Paintings of village life

by Lakmal Welabada

Today is the third day of the Anushka Jayasekara's art exhibition at the Lionel Wendt. Anushka's paintings give a picturesque feeling of village life and compassion. "What I see in life I spout out on to the canvas. It could be something that I have seen on my pilgrimage to Kataragama or to Anuradhapura. Or else, it can be an incident that I have encountered near a tap beside the slum area where people gather to fetch water or a similar occurrence at a public well in the village side. An artist can see the beauty of both occasions differently," he says.

Painting is a form of meditation. Like a writer pens his thoughts, an artist pours out his feelings through a painting. It shouldn't be the exact scene what he sees, but an illusionary image that the possesses in his mind.

Anushka studied at President's College, Maharagama. Other than Art as a subject at school, he has not studied art under any special 'guru'. Hence, his paintings are acclaimed for its great uniqueness.

Anushka does not come from an affluent background. At the beginning he even didn't have a paint brush. He did paintings with coffee sticks and coconut husks. "I am quite content and happy when I think of the path I came along," he smiles.

This is his second art exhibition. His paintings get praise from everybody who goes for his exhibition. Anushka hopes to go a long way in the future. Who ever sees his paintings can predict that his name might one day earn in international fame.

Pic: Rukmal Gamage.