symposium.
“I love the jungle," he stresses and in his paintings he tries to bring a bit of the jungle indoors. The backdrops are always what he has seen even the birds he paints are real sightings. He says he never paints what he has not seen, adding, “I would love to sit in the jungle itself and paint but this is not always possible.”
The local or Indian jungle birds of his paintings are meticulously drawn, indicating contours, the shapes of the tails, rumps, bellies etc., perfecting each marking and detail by referring to authoritative books on birds in his library.
 |
| The artist at work |
He does the sketches in the jungle itself. The colours and finish are added later in his studio. A perfectionist, each of Lester’s paintings is a work of art.
As the call of the wild is strong for this artist, he not only leads bird watching tours from Trivandrum to Kulu and Manali in the Himalayan parks but is also hired by British and American tourists to guide them on Tiger safaris’ in India. Interestingly, he has also been recording bird vocalizations in India.
For Lester, his love of the jungles and its creatures began when he was a child. “Dad had pet pythons and dogs and I grew up with them. I went hunting with Dad. The forest is life to me. You have to go into the forest to experience its magic. I try to depict it to the best in my paintings. But, I’ve got to go a long way,” he says with humility.
This exhibition is a must for collectors of forest birds’ paintings and also for anyone who wishes to meet a gifted artist. The paintings are ideal to hang in bedrooms as they bring the feel and colour of nature indoors.
‘Wild Wings’, an exhibition and sale of Lester’s paintings will be held from August 7 to 9 at the Harold Pieris Gallery of the Lionel Wendt in Colombo. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
E-mail