On the streets that you know
It’s night time, maybe it’s even raining. A tuk tuk tattooed “kolamba putha” whizzes toward the build up of traffic which is no surprise for an evening down Galle Road. Laknath Peiris’s paintings are an invitation for your imagination to run riot. Although this particular painting is a subdued blue, it bursts with activity. You can almost feel the fatigue of the unfortunates stuck in traffic; hear the hum of engines and then see the bright lights of the city.
Painting cities is what inspires Laknath. Based in the United Kingdom, he was here two weeks ago for his first exhibition in Sri Lanka. His chosen style of painting is that of urban landscapes or “cityscapes”. A popular art movement which gained prominence over the last century it has become a substantial part of the contemporary art scene. However it is a style rarely seen in local paintings.
A self-taught artist, whatever art education Laknath received was courtesy the compulsory art period once or twice a week in school. It started out as a hobby and was kept as that till recently. “I was doing my MBA in the UK when I started painting again for fun.”
Self-taught and yet not really ready to call himself an “artist” Laknath owes his beginnings as a painter to the extensive research he did on the art scene in London. Unsure about his work, he wrote to famous wildlife artist David Shepherd whose unexpected response motivated him to continue his work. “Keep painting” were the world renowned artist’s simple yet powerful words to the amateur.
Further investigation saw him taking his paintings down Bayswater Road. Dedicated to celebrating sidewalk art, Bayswater Road becomes an open art gallery every Sunday, with over 150 artists and craftsmen showcasing their work which is hung on the railings of Kensington Gardens. Laknath found himself in step with them and has continued to show his pieces for the past seven years.
Familiar scenes: Galle Road, Bambalapitiya (top left) and (above) Slave Island, (top right), a London cityscape. Pix by Athula Devapriya
“Earlier, I was only doing wildlife paintings,” he tells us. Laknath worked both here and abroad in printing and packaging. While his job obviously consumed his day, night time found the soft spoken printing executive walking around London, camera in hand. It was on his nightly jaunts that he realized how vibrant and colourful the city was. His newfound interest found him reading up on the top artists who specialize in cityscapes. “I found that no one had done cityscapes in Sri Lanka.”
Laknath’s interest in urban landscapes was the obvious theme for his first exhibition in London. Titled “London by Night” it was a tribute to the bright lights and the often unappreciated beauty of a concrete jungle. On July 12 he held his first exhibition on home soil. ‘Cityscapes – Bustling Colombo’ held at the Leo Burnett office premises was an ode to the colourful bustle and exotic mish mash of culture that is Colombo. Next year, he hopes to hold a similar exhibition in Australia.
Although he heads back to the UK tomorrow, his paintings can still be found hanging on the walls of Leo Burnett. The canvases are drenched in colour. A close look and you might find newspaper clippings embedded in the paintings. It only takes a few seconds for that feeling of discovery and recognition to light up one’s face when glancing through the exhibits. In one painting oranges, reds and yellows combust into a frenzy of colour. The name board reads “Kompannyaveediya”. Slave Island’s iconic Cave Building is full of realistic detail down to the little Elephant House board in the corner.
Laknath uses acrylic and oil based paints along with mixed media to give his paintings an almost 3D quality, which makes the backdrop come alive. “I don’t want to make it too complicated,” he admits humbly. His art, for him is a mode of relaxation. He paints what makes him happy.
Laknath Peiris’s work is on display at the Leo Burnett Quadrangle at No. 379 R.A. de Mel Mawatha. You can also find his work online at www.paintingsoflakipeiris.weebly.com