Three new faces add their colours to ‘Piyawara’
Leyana Dabare’s Manhattan Bridge
Brought together through a creative connection, the art collective ‘Piyawara’ will present their second joint exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on November 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Meeting at an adult art class at the Artway Institute under the guidance of Ruwan Prasanga, the 11 artists who make up ‘Piyawara’ are from different backgrounds and between the ages of 15 to 72 years. In their second exhibition together they will show work of mixed media and in techniques from abstract to impressionism, realism, fauvism, still life and wildlife to name a few.
There are three new faces from the line-up at their first exhhibition- Simpson David, Leyana Dabare and Indrani Vithanage, joining Janaki Perera, Chantal Dassanayake, Khaalisha Ilham, Upul Samarasinghe, Anuradha Wijayagunawardhana, Chamika Jayawardane, Gayan Weeriyawansha and Kushlani Perera.
Janaki Perera’s Knuckles Hiking Path
Former corporate secretary turned stay-at-home mother Indrani Vithanage says her love for painting stemmed from her time at Homagama Central College. Leaving school, “I got a job and then realized that I had no time for art.” With her time then divided between her job and family, she would sketch or try fabric illustrations on sarees for family and friends. It was only when she quit work and found time on her hands that she went to Artway Institute knocking on the door of Ruwan’s class.
“It’s a good calm environment to paint in,” Indrani says looking fondly at the paint- splattered walls of the adult art class, her new oasis away from home. Specializing in the ‘Bob Ross technique’ Indrani paints more “realistic images”, exhibiting her skill with a palette knife that give her canvases a textured, 3D like finish.
The artists behind Piyawara: Different techniques and media. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Heavily influenced by landscape or water elements, the three paintings she will be exhibiting at Piyawara are; Baker’s Falls at Horton Plains, Castlereigh reservoir, and the vast expanse of greenery of Ambewela.
“I love nature and I get upset when I see litter,” she says. Recalling one of her favourite childhood bathing spots the Kataragama Menik Ganga she is aghast at the pollution now.
“I want to preserve these places which meant so much to me,” she shares hoping that her canvases allow people to see the places she loved as she prefers to remember them.
Anuradha Wijeyagunawardhana’s ‘One’s Thoughts’
For 15-year-old Leyana Dabare of St. Bridget’s Convent, children’s art classes felt limiting. “I felt like I had more to give,” she states. The young artist has dipped her fingers into the modern art medium – spray painting.
Coming across a You tube spray paint video heightened her curiosity. “It looked easy,” she laughs adding that she discovered otherwise when put into practice. Having started Ruwan’s class in April of this year, Leyana says she has grown as an artist in style and technique.
For Piyawara she has incorporated a colour theme for each canvas using a technical sponge-esque effect to enhance the ultimate visual. Assuming she was limited to celestial objects in spray painting Leyana was pleasantly surprised with her capture of the Manhattan Bridge.
Set in a spectrum of light to dark blues and textured to look as if the evening fog of the East river has veiled itself over the gigantic edifice, Leyana has surrounded the canvas with lit up buildings -capturing a serene moment of a modern metropolis stilled in a moment of time.
Leyana had also tried her hand at graffiti last year! “I asked my father if I could try spray painting a wall and he allowed me to try it on our garage” she grins – an image of a caricature monster now greeting the vehicles that park inside.
Piyawara will take place on November 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery.