He is ...
Jayanthi Liyanage
Recently, we met a young artist who had done quite well for himself
by creating wall paintings. D.G. Rasika Jayanandana counts among his
customers star-class hotels, guest houses and Montessori schools. At the
time the Daily News met him, he was covering hotels in the Hikkaduwa
sea-line and was planning to move to Kandy to solicit orders and resume
his painting for up-country institutions.
"I did not have a permanent job," says Rasika. "Yet, since people of
various walks of life, specially millionaires, helped me with orders and
|
A self portrait of one the many people he has painted |
expenses, I have come up to this level."
He has chosen art as his vocation of life and wishes to commence a
location in Kandy where about five artists have the space to sit and
indulge in art.
"Right now, I stay in the hotel for which I do room art and
paintings. We need a gallery," says Rasika. Asked whether there is
sufficient scope for artists in Sri Lanka, he contemplates and confesses
that he has no knowledge of that but that there is a demand for his art.
"Customers who know about me keep coming for my services more than once.
It is to customers who do not know about me that I have to tell that I
am available," is how he sums up his plans for future.
He says that the majority of orders he receives are for portraits and
natural art. "Some customers allow me the leverage to paint what I like.
My style of art is surrealism but I do not conform to any particular
style of art," says Rasika whose implements of creation are acrylic oil
paint and water colours and charges about Rs.15,000 -35,000 for a wall
painting and about Rs.8,000 - 10,000 for an individual piece of art.
He has painted in Koggala at Hotel Fortress and Koggala South Beach
Resort and at Kandy, in about ten hotels. "My orders come mostly from
the locals but my highest earnings come from tourists.
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This happens to be one of his favourite collections |
Hotels on the coastal line prefer paintings of ocean and hotels in
Kandy prefer modern colourful art."
Aged 28 years, Rasika received his education from the Richmond
College, Galle, but debuted in art in 2005, soon after he left school,
participating in a joint art exhibition in Kandy.
He dabbled in art from childhood but became a professional artist
since 2004 and held his solo exhibition in 2008.
He prefers doing wall paintings in hotels to holding art exhibitions,
says this enterprising artist whose albums are full of dynamic samples
of art with which he had adorned the walls of his customers.
Rasika can be contacted on email
rassee47@yahoo.com. |
