Viewing the village from the city

An environmentalist. An art director. A make-up cum costume artist. An impressionist painter. Seevali Illangasinghe is a man of many faces. From his own distinct style of painting to his vibrant track record, Seevali is quite a unique personality.

Seevali’s first job when he moved to Colombo was working as an Assistant Art Director under his first guru Sesha Palihakkara, a reputed film director and producer of his time. Seevali was involved behind the scenes in Palihakkara’s popular film, ‘Saravita’. He later moved on to work with another whom he recognizes as a ‘guru’- Somabandu Vidyapathi, from whom he says he learnt everything to do with make-up, costumes and drama. Harry Peiris, the famous portrait artist also assisted Seevali a lot over the years, as he was a genuine lover of art and truly appreciated his work, he said.

There were many other ‘greats’ of various fields, who influenced his art and life in numerous ways, too many to mention individually, he adds. But even though he did various jobs to survive, his one true passion was art.

Having travelled extensively around the world exhibiting his art, he says smilingly, “I take the smell of the forest to the rest of the world.” He speaks of impressionism as a means that influenced all spheres of the arts, such as literature, poetry etc., explaining that even on the local scene, much of the success enjoyed by literary maestros like Mahagamasekara, Kumaratunga Munidasa and Martin Wickramasinghe can be attributed to impressionist writing or the ability to create mental pictures in the minds of their readers. “Likewise, I try to do the same through my paintings,” he says.

Coming from a little village in Anuradhapura called Seevalipura (possibly an inspiration for his name) to the big city, he always attempted to capture village life as he envisioned it. From a miracle under the Banyan tree to mushroom mirages, unconventional portrayals of a mother and child, graceful nudes to meditative depictions of monks and bhikkunis, Seevali’s subjects are diverse and colourful.

Seevali’s paintings are being exhibited, from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (daily) till July 24, at the Paradise Road Gallery Café.