Painting Physician opens ‘Soul Windows’
Painter Dr. Shanaka Kulatunga, a medical doctor attached to the Eye Hospital in Colombo will hold his second exhibition ‘Soul Windows’ on March 12, 13 and 14. The exhibition will start at 4 pm on March 12 and will be opened for public viewing from 10 am to 8 pm at the Lionel Wendt’s Art Gallery.
Interest in painting goes back to his childhood days. Shanaka joined Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts to study under veteran artist Chandragupta Tenuwara. His maiden exhibition was held in 2017.
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- Dr. Shanaka Kulatunga
Amidst his busy schedule, Dr. Shanaka has worked tirelessly to produce an astonishing range of work from minute pen and ink drawings to acrylics, portraits and landscapes. Giving painstaking attention to each work, he does only a limited number of paintings a year.
Shanaka, a graduate from the Colombo Medical Faculty, now serves at the National Eye Hospital in Colombo.
Following his maiden exhibition ‘Concealed’ in 2017, ‘Soul Windows’ will showcase around 25 oil on canvas portraits, figure paintings and portraitures. His subjects are unknown people of the kind we would pass by in our day today lives. “I try to highlight the various characteristics of people, their dreams, hopes and emotions. And the painting would reflect my interpretation of them,” said Dr. Shanaka who interprets ordinary characters with extraordinary insights.
Every figure Shanka draws receives a meticulous and detailed exposure as it is developed over a long period. “I see to it that the model I portrait has to come to the studio several times may be for six to eight sessions. These life-size figures are done under the same lighting and other conditions,” explains Shanaka.
“From time immemorial, from the time of Leonardo Da Vinci the practice of painting is done following this procedure. We follow the same method,” he adds.
“Oil painting is a time consuming art. Sometimes I manage to do only two or three paintings for an entire year. It has to be built and rebuilt with great patience over time,” Shanaka explains.
“Once Giorgio Vasari who wrote the biography of Michaelangelo’s stated that since Michaelangelo was a sculptor as well, he made the brush like a stone cutting tool. So Michaelangelo used his skill in sculpture for painting. Similarly in oil painting we follow something like the procedure in sculpture. Since oil painting takes time to dry, we have to work for a long time. At least there should be one week’s gap for each layer of oils to be fully dried,”.
As an artist and painter, Shanaka has received international exposure and has toured several countries including China and Kyrgyzstan. He represented Sri Lanka at the International Exhibition of works by Artists for peace Shanghai Cooperation Bishkek Summit in 2019 in Kyrgyzstan and participated in the China-Ningxia Cultural Artist exchange programme in 2018. Among the venues his works are displayed is the Ceylon Dutch Burger heritage Exhibition, Sydney, Australia 2019.
Recognised purely for his dedication and hard work, Shanaka was awarded in the professional category of the ‘SPECULO’ art exhibition organized by the Sri Lankan Airlines in 2017. Additionally he received appreciations in the State Arts and Sculpture Festival in the portrait Category.
In addition to solo exhibition in 2017, his works have been featured in many group exhibition, including, the annual Sri Lankan Art exhibition organized by the George Keyt Foundation.