Paintings smooth as silk

by Gwen HERAT

Many artists simply carry on in their art without having the courage to break into new spheres, perhaps resting on what they have studied or what they have achieved. But W. Priyantha is different.

He is self-taught, erring, experimenting and achieving the ultimate goal. I stumbled upon the creative painter by chance at the Light House Hotel, Galle where his paintings are on display.

Seated on a concrete step, Priyantha was painting beside his exhibits. He did not even as much noticed me when I sat by him on the same step to look over. Such was his concentration that even the water dripping off me after my early morning swim, did not stir him. I got to talking with him later about his unique painting.

Priyantha painted on pure silk imported from India in acrylic. His deft fingers flying gently, softly surfaced what was in his mind. I thought painting on silk needed patience and he had it. Some of his paintings were framed and sealed from behind, perhaps for preservation in the event insects decide to have a meal from them. I did not ask why?

There was a technical consistency but at times vague in colour-combination. There was a point of view, an urgency to draw though hidden under his patience, an attitude to life and art. There is also a passionate delight therein and a shared new vision he is unaware of. Priyantha has discovered himself and what his art is all about.

Compulsion

An artist needs to search his subject instead of painting on compulsion. He should know what he is painting about, the philosophy behind it. He has to make it a deep subject of the matter. But then I doubt whether Priyantha has the mental capacity to dwell into because he has not studied the finer points of art professionally but courageous enough to put it on silk.

All painters are singular, the greater the more distant. At this stage I am sad to say that our painters do not have a creed to understand. In fact many do not know to which group they belong. I wish someone can compile a book on the Sri Lankan Impressionists of the last century.

In his formative years when he started to paint, he was influenced by the touch of pure silk, the shimmer in it and the smooth face it offered. Priyantha worked in a silk factory and was inspired to take on silk as his base.

Technique

He slowly progressed to what he is today but has a long voyage ahead before he masters the technique. That was 20 years ago but today his paintings are bought by tourists who have an insight in to his work while they watch him. He paints mostly that are Sri Lankan to attract tourists, such as local birds, butterflies, elephants, our national emblem, the jungle fowl in all his super colours. I suggested to him to paint the Na tree which is our own national tree.

He also paints on waxed eggs that attract foreigners take away as souvenirs. His black and white painting are out of this world especially an elephant charging at you. There was character, fury and majesty in the charging beast.

This was a period of transition for Priyantha as he focussed his attention on silk surface. The more he saw the glimmer on silk, the more he became fascinated.

Birds in flight

This self-taught artist, humble and willing to learn more about his trade, hails from the rural of Piliyandala that provides him the opportunity to study birds in flight and butterflies in the bushes as well as the natural environment he puts on silk. His paintings make a strong impact because of the authenticity in his brush strokes that are disciplined and accurate.

He is a tidy artist and accurate to the point. He can paint in subtle colours as well as bold and strong as they come.

The paintings in black and white and how he twists his brush between the two to produce grey are marvellous. Sometimes, I feel for artists like Priyantha who has no one to push him, no sponsor to give him a helping hand and like the lotus, they come out in splendour only to wither away by night. Such is the plight of our talented artists.

They have no intellectual climate and they do not know its meanings, that art is not just to pick up a brush and splash a vision on canvas. If one is aware of the basics, the scenario is different. Priyantha is dumb to all these.

When I painted as a child, I was into all aspects of painting, starting from how to hold a brush between fingers, how to relax the knuckles on fingers and how to turn the brush in direction of the subject. At that time I thought it was funny but today, though I did not turn out to be a great artist, I have the keen eye to review. Thanks to my great teacher, Nora Weiman. Perhaps Priyantha is not as lucky as I am but he has struggled to come up.

From my experience, I can safely predict a great future for Priyantha as I watched him pre-tinting his colour zone, arranging an array of mixed colours with meticulous care on his palette.