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Colouring mental impressions

By Risidra Mendis

Her paintings are unusual, lively and creative and always have a story to tell. For K. M. Srimathi Herath, a water colour painter and school teacher, painting has become a part of her busy life.

Herath is different from other painters - she has chosen to paint with water colours, something that most painters have avoided. "Most artists prefer poster colours and oil paints as this is relatively easier. When you paint with water colours you have to paint fast and finish the painting before the paint dries up," explained Herath.

According to Herath, the technique used for water colour painting is known as 'wet on wet.' Painting on wet paper is the main idea of water colour painting, Herath explained.

She takes around 10 minutes to complete a small painting while a larger painting takes between 20 minutes to half an hour.

"When painting in water colours the trick is to pay less attention to detail. The idea of a water colour painting is that it should look natural and not like a photograph," Herath added.

According to Herath, learning the art of water colour painting is not easy. "However once you pick up the technique, the ideas and expressions needed for the paintings come naturally," she said.

When Herath sees something interesting she takes mental notes. Once she comes back to her place of work she expresses her thoughts in the form of a painting. It was in 1991 that Herath underwent training on traditional art under the guidance of Kalasoori S. P. Charles. Since then she has held her first art exhibition in 1993 at the E.L. Senanayake Children's Library. 

"I was fortunate enough to meet the famous and honoured water colour artist and retired art instructor M.D.S. Gunatilake in 2003, from whom I learnt the finer points in water colour painting. This training helped me to enhance my technique of brush strokes," explained Herath.

Herath now has the experience to compose and select her themes from nature, from which she derives great satisfaction. Her paintings display expressive sights that she has personally come across, some of which include beautiful landscapes around the Kandy City and the behaviour of people in their day to day lives.

Living in Kandy has made Herath's paintings that much more beautiful and colourful as she is exposed to many picturesque sights. 

Herath's father, mother and sister also have an eye for water colour paintings. However, Herath is the only member of her family who continues to pursue and improve her techniques in water colour painting.    

Herath is an old girl of Vidyadarsha Maha Vidyalaya, Anuradhapura. She obtained her BA in 1986 from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura. Having obtained her Post Graduate Diploma, she now teaches at K/Udaperadeniya Maha Vidyalaya.  Herath's second solo art exhibition Flora In Water Colours will be held at the D. S. Senanayake Library Hall on July 15, 16 and 17.

Everything but...' (The kitchen sink) 

An exhibition of contemporary British kitchenware organised by the British Council will be displayed at the Barefoot Gallery from July 15  to August 1.

Travellers with bulging suitcases packed with something for every eventuality are often asked 'Did you pack everything but the kitchen sink?' which gives the exhibition its title 'Everything but...' For included in the exhibition are a variety of exhibits, ranging from traditional ceramics and products in ware to some of the most innovative designs produced for dining and food preparation in the UK.

Although this appears to be a mere exhibition of kitchen-ware, there is also a good deal of humour incorporated into some of the exhibits displayed. For instance, a young design group have clearly transformed snooker balls into salt and pepper containers whilst another designer has 're-invented' a mundane object - the cat bowl, made not with functional plastic, but with classic bone china. The exhibition will feature exhibits of over 25 UK designers.

The exhibition will be opened to the public on weekdays and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Winners of Concerto
Competition to play with SOSL 

Two young soloists, both winners at the recent Concerto Competition of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will perform with the orchestra at its next concert on July 24.

Tilanka Jayamanne, the winner of the wind category will play the first movement of Mozart's Flute Concerto No.1 with its many lovely melodies and virtuosic passages. He is a 15 year old student at St. Joseph's College, Colombo and learns the flute under Sureka Amerasinghe.

Nuwan Senaratne, the competition winner in the piano category will play the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 1. It was written when Beethoven was 25 and still much influenced by Mozart. Ruwan aged 21 and a past pupil of Royal College, Colombo is a second year student at the University of Colombo reading computer science. He studies piano under Indranee Hapugalle.

Manila Weerakoon will conduct the SOSL in Schubert's lyrical Unfinished Symphony and Tchaikovsky's passionate Marche Slave. They will open the 'Young Soloists' concert sponsored by HSBC with the overture to one of Mozart's operatic masterpieces, The Magic Flute. The concert will be held at Ladies' College Hall and commences at 7p.m.

Website honours two doyens of Sri Lanka's film industry 

The official website for the two most revered personalities in Sri Lanka's film industry - Dr. Lester James and Sumitra Peries - was launched on June 25 by Dr. Lester James, Sumitra Peries, Minister Vijitha Herath and Managing Director, Emphasis, Glenda Parthipan. The event, which was held at the Colombo Museum Auditorium was attended by numerous prominent people including government officials and celebrities from the cinema world.