The marriage of colours and reactions
By Tarini Pilapitiya
Evocative faces stare back at us in Jayantha Silva’s living room. His walls are filled with emotions – on one side a woman selling her vegetables at the Mount Lavinia pola (market) dressed in a simple jacket adorned with small yellow, pink and green flowers adding variations of tones and atmosphere to the portrait. Close by, her crotchety looking husband, his face twisted into a scowl is etched on to another canvas - a marriage of colours and reactions.
Looking closer, you can see how the artist captures the identities and striking features of his subjects. From the half-moon shaped circles darkened with age and maturity under the eyes of one face to the soulful innocence that bursts out of a child’s smile in another canvas.
Jayantha’s many faces will make an appearance at the 14th edition of his solo exhibition “Expression” on May 6 and 7 at the Lionel Wendt, Colombo. The preview of the exhibition will be held on May 5 at 6.30 pm.
Jayantha always had a flair for art, and winning awards and titles at a young age, made him realise that art was part of his DNA. He recalls his Montessori report card where his teacher had commented “Excellent” for art and also added - “It’s a pity that he doesn’t draw on paper”. Jayantha’s adventurous nature led him to ‘draw’ on floors and walls, and if his work still lives on in the Bambalapitiya flats, what you may see as child’s play was the work of virtuosity in the making.
“I was quite a character back then,” Jayantha grins. “At 10 years old I drew my first nude” - a bit unusual for a child to draw something so explicit. He says he envisioned what the nude figure would look like, startling others with its accuracy and proving that his art was as mature as it could be at the tender age of 10.
A self-taught artist, his style he adds is “unorthodox”. “You are never born an artist,” Jayantha muses. “Art for me is a tremendous amount of confidence in yourself.”
However, not seeing a future in making a living from his talents, after school Jayantha moved on to advertising and commercial art.
Fast forward to 20 years later. Painting every weekend from 2002 onwards he was satisfied enough to hold his first exhibition in 2003. Jayantha has come a long way since then ending his hiatus. “The artist in me decided to stick on,” Jayantha smiles.
The first picture that helped Jayantha toward his path of success was “Rwanda” a painting that depicts the plight of its people.
What’s extraordinary about Jayantha’s story is how he reawakened that confidence in himself. Invited by the Lighthouse Hotel in Galle to hold an exhibition at the hotel, Jayantha was awarded a prestigious commission by the Tea Board to paint a 6’x11’ “Reception back” to be gifted to the Airport and Aviation office in Katunayake. A pivotal moment in Jayantha’s life, he relates how he overcame an “artist block” ultimately boosting his confidence up with verbal encouragement and inner peace.
“I’m a more Western artist” Jayantha states reflecting on how the majority of his work is influenced by the movies, theatre, songs and his daily observations. Everyday faces, striking features and the expressions of his subjects imprint in the painter’s mind, his photographic memory greatly coming into use here.
Having presented his work in Australia, India and Sri Lanka this will be his 14th annual exhibition - his work will showcase some of his portraits of figurative art done in acrylic, pastel colours and charcoal.
His work for the exhibition series is aimed at capturing unique expressions and features of his subjects, most portraits depicting personalities shining through. His realistic focus coupled with his imaginative expression allows him to explore a range of emotions, each painting holding a sentimental value to him. One of his standout collections is the portraits under the theme “Sri Lankan Smiles” which Jayantha states “is the unique quality of our country that I tried to capture”.
Tell me a little bit about yourselfdid you always paint?
I was born and brought up here in Sri Lanka. I was educated at Ladies’ College and later went on to pursue a BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Lasalle College of the Arts Singapore. I had my first art classes at Cora Abraham’s school of art, and later as a teenager took classes in painting under Nadine David privately as well as under Shyamala Pinto Jayawardane at Ladies’ College. I took art as a subject for my London A’Levels, knowing quite well that whatever profession I would eventually pursue would be involving this creative aspect, having had a passion for painting as long as I can think back.
My mother is quite artistically inclined herself and her paintings on the walls of our home used to always captivate me as a child and I remember being very upset when she wouldn’t let me touch her canvas and expensive paints. She was probably my first artistic influence, and initial inspiration. I used to observe her paint, and sometimes accompany her when she visited art exhibitions and to Stanley Abeysinghe’s who she studied under, and had painted portraits of my brother and myself when we were much younger. I would definitely have continued to paint. I may have not pushed my boundaries and the level of exploration may have not been as exciting, had I not studied it however, it all depends on how much I would have exposed myself to other artists, reading about Art and researching further too.
Working in an environment with a lot of other artists, be it your peers or lecturers obviously contributes a great deal to the kind of artist you evolve into. Facing gruelling art criticisms, builds you up to defend your work, to talk about it, write about it, think about it. Question others work, question yourself about your work.
Finally the most frustrating realisation perhaps as a student in Uni, was that Art is indeed so subjective, the lecturer who gives you feed back today will be poles apart from the lecturer who sees your work tomorrow.
You learn to accept this fact and forge on.
What inspires you?
I think nature is my greatest inspi- ration. Sensory experiences in a most raw and natural form. Like the smell of the earth and the visual of earthy colours and tones from nature. The sound of a flowing body of water, like that of a river or the crashing waves of the sea. Combined, it is meditative & calming, and that I think comes out in my work.
For my cellscape series, the inspiration is born from textures we find in our natural environment and everyday surroundings.
I have a tendency to be drawn to intricacy, and details in Nature and marks left on surfaces through time. Repetitive structures too that I find meditational.
Who are your favourite artists?
Artists who work alongside and closely with the environment. Richard Long walked up and down a field until it wore away a path, in his work ‘a line made by walking’. This intrigued me and inspired me to explore unorthodox methods of drawing, which is when I started working with rust as a medium. I was also inspired by Chinese Artist Cai Guo-Qiang who uses gunpowder explosives.
Explain your process.. do you paint every day?
Give me a canvas, or a paper and a paint brush and I will paint or draw from almost anywhere. My best work I feel, comes out when I am working under pressure towards a project but with ample time to prepare for it, and then I will be painting everyday for months on end. I am a night owl, and I find that the best time for me to work is when the rest of the world sleeps and there is nothing to distract me.
When my husband was a ship’s engineer and I would sail with him, I would paint and draw everyday for hours with no distractions at all, as we wouldn’t touch land sometimes for weeks.
There are chunks of time where I don’t end up working at all, where life’s chores distract you, but these are also good breaks to step back and refresh yourself.
When I am working, I really have to switch off from everything else. Lately though, it’s been a balance with looking after my infant / newly turned toddler, but I think I have just proved to myself that this is still possible.