Painting for fun - is fun!
Srianee Dias
When I started painting seriously as a pre-teen (Oh so long ago!) I relied mostly on my imagination. I did have a vivid imagination. Nowadays I need some inspiration to get started. I have a large brown envelope labelled “Inspiration for paintings” which contains photos I have taken of interesting architecture, landscapes and scenes which are potential subjects for paintings at some point in the future. (I use my own photos, because otherwise it will not be an original creation.)
I start with a light pencil sketch on the canvas using the photo as a guide.(I use acrylics or oils for painting.) Once I start painting, I play with the colours and shapes, which may not be the same as in the original photo. I do not attempt to reproduce the photo realistically. This is because I don’t have the skills to do that well, and also because I wish to improvise a little, or a lot! As I keep working, the image in the photo is more or less abandoned, and I focus more and more on the painting, which is now taking a life of its own at the tip of my paintbrush. I allow my imagination to take flight and create something that is entirely my own.
 |
| My painting of Dondra Lighthouse |
Maybe some readers of the blog have correctly identified the subject of this painting as the Dondra lighthouse. (Devinuwara). This photo was taken by me while flying over the area with one of my brothers in a small aircraft.
While the lighthouse and the Dondra Head are recognisable, most readers will note that I have taken a great deal of creative licence with the surrounding vegetation - genus and species unknown! Yes, there are a few scraggly-looking coconut trees that may be recognisable. Rocks appeared in the painting in locations where there were none in the photo. I was having fun and enjoying the freedom!
 |
| Photo of Dondra Lighthouse |
The Dondra lighthouse is the tallest in Sri Lanka and one of the tallest in Southeast Asia. It is 49 meters tall, was designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, and constructed in 1890 by William Douglass of the Imperial Lighthouse Service. The steel and brick were imported from England, the granite was imported from Scotland and Cornwall. There are 25 lighthouses in Sri Lanka and 14 of them are active, and managed by the Sri Lanka Port Authority.
I read somewhere that something that influenced Sir Arthur C. Clarke to consider moving to Sri Lanka permanently was the realisation that when he stood on the beach in Dondra, there was no land in the vast expanse of ocean between him and the South Pole.
Sir Arthur was one of the divers who discovered a shipwreck containing gold coins in this area. Perhaps someone reading this may know more about this story.
I always enjoy Srianee's posts, whether they are paintings or writings. This is a great example of producing an original painting rather than a copy of a photograph. Both are not easy , or put it in a different way, both are difficult! - but this is more creative.
ReplyDeleteHello Srianee
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful history of the iconic Dondra lighthouse. With the vibrant colours used I like the painting very much. I can just imagine the hours of concentration and the effort needed for this beautiful painting.
I worked at the Central Blood Bank in Colombo in the early 1970s, alongside about ten fellow medical officers. As part of our routine duties, we travelled across the country to encourage people to donate blood and then transported it back to Colombo. Festivals were ideal opportunities for these outreach visits, as people were especially willing and generous in their donations. One such occasion was the Devinuwara Esala Perahera, a vibrant annual festival held in honour of Lord Vishnu at the Sri Vishnu Temple. I still vividly remember the dancers in their colourful costumes, the majestic elephants, and the dazzling fireworks.
At that time, the Dondra Lighthouse was still managed by the British, even after independence. The lighthouse keeper was well known to our team and kindly arranged accommodation for the Public Health Inspectors and me. It was a beautiful house, offering a stunning view of the Indian Ocean.
I simply cannot remember if I had the good fortune to climb to the top of the magnificent lighthouse.
Something which occurred to me about names in Sri Lanka- how the anglicised version is kept some times but not always. Dondra is of course Devundara. I remember some Sri Lankans referring to Kurunegala as "Kernigalle" and Hambantota as "Ham-ban-tot". Galle is really " Ga-al- lah" and Colombo is "Kolomba". Nuwara Eliya was called "New-reh-liya" and Kegalle should be "Kah-galla". Kegalle is a place where many sinhala people who are are able to speak English still call it "Keh-gall" rather than Kah-galla. I am sure there are many more. This also operates with many long Sinhala and Tamil long surnames too!
ReplyDeleteMahendra what a beautiful creation by Srianee. Love her painting as she has put a personal touch to it. Colours are vivid and there is a story to go with it.
ReplyDeleteWell done Srianee you have shown us all that anything can be achieved with concentration, interest and focus. I am thrilled with this painting and the story behind it. My congratulations to you. Keep painting and enjoy your hobby. Thank you for sharing.
Best Wishes
Dhushyxx
Dear Bunter what an amazing work of art. I truly loce it. Abocecall i necer realized tgat you
ReplyDeleteSomething strange is going on here. I tried to reply individually to my friends who have commented, but I was unable to do so, or add a comment. Google took me to my "Profile" and I decided to update my new location (Sri Lanka). They probably know I have moved - creepy!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, now at least I can add a comment.
Nihal, I am glad I was able to ignite some fond memories from the past for you. I had not heard of the Devinuwara Esala Perahera. I'm glad you liked my creation. I thought it would be interesting to share my "methodology" with the readers of the blog in the hopes that it will inspire people to try to do some paintings of their own.
Mahen, I also chuckle at the way people anglicize names of places here in Sri Lanka, especially in Colombo. I will do my best to use the proper names in the future! A few days ago I confused my Kangaroo Cab driver by directing him to go past the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station. He thought I was saying the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. We straightened it out later, after a few wrong turns. What I should have said was "Kurunduwatte Police Station." I'm learning...
Thank you Dushy, for your kind words. Painting is something that I enjoy immensely, especially with some good music in the background! I'm hoping to keep doing it, now that I am more or less settled here. No excuses!!
Dushy, I hope you continue to create those beautiful spaces with your flowers and shrubs.
Dear "Anonymous" you need to identify yourself!
ReplyDeleteDear Bunter i truly love your painting It is a work of art Above all i never knew you were an artist. like Chirasri keep the paintings coming would love to see more & more. Now that you are settled in sunny Sri Lanka i am sure you will more areas to visit & paint
ReplyDeletethanks aa lot for sharing
i didnt mean to be "anonymous". i am Pramilla
DeleteHi Bunter
ReplyDeleteYou really have been blessed with an artistic talent. Your painting is lovely and the way you have made it unique by using your imagination has made it vibrant and not just a dull copy. Congratulations! Keep painting for fun, and share your efforts with us.
I clearly remember how you had cut out silhouettes of your 3 brother's profiles in black cartridge paper and mounted them on the bedroom wall. It was so striking. You have always been creative.
Thank you Speedy for reminding us the anglicised version of our Towns Kernigalle for Kurunegala, Kaltura for Kalutara ,Kegalle, Kegalle for Kegalla , Kandy for Kanda Udarata, Colombo for Kolamba, Trincomali for Thrikunamale and of course Dondra for Devundara
Suri
Hi Pram, I have been painting ever since I was a very young person. Of course, during med school and the busy years that followed, I had to push the pause button! I started again when my daughters were in high school, but again there were interruption due to other things that were going on in my life. I'm glad you liked my painting and I hope to share more of my creations on the blog. I have shared some of my paintings on the blog in the past, but they were few and far between, and you probably missed them.
ReplyDeleteSuri, thank you for your encouraging comments. I hope to do more. One of these days i will set up my oil paints as well. This painting of the Devundara lighthouse was done in acryliics.
Srianee, thanks for informing me about the poroblem encountered by you when trying to reply to a comment. I am investigating this as I noticed the same and it doesn't matter which browser I use, and it is not a problem with third party cookies as I have enabled them. I used software called Blogger for our blog and I have used the same for making my own blog (called Friendship) and the same is happening with that too. It is something to do with the Blogger software. I hope I can find the cause and the solution. Shall keep you informed
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is I can reply using my Android phone as you can see!
DeleteMahen, This is crazy, but I think the problem seems to have corrected itself. My tech savvy nephew always instructs me that the first thing I should do when experiencing a problem with electronic devices is to switch them off, and on again after a few minutes. It usually works!!
DeleteSrianee, I think it was a problem with the software. As many people had noted that in the Blogger feedback, they have corrected that.
DeleteSrianee
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your creative art with the history of the Dondra light house. I like the bright colours. I didn't know it was built so long ago. All that was news for me.
Keep on painting places of interest as you are back in Sri Lanka permanently. This will help to keep our Blog alive.
Wishing you all the very best.
Chira
Chira, Thanks for your appreciative comment. Yes, I do plan on continuing with the painting as long as possible. Preparing for this move took a lot of my time and energy. Perhaps i can now focus on activities that I truly enjoy.
DeleteEvolution of place names is a treasure trove of history. Mahen has mentioned some. Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kandy, Batticaloa, Colpetty are yet some names to the list. The British Empire covered two thirds of the world. They never bothered to learn the language of the countries they occupied but made English the common language for all. No attempt was made to pronounce foreign names but anglicised them to their advantage.
ReplyDeletePlace names have evolved worldwide. Calcutta, Madras and Bombay have now been changed back to their original names. I grew up in Nugegoda when it was a quiet town far from the madding crowd. In the far distant past it was a marshy land with a forest of Nuga trees. There was a quaint village just beyond which was referred to as “Nuga-egoda” . With the passage of years and constant use became Nugegoda.
With our independence from British rule there was a wave of ultra nationalism. Names of streets and buildings were changed at great cost to the country when there was little need for it and our coffers were empty. Changing a name removes a part of its history too. Turret road, Duplication road, Dickman’s road have changed as many more have done. I lived at Wickramasinghe Place in Nugegoda. It was in memory of Rev Wickramasinghe an Anglican priest who spent his years in the service of the people building a school and serving his flock. Sadly the name of the road has changed and not many know its history anymore. I do accept that some names did require change. Brownrigg Road was so named after Robert Brownrigg who In 1815, as Governor of Ceylon annexed the Kandyan Kingdom. We don’t wish to remember his name anymore.
I am reliably informed that Sri Jayawardenapura is not named after J.R Jayawardene but the hospital and university are named after him. The hospital and the university were named when J.R was still alive. I will let the readers decide its wisdom.
Nihal, I agree that the random name changing of streets, especially in Colombo, erases history, and is also frustrating for those of us who grew up in the 'good old days.' Some of the new names are named after people with jaw breaking last names. I don't think that this helps a country that is trying to promote tourism. Many people still refer to the old street names even though the street signs say something else!
DeleteSrianee, just an observation on relative dimensions. I was just wondering whether the trees on your paintings are too large (in proportion to the lighhouse). if you look at the three windows in the column leading up to the light, in your picture, the tree (?coconut) goes beyond the first and almost to the second window whereas in the photograph, the tree tops are well below the first window. If you measure the height of the tower in "tree lengths", your drawing would indicate a height of three trees whereas in the photo, it is more like ten! I hope you don't mind my observation which in no way reduces the measurement of your talent! (cannot be measured in tree lengths!)
ReplyDeleteMahen, you are very observant and absolutely correct! It was when I started painting the coconut trees that I realized that I was deviating from reality! It would have been too difficult to correct it, so I decided to add some imaginary vegetation, and free myself from restraints! That is part of the fun!
DeleteSrianee
ReplyDeleteYou have made a promising start.I found it very interesting the way you described; in stages how the painting evolved.I recall how the art master at STC repeatedly encouraged us to use our imagination.
I Hope the "Line Dancing" is progressing well. You have the talent for both Art and Music.
Keep dancing and painting
Thank you Bora. I thought I would describe the way I set out to create a painting in the hope that others might try it too. Only a few of us have the ability to accurately reproduce an image in a realistic fashion. Creating a work of art often involves introducing a part of one's self into the creation.
DeleteI heard this story from STC: The art teacher was Nalini Jayasuriya, who went on to become an internationally acclaimed artist after she left STC. The student I think was my brother Eksith's friend, the late Ranji Jinasena. (I'm not 100% certain.) Ranji was painting, and covering his entire paper with blue waves. When Nalini asked him "What are you painting?" his response was "A ship." When asked where the ship was, he said "It has sunk!"
That's imagination!!
I'm hoping to keep my body and soul in shape with the dancing and the painting :))
Sriani, Great to see you having fun !
ReplyDeleteI like your painting and enjoyed reading your interesting narrative - as always ‘down to earth’ , every detail written ‘as was’ in honesty.
I have only ever done four paintings in my life. The first was when I was in school and Sylvia Goonetillake was chasing me as she did each year, to write something for the school magazine. Then I did a painting of a girl sitting at her desk with head in hands moping over having to do homework ! I think there was one exclamation something like “Oh not homework again” but I cant be exact.
I remember the girl’s feet were seen crossed under the desk !
I did this painting over a weekend, and when I showed it to my friend Sumitra Ratnayake whom you’d remember, she said “ Rohini, Surely you didn’t do this - you’ve never done any painting before ! “ and there the matter ended and was forgotten ! It never got to Sylvia Goonetillake!
The second and third were done about 4 + yrs ago - persuaded by Natasha in her attempts to distract me from grief after Ana passed away- the first was of a sunset ( scrappy )! the second of a king fisher following the outlines from a bought canvas using the recommended colours, and the last my own, a view of Mount Taranaki from our house in New Plymouth, a sketch of which I had done while we lived there happily until 1998.
I might send photos of the last 3 to Mahen in case he thinks they are worth adding to this comment .
I have enjoyed your style of painting in the past- some even resembling Gauguin , and hope to see more them .
Mahen and Sriani, Thanks for the post. Cheers - Rohini
Rohini, your memory is commendable! Your paintings are great! Unfortunately, I comments don't allow pictures. I replied to your email with an idea I had for sometime. I hope you approve.
DeleteRohini, thank you for your encouraging comments and sharing your experience with painting. I remember that at LC when one chose the science track as we did, it was not possible to continue with the art classes at school. and I was sad about that. Thankfully, there is a lot more flexibility nowadays, I hear.
DeleteI encourage you to start painting again. When one gets immersed in the creative process, it clears one's mind of anything that may be causing worry and sadness. Nihal has described how it is a form of meditation.
You may become another 'Grandma Moses,' an American artist who became famous when she started painting in her old age.
At any rate you will enjoy it.
Dear Srianee and my other Colleagues, I do agree with others that Srianee is also a very talented artist. However the height of the coconut trees seem to be a little out of proportion. Many years ago I climbed to the top of the Dondra lighthouse.
DeleteThe lighthouse keepers around the world must be a very lonely lot because they have to live by themselves for long periods of time.
I have visited the Blowhole at Kudawella which is a fishing village close to Dondra. It is a really beautiful site to see a huge fountains of seawater, every few minutes.