Wild and wonderful 

By Uthpala Gunethilake

Therefore, when those who have a passion for the wild crystallize these wonders on canvas or camera lens, it's worth morw than a second look. The Art Group of the Young Zoologists' Association (YZA) will recreate numerous of these momentary wonders on canvas, in their forthcoming exhibition of wildlife paintings named "Cradle Wild". The deer will linger a little longer and the kingfisher slow down a little in his swift flight, in this colourful, detailed record of the wild.

The special feature about their paintings is that they are the result of scientific study being paired with aesthetic talents. Says Prasanna Weerakkody, co-founder and the first instructor of the Art Group, "What we do in the YZA is mainly scientific. But you need a certain amount of drawing skill for research purposes. That is how the Art Group came about." 

The YZA was begun in 1972 by former zoo director Mr. Lyn de Alwis, and the members meet at the National Zoological Gardens at Dehiwala to be trained in subjects related to wildlife, ecology and conservation. But various aesthetic endeavours are taken up by the members time and again, including wildlife photography and painting. "A lot of talent has come up in our exhibitions," says Prasanna. This is their seventh art exhibition.

Out of the 20 painters who will exhibit their work, only a handful are full-time artists. "There are a lot of students, teachers, architects, undergraduates and people from several other professions involved in the exhibition. Also, there are many who are new in the field of wildlfie art," says Shantha Jayaweera, who founded the Art Group together with Prasanna in 1989. 

"The Zoological Gardens staff help us a lot. Our members are allowed in areas where normal visitors are not, specially the nursery for baby animals, and they let us touch and observe them. This is important at the initial stages of painting wildlife," says Shantha. 

Prasanna explains that much effort goes into the art of wildlife painting. " Your subject is not going to stay the way you want it to. You have to adjust your movement to his," says Prasanna. But where there's passion, dedication is certainly not hard to find. Says Sarvodee Ratnasuriya, one of the newcomers in the Art Group, "It's like meditation for me. I love nature and love painting nature too." 

What's with the lyrical name for the exhibition? Explains Prasanna, "The wilderness is the cradle of life. The theme for this year's exhibition is to acknowledge that we all belong there. I hope people will carry away the message that the wilderness is a part of ourselves which is worth preserving."

The exhibition will be opened at the Alliance Francaise, Barnes Place, Colombo on December 1, at 5.30 p.m. It will be open to the public from 9. 30 to 6 p.m. from December 2 to 7.

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