Piyaratna Hewabatage is a familiar name in the field of communication. He has been an artist for over 30 years. Though he has not been exhibiting his work regularly his collection shows that he has not been idling. Amidst his creative work particularly in the field of graphic designing, he has patiently been turning out some outstanding drawings of landscapes.
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| Piyaratna
Hewabatage |
Monks, temples, village folk, trees - these are among the subjects he has chosen for his creative effort. The pastoral look in them is so delightful. They are classy. From Wattegama and Pilikuttuwa temples through Mawanella arecanut palms and kitul palms, passing village tranquility it is a most pleasant journey.
Another form of art he excels in is the adaptation of traditional art used in folk ceremonies.
He is planning to exhibit these at the Lionel Wendt from December 7-10 in an exhibition he calls 'Embodying the Nature and Tradition in Art'. Why such a combination, one may wonder. It's because in addition to the landscapes, he will also present some adaptations used in 'bali' ceremonies.
These include specimens of elaborate figures used in the Prathrupa baliya, Isiwara baliya, Angaharu dina baliya and Suriya vansa baliya. Commenting on his creative work, Professor Albert Dharmasiri says that the landscape which matches Piyaratna's taste has led him to adapt an approach which might be loosely described as naturalism. Pointing out that his approaches to the treatment of landscapes are diverse, he adds that his meticulous draftsmanship is the defining characteristic whether in monochrome illustrations or watercourse. He further says that with meticulous attention to detail the pictures are brilliantly composed.
Recalling the early days, Piyaratna started his career in the advertising industry going up the ladder to function as art director in a few advertising agencies. Later he moved over to the Tourist Board as Design Editor at a time when another reputed artist, Neville Weeraratne was also there holding a responsible position. Neville remembers the time Piyaratna designed and produced materials to show the world what treasures Sri Lanka had. "His skills are many.
He has a sense of balance and an understanding of proportion which, with his draftsmanship, are the essence of artistic skill.
These are the tools of Piyaratna's trade and he used them with vigour to achieve our purpose - which was to attract the world to us," he writes.
He won several awards at international level especially for the Pictorial Diary he designed for the Tourist Board every year.
Piyaratna is also a master craftsman of book covers.
For the past 20 years, Piyaratna has been running his own communication outfit - 'Heritage House'--providing services in designing, advertising and publishing. He takes pride in the campaigns he had created for mega projects like the Mahaweli Development Scheme, Gam Udawa, SAF Games 2006, Deyata Kirula and SAARC Conference 2008. 'Diverse enough to serve you best' is their slogan.
Heritage House also produces 'Travel Lanka', an elegant monthly guide to travellers. In addition to a comprehensive list of places to stay, where to enjoy a good meal and things to see, it carries interesting features with a Sri Lankan flavour.
The latest issue includes one by Lal Anthonis on 'Man and Elephant in Sri Lanka', a feature on the paintings of Neville Weeraratne and Sybil Keyt, and another on Eco adventure tourism.
Piyaratna Hewabatage - "the multi-talented and courageous artist" as Tissa Ranasinghe describes him - can look back on a near half century of dedicated work in the field he excels in, with much satisfaction. |
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