Painting it purple

Artist Chaminda Molligoda speaks of his fascination for the colour purple and being inspired by the animal kingdom :

by Ryhanna Salie

For Chaminda Molligoda, a young upcoming artist, art gives him the freedom to explore imaginary worlds and embark on emotional and psychological journeys to exotic and enchanted faraway lands.

He draws inspiration from the people and animals around him and prefers to draw figures rather than landscapes because it enables him to examine behavioural psychology and diverse societies. He says he was inspired to draw wolves after watching a television program on wolves and it is important for him to capture the expression in his subject's eyes because that is what makes the picture come alive.

Chaminda's picture of the two wolves, one gazing directly at the viewer and the other howling at the moon, highlights his preoccupation with the animal world and he says there is so much that humans cannot comprehend about animals. He also likes dogs and says that drawing animals tests his patience to the limit because, for example, drawing fur requires painstaking attention to detail which is illuminated in his paintings titled "Wolves" and "Rumpus." The artist says he would like to draw chameleons in the future, but it is a challenge to depict its changing colours. His picture titled "Deadly Beauty" captures a complex moment in human relationships. The artist explains that the woman in the picture is a model whom he knows and he feels attracted to, despite knowing she is evil and he is playing with fire.

He knows for certain that he will get burnt if he has a relationship with her, but at the same time he also feels helplessly drawn to her. The artist portrays the evil, satanic nature of the woman who tries to lure him through the cruel expression in her eyes, her flared nostrils and painted lips which reveal the psychological depth of his pictures.

Chaminda's favourite medium is pastel and he describes his technique by saying that he colours the entire paper with purple pastels before he starts drawing because the colour purple enables him to build up the picture. He also uses muted shades of dark blue, brown and black in his pictures. His drawings are realistic and looks almost like photographs, but abstract elements are also incorporated to make it different.

He says he is influenced by the artist Fernando Chamarelli and he owes his success to his mother who encouraged him to draw since childhood.

He was a student of Ananda College and read for his degree at the Washington College in Maryland, US and works as an English copywriter at an advertising agency in Colombo.

Pix: Chinthaka Kumarasinghe