Kaladeepanie Winnie A. Perera:

Beauty of the village becomes an artistic stimulus

If greatness is to be measured by the yardstick of the art of painting in the creation of forms and their interelational and colouring so as to give the greatest pleasure, there would be no difficulty in finding a rare personality who has been awarded with 'Wishwakala Pradeepa', 'Kalabooshana', 'Kalapathi' and 'Kaladeepanie'.

He is also some one more than a decorative figure who had served in the Police Training School and Police Headquarters. He is also a designer and sculptor. He moves with the right people at the right time and commands dignity and respect. Born in Mirigama a pleasant little town with large groves of coconut palms and sandy wastes, Winnie was born on January 20, 1927. His father decided to go to Hikkaduwa and settle down to further his business interests. Hikkaduwa, set among the lush green paddy fields, the fairy godmother of the inhabitants to coconut palm along the coastal belt certainly lends enchantment to the natural beauty of our island. Perhaps he would have stayed in his mother's home town but the splendour of the village at Hikkaduwa and its surroundings, the villagers and their beauties provided an artistic stimulus to Winnie's life from his childhood.

While studying at government Bilingual School Weragoda in the Southern Province his brush and palette interested him to record the beauty of nature. His dedication to art and enthusiasm paved the way for him to win a scholarship for two years to study drawing and painting at the Ceylon Technical College (then known) at Maradana. Here he came under the tutelage of the reputable portrait painter J.D.A. Perera who was his art teacher. Having learnt the basic techniques of portrait painting, drawing and sculpture from his guru J.D.A. Perera he obtained maturity from Kalasoori G.S. Fernando the most remarkable water-colour artist Sri Lanka has produced. He has also undergone training in commercial art with prominent teachers such as G.L. Gauthamadasa, Victor De Mel and K.P. Abeysinghe.

Accolades

His enormous output of commercial work has won accolades of creative achievements for his credentials. He designed the Maliban Biscuits Company logo, designing of chocolate boxes, labels and many creative work for state departments and private companies. He won many awards in International art competitions.

In 1995 he won the 2nd prize in the all-island poster competition organised by the International Women's Day. His work also includes designing of book covers and murals.

In addition to his commercial work he has earned a reputation for sculpting and temple painting. Some of his beautiful work with the chisel and harmer stands out as living moments in the main city.

His temple murals adorn the walls of leading Buddhist centres and vihares in Colombo and its suburbs. He painted wildlife in the picture titled 'Yala sanctuary' against a deep or ange sky and orange coloured grounds.

He painted trees that "became possibilities to give birth to hundred other trees". His painting "birds making love" in the picture titled 'lovers' is a clear identity of his humanity for animals.

However, his long-period of experience gave him a great depth of technique and confidence to use colours and compositions. Winnie represents the climax of his work in an astonishing display of overall formal rhythms and colours. He won the second prize in an International Art Competition organised by the Red Cross Society in Geneva in 1995. Winnie Perera has served as an art instructor at the Ceylon Society of Arts. He also held the post of Assistant Secretary and Art Exhibition Secretary and finally became the President of the Ceylon Society of Arts, Colombo for three years.

At present he works home and many to urists visit his mini gallery in his house to admire his work and buy them. His body structure resembles the size of a thumb but he stands tall among his fellow artist with an innocent pride and a smile.