Three of her paintings on the theme ‘Buddhism’ were chosen for display at the BMICH during the National Vesak Celebrations this year, while she bagged both first and second places and many more prizes just last year, setting herself as an artist who could deal with wide and varied themes.
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| Veranda Bandaranaike |
Young painter Veranda Bandaranaike who won the most number of awards at the annual competition organized by the Art Academy of the Ceylon Society of Arts in 2008, will go it alone, displaying an extensive and diverse collection from July 10 -12 at the National Art Gallery, Colombo 7.
Titled ‘Arambaya’ (Dawn), this will be her first solo exhibition though she is certainly not new to the field and has several accomplishments and awards to her name. In 2008, she won both the first and second places under the ‘composition’ category, second place in the ‘wildlife’ category, third place in the ‘line drawing’ category and a special merit award in the ‘portrait’ category. Many have also been her trophies of gold and silver in other all-island competitions.
An aspiring artist, even as a schoolgirl in Kegalle, Veranda had joined the First Art Foundation in her hometown to expand her love of painting, furthering that knowledge with a stint at the Art Academy of the Ceylon Society of Arts, Colombo. Here, she was able to practise various techniques and methods and experiment with different media and tools under the guidance of veterans.
“I dabbled with oil on canvas, pastel on paper, pen on paper, acrylic on canvas, pencil on paper, charcoal on paper, ink on paper and mixed media,” says Veranda, adding that she learnt how to “develop” her paintings by using not only brushes but also pallet knife, hand and fingers.
Without trying to limit herself to one media or technique, she strives to excel in all, covering a wide range of disciplines such as portraits, compositions, wildlife, landscapes and also abstract and modern art.
Currently Veranda is following a degree course in visual and image art at the University of Kelaniya.
As Veranda prepares for her exhibition, her plea is for a feedback from art lovers, veterans and professionals, so that she may improve further.
‘Arambaya’ will be declared open at 3.30 p.m. at the National Art Gallery on July 10 and will go on till 7 p.m., while on July 11 and 12, the exhibition will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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