Jayarathna Wickremasinghe :

Paintings with a perfect blending of colour

A few kilometres away from Wariyapola in the Kurunegala district lies a village named Gallalaharagama. It has a rich scenery, lush green paddy fields and spectacular rows of coconut palms surrounded by a range of mountains. The Daduru Oya flows down the valley where friendly villagers live.

Jayarathna Wickremasinghe was born in the village Mallassna in Gallalaharagama on May 8, 1953. He grew among the village children. They were boisterous and playful and lived a happy and contended life and enjoyed every moment. As children they played all kinds of sports. They swam in the Daduru Oya and engaged themselves in water sports. It was full of fun and promised an easy kind of life. It is in this typical picturesque surroundings that Jayarathna grew up as a child.

The villagers opted for various employments such as farming, trade, handicraft and teaching. Teaching was considered a noble profession even at that time. Jayaratne’s father was adamant that his son should take up teaching as a career. From early childhood, Jayarathna grew up with a desire to become a teacher. He had his early education at the Malassna Vidyalaya and completed his higher education at the Goluwava Senior School.

Sketches

As a child he drew sketches of animals, birds and human figures with pieces of charcoal and chalk on the walls and the floor of his house. At school his art teacher observed his talents in drawing and encouraged him to develop his abilities.

One of his paintings

Jayarathna Wickremasinghe

After school he used to draw designs on paper and create designs from Gokkola (tender palm leaves) and paper cut-outs which adorned festivals, weddings and cultural shows in Buddhist temples. As a result Jayarathna achieved perfection in oriental art and learnt to paint. He painted his old school Budumedura (Buddhist Shrine room) in oriental designs.

In 1979 he obtained his first teaching appointment at the Malassna Deva Rajha Vidyalaya and then onwards served in many schools in the island. In 2002 he reached the peak of his career, becoming the Vice Principal of President’s College, Maharagama. After serving as a teacher for 31 years he retired in 2010, to do full time painting.

Exhibitions

Jayantha became a member of the Ceylon Society of Arts in 2007 and participated in art exhibitions organised by the society. He has received numerous gold medals and certificates of merit at exhibitions organised by various organisations in the island. While following the art classes conducted by the Ceylon Society of Arts Jayarathna was fortunate to receive his art training under eminent teachers such as Kalapathi Pulasthi Ediraweera, Jayantha Tissera, Kaladeepanie Vinnie Perera who moulded him to become a mature artist.

He is a lover of nature and in his landscape compositions he uses themes that stimulated his imagination. He works in different media such as oil on canvas, acrylic and water-colours using various techniques and styles. His paintings represent a harmonious effect in perfect blending of colour. His water colour titled Deevarayo (fishermen) and Old Man are a blaze of colour.

His light and shadow effects are incredibly beautiful. He participated in an International art competition in Japan in 2004 and 2005 known as ‘Beppur’ where he won a certificate of merit. In 2012 he held an Environmental Cartoon exhibition named Parisara Harasara at the BMICH organised by the Central Environment Authority of the Ministry of Environment.