Marie Alles celebrates the spirit of ‘ in art
Accomplished artist Marie Alles Fernando revealed last week the secret of her artistic success which she summed up in one exotic oriental word found in the Japanese lexicon: ‘
As she told this newspaper last Sunday, it had been ‘ ganbarimasu’ or perseverance that had resolutely enabled her to proceed from one artistic milestone to the next artistic accolade of success. had been the impelling force that made her first embark on a journey inspired by art.
The spirit of perseverance had seen her develop from lass to maiden, had seen her mature from belle of the ball to dutiful wife and devoted mum; its’ spirit still sustains and still propels this graceful grandmother of six.
Simultaneously, it had taken her from her artistic mother’s brush and canvass to the inner circle of Lanka’s then art world where, led by Lionel Wendt, graced the founder members of the ground-breaking 43 Group.
In such esoteric surroundings, she apprenticed under masters of renown. Among those who had ‘‘lit the way to the future for the next generation of artists’’, she regards Ivor Baptiste and Prof. Douglas Amerasekera as her gurus and Harry Pieris as her mentor. They saw and groomed her artistic bloom to freely blossom at its best.
Under their tutelage, she matured as a young artist in double quick time. They led her to the Muses’ seat and left her to drink deep from the Pierian Spring that flows at Muses’ birth site, and let her spread her artistic petals in the style or fashion she wished.
She bathed in many streams of art but soon discovered what soothed her the most was the one that sprung from impressionism’s deep wel l . S i n c e then, immersed in the stream of impressionism, she has continued to express her artistic experiences and made impressionism her signature art and theme.
With her born artistic talents enriched, perseverance or ‘ ganbarimasu’ has prodded Marie’s every step in her long artistic voyage that had taken her to almost all the far- flung corners of the world; and steeled her with determination to endure the loneliness and the waywardness of an artist’s mind.
‘Art became the centre of my universe,’ she says, ‘a driving force for change that enabled me to achieve my life’s mission. It made and makes my life worth living. My art reflects those rare moments of vision, when everything seems to focus on a particular point. It may be a loved person, a poem, a sunset, or a moment of pain or ecstasy. When the moment strikes, the barriers of space and time begin to fade and everything mergers in unity’.
In a life of bondage to art, which has spanned over sixty years, she celebrated the spirit of ‘ganbarimasu’ by using this meaningful word – which best conveyed to her the philosophy of artistic endurance – as title of her annual preChristmas two- day private art exhibition which ended last evening at her home studio.
Amidst her latest artistic array, the show’s title painting ‘ commanded pride of place. The art depicts the lotus in the spring of promised bloom, and then to blossom in the summer with all the joys that time grants youth, and then leaves her to wilt and wither on the wintry stalk that brings her chilling end. But not before in throes of death, she had scattered her seeds on her watery grave to make them bloom next spring.
And even as Marie’s artistic works will long endure, no doubt, the spirit of ganbarimasu will sustain this blossomed lotus of Lanka’s impressionistic art on her artistic voyage to espy and paint the beauty of a world denied to lesser mortal eye.