Danny Wijesiriwardena:

Bright colours create miracles of magic

Weeraketiya is a small village in Matara where forests have been cleared away and the mountains are terraced paddy fields. The landscape with the rice fields and the coconut palms rise majestically against the turquoise sky creating splendour. It is in this village of Weeraketiya that Danny Wijesiriwardena was born.

The scenic beauty of the village became a powerful influence to provide an artistic stimulus in his life. He grew up in the Weeraketiya village, and his drawings on the back walls of their house with charcoal predicted his future.

Intricate designs

Danny's father, a simple villager, created intricate designs from natural material such as tender coconut palm leaves known as gokkola, which adorned the festivals, weddings, cultural shows in Buddhist temples; and paper cut-outs with floral designs produced distinctive wall hangings. The art inspired Danny as a boy to become a creative artist.

In school he received his first art training under reputed art teachers such as Bandula Fernando, Justin Wijewardena of Rahula College Matara and Benard Lokuge of Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda.

They made a great impact on the boy. As a result Danny became a perfect product of oriental tradition of art and learned to paint in the true colours of nature.

Danny had a marvellous genius for colour. He absorbed beauty, filtered it through his ability and transmitted it into living art. While a schoolboy he contributed illustrations to various newspapers such as the Dinamina and Lankadeepa. In 1969 Danny Wijesiriwardena joined Heywood School of Arts, to study painting and sculpture and obtained a Diploma in the Arts.

In 2002 he became a member in the Ceylon Society of Arts and participated in many exhibitions organised by the society. He received numerous gold medals and certificates of merits at exhibitions organised by the Art Society and in the all island art exhibition organised by Nine Arts and Thushara Kalakavaya. He served in the Sri Lanka Army from 1961-1983.

Army crest

During this period he joined the visual and performing arts faculty at the Kelaniya University as an external student to further his knowledge in art and sculpture. He designed the retirement crest for the Army, Navy and Airforce. He has received international recognition and won an award at the 'World Children's Day' art exhibition held in New Delhi.

Danny paints with bright colours with occasional flashes of sunlight that transforms his canvas into miracles of magic. The unity of design and colour has been his ultimate goal as a painter. The wide range of subjects, each one treated with such profuse detail and intensity satisfied his need for realism.

Wildlife, landscapes, human-suffering, sandy beaches, Buddhist temples, Hindu Kovils and churches are some of his pet subjects to transfer upon the canvas. Danny paints realistic landscapes and still-life with exceptional accomplishment. The Thambili Sellers done on oil and 'Fish Monger' on pastel are excellent examples.

Rich colours

He infused into his pictures rich colours in a mellow grandeur of orange, green, yellow and blue. He retained the natural simplicity in his paintings. Above all he had also won a reputation for sculpting some of the most beautiful pictures of 'Mahinda Gamanaya' exhibited at the Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya.

In 2006-2007 Danny served as a member of the executive committee and in 2008 as assistant Education Secretary in the Ceylon Society of Arts, and as Vice-President.

For the services and achievements in art, the Ceylon Society of Arts awarded 'Kalavedhi' and the government has awarded 'Kalabhushana' award to Danny in 2008. At present he is an art instructor at the Ceylon Society of Arts.