Eyes that say it all
Jayantha Silva had just finished his first work of art – a figurative portrait of a beautiful girl staring at him with captivating brown eyes. He proudly called his family over to show them his creation, when he noticed a few specks of pastel dust on the edges, and tried to blow them off. To his horror, the entire portrait was blown into the air leaving nothing but murky outlines on the paper. “It’s a good thing that I’m a man of patience, so I drew the entire portrait all over again; it was my first after all,” he says.
Today, Jayantha Silva is a well-known figurative artist who holds his 10th exhibition in his ‘Expressions’ series this week. His subject of choice has always been ordinary people and he believes the greatest beauty lies in a smile.
“My greatest strength is the ability to draw captivating eyes, it is a gift that I am truly fortunate to have, as the eyes tell you all about a person,” he says. One of his newer paintings -named ‘Beautiful Brown Eyes’- depicts a girl shyly looking through the fabric of her hijab – there is a sudden connection with the painting and the viewer.
While Jayantha regrettably refused a scholarship to train under the famous Mudaliyar A.C.G.S. Amarasekara back in the 70’s, he believes that being self-taught is not so bad. “I base my art on self-thought and experimentation.” It gives you the freedom to discover new facets of art. An artist explores so much more when they learn everything on their own.
When he faced the dilemma of the pastel marks being blown away, Jayantha rolled up a piece of blotting paper and made a pencil out of it, which he would dab on the tip of the pastel and then draw on the paper medium. “This would make more prominent pastel marks on the paper.”
Jayantha Silva and right, his ‘Beautiful Brown Eyes’
He was overjoyed by his little creation and “thought no end of himself”, but soon learnt that such a tool was already available on the market. “Somebody else beat me to it, a long time ago,” he laughs. “But I still cherish the joy of finding it out myself.”
His first solo exhibition “Expressions” was held in 2003, and the likes of Prof. Ashley Halpe were appreciative of his talent.
Expressions” has continued every year since then. This year he has 80 paintings to exhibit, almost all depicting the beauty of human expression while there are a few others that include experimentation with animal portraits.
“We all have it in us to be artists if we are willing to learn, he says, but there needs to be a few important skills such as good muscle control, ability to appreciate a subject, and most importantly, patience,” says Jayantha.
“Expressions 10” will be held on September 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery.
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