Painting his addiction

by Lakmal Welabada

Thirty five paintings of Rasika de Silva are on display at his solo exhibition which is being held at the National Art Gallery, Colombo. Rasika is employed in the printing sector, and painting is his pastime.

"It is a costly hobby. But if you are an artist you cannot stay away from it. Painting becomes an addiction," he says.

Rasika bemoans of the lack of assistance rendered to his talents by his superiors. "It's heart breaking to see people contributing many other annual welfare activities and give very little assistance to artists like us" he says.

Rasika is from Ambalangoda and has come so far with a lot of determination and devotion. He has sharpened his talent in art at the Sharada Nikethanaya under Anura Handunnetti, and secondly under renowned artist Joe Dambulugala.

"Sri Lankans still have not developed a passion for abstracts though our ancestors started doing abstract paintings long ago. Kandyan wall paintings (Nuwara Kalawiya) set an example for that," he points out.

He further says that it's so pathetic Sri Lankan artists get a profit for their art pieces (paintings) only from foreigners.

He suggests that it is high time for the government to launch some kind of a long-term project to boost local artists. "This is because still the artists are given least priority among all the other divisions in the field of arts," he explains.