Solias Mendis:

Leading temple artist

If he hand't been blessed with genius for the brush, he would have made an excellent physician. He was from Mahawewa, Madampe. As a child he first attended a Christian missionary school up to the seventh standard at Madampe. Later he came under the tutelage of Ven. Sugathathissa Maha Thera of Veerahena Vidyaratana Pirivena, Nattandiya and studied Pali and Sanskrit. His parents' intention was to see their son emerging as a Ayurvedic physician. But from his young days he showed extraordinary prowess for drawing and painting.

Quite contrary to what his parents wished, he let his association with the temple and on his own came as an apprentice under Memonis Silva, a reputed temple artist at that time. After mastering the art of temple painting with dedication and hard work he had done mural paintings in Buddhist temples such as Maddepola Raja Maha Vihara, Ranasgalla Raja Maha Vihara, Sri Jayamaha Vihara in Polonnaruwa and Lenagampola Raja Maha Vihara in Malwana.

It was in 1930 when restoration work at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara started. This was the period under British rule when artists followed the Christian church style of painting with realistic figure drawings using bright colours as depicted in Cathedrals and churches in Europe. During this time Mrs. Helena Wijewardane of Sedawatta Walauwa, devout Buddhist and Chief Dayaka of Kelaniya Vihara was looking for young blood who could deviate from the European style of painting and depict the traditional Asian style of art. She had heard about young Solias Mendis as a brilliant temple painter and assigned the responsibility of painting the murals of new Vihara.

Soilias Mendis was sent on a study tour to India to see Ajanta, Ellora, Bagh and Saranath paintings to act an inspiration for his assignment. He returned home without any record of studies of the work he has seen in India. But he re-created a technique of his own intermixing the fine points and ingredients of Indian Buddhist paintings along with Sri Lankan wall paintings and Sinhala culture.

He started painting the Kelaniya Vihara murals at the age of 30 and he was 50 when he completed the assignment. These paintings were unique and very much his own technique, and a greatly considered by art critics as the best Buddhist paintings done in Sri Lanka since the Polonnaruwa period. Most of the paintings done by other painters were related to the life of The Buddha or Jataka stories. But soilias Mendis took a different path and painted Sri Lanka's historic events. He depicted how Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala bringing the Sacred Bodhi-Tree to Sri Lanka, The Buddha's visit to this island thrice, offering of three transcripts of Vissudhi Magga by Buddhagosha Thera.

He prepared his own paints and colours. His paints were made of earth, vegetable plants, leaves, Makulu clay and with certain other ingredients to add as preservatives. These colours did not shine bright but gave a mat finish and a sober effect to the paintings.

His murals have attracted fascinated attention of many art lovers not only in Sri Lanka, but also in Western Europe. His valuable contribution as a temple artist is unique and acted every way to preserve Buddhist themes in his work with an identity of his own.

From his earnings as a temple painter he built a deaf and blind school in Mahawewa Madampe in the Puttalam district and for its maintenance he gifted 85 acres of coconut land. His father was a famous Ayurvedic physician in Mahawewa, Madampe.

Throughout his life he remained a bachelor. He was born on June 17, 1897 in Mahawewa. He was a truly amazing genius. "What he did well, no one did better; and what he did badly, was never done worse". He died on September 1, 1975 in Mahawewa.