He has travelled to places that you and I are yet to see. He has successfully captured these unusual places of serenity in his paintings. But today the famous Royden Gibbs has passed on some of his unique qualities to his students.

Having held an exhibition of his own,Gibbs now plans to hold an exhibition of his students’ paintings next week.

Having experienced the joy of learning to paint, his students had this to say. "I have been interested in art for a long time and whenever I had the time to spare I would sketch. I love to capture on canvass or paper the beauty around me. Under Royden’s guidance I have begun to observe more closely the shapes, colours and effect of light in the environment. I especially like doing portraits which I find exciting and challenging. I consider myself privileged to have a career teaching art to children," Devika Florrimell said.

"It was late in life that I fulfilled a life long liking for painting. With brush and paint to make colours move and blend to make them come alive is an exciting experience," Arjun Delgoda explained.

"Through my art I appreciate nature and the environment more. It gives me the serenity, solitude and peace of mind. Time spent on painting is time spent on myself and food for the soul. It gives me a sense of relaxation and also an expression of thoughts in silence. I enjoy experimenting with colour and form and learning the awesome beauty and the depth of the environment," Yasmin Mohomed said.

"I took up art as a hobby less than a year ago, and have found it to be challenging and relaxing. Although I was a keen student of art during my school days I never found the time to paint until now. I would recommend taking up painting to anyone who would like to get away from it all and experience a world of serene excitement," says Nilmini Nayomi Mahaegodage.

"Art was my favourite subject at school. I continued to draw and paint when I was directed to Gibbs to learn more on the subject. I took a great liking to learn more about perspectives and colour. My love for art developed a new interest in his outdoor group art classes," Tishan Perera said.

"A desire to know how to draw and paint was very strong in me as a child. My teacher Gibbs taught me not only to paint but also to appreciate little things," Kalpani Fernando explained.

"I was interested in art from my school days. Having won the college art prize in 1961 at St. Thomas’ College Gurutalawa. I continued to further enhance my abilities by joining the Mudliyar A. C. G. S. Amerasekera School of Art. I remember exhibiting two of my paintings at the art gallery. I could not continue with my art during the few years I was in the United Kingdom. However when I met Gibbs at an art exhibition he made me interested in drawing again. I enjoy painting as it relaxes me as the building trade I am in is a very stressful job," Gamini Fernando added.

"Gibbs my teacher unravelled a whole new world for me. A world of colour, form and perspective. I started looking at everything with new eyes. "look at the sky, at the sea, at the leaves and think of what colours they hold," he told me. To me the sky was not an ordinary blue anymore. Nature he told us was the best teacher. His love for his land and the passion with which he paints has made him brave all kinds of weather and discomfort while travelling for miles into forgotten parts of the land to capture a fast changing lifestyle and landscape for the sake of posterity. I have had the pleasure of watching him work on some of those painting trips as an awe struck student," said Dilani Wijeysekera.

Thamara Damayathi has a degree from the Kelaniya University (Aesthetic studies). She has worked as a designer in the Tulhiriya Textile factory for two years and joined Ananda College, Colombo 10, as the advanced level art teacher. Thamara has chosen water colours as the main medium of teaching.

Paints n Brushes an exhibition of paintings of the students of Gibbs will be held at the Lionel Wendt on July 15 and 16.

Pinthoora.com which is to be launched in August is hoping to be the largest image library in the country. An important feature of this project is that any photographer will be able to become a member of this image bank. It is headed by Prasantha Dermatage, director / creative director of the Mudra Group of companies. He has over 15 years of experience in this field of advertising and has realised his dream in starting such a project.

Prasantha Dermatage of Pinthoora.com explained why he decided to start such ana agency.

"We started this project with a wider view in mind in order for it to be a tremendous boost to the profession and to the country at large. I have noticed that a large number of local advertisements carry images that are foreign by nature and therefore not suited to the local environment. This is mainly due to the fact that advertising agencies find it difficult to find suitable images that are intrinsically local. This is the reason for the establishment of such a image bank in order to fill this void in the industry. We are thus creating a platform for photographers to benefit from such a venture whereby their families too would finally benefit.

"Initially, we hope to build up a library of 100, 000 images and by means of advertising and publicity, promote the pictures to buyers both local and international through Pinthoora.com.

"A picture is worth a thousand words, as the old adage goes, is the idea behind the images we wish to provide the industry, where a total 100% localised trend where this country’s history, tradition and culture will be portrayed to reach the public more effectively.

"Our aim is to bring out the talent of our photographers and add value to the service and industry, through a high level of creativity in the quality and clarity of the images on offer, at the same time giving local photographers the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the process. Pinthoora.com will maintain its 100 percent local policy."

Any photographer could become a member by calling over at our office at No. 30/63L, Longden Place, Colombo 7.

Dinesh Karunaratna, director / marketing director of the company says Pinthoora.com will be a transparent operation and photographers could submit their images for sale on the site by registering themselves, after which they will be issued a photo identity card which will be required when collecting their payments on the sale of the pictures.

Another great feature is that any member will be in a position to register his/her images directly onto the site from the comfort of their homes.

Pinthoora.com hopes to be the voice for local culture, history, tradition and the way of life of the Sri Lankan people to both local and international clientele.

There’s nothing like a sumptuous meal to take away the blues, especially when the setting is perfect and you’re surrounded by friends. Check out Sri Lanka’s top 10 restaurants in the July/August edition of LIVING, which conducted a readership survey on ‘favourite restaurants’ recently. From seafood, through Chinese and Thai to pub grub, there’s a restaurant out there whatever your flavour may be…

The Lagoon gets top billing with Beach Wadiya, Flower Drum, The Mango Tree and Cricket Club Café making it to the top five in that order – while Lavinia Breeze, Royal Thai, Spoons, The Gallery Café and Siam House occupy the bottom half, from No. 6 to 10. Useful snippets on each restaurant, accompanied by mouth-watering images of the fare on offer, will prove irresistible to many readers.

Blending in well with the cover story is the usual restaurant review, this month featuring The Havelock Place Bungalow. The writer is captivated by as much the setting as the food at the restaurant and claims to have tasted the best home-made ice cream in the country! In fact, the restaurant earns an ‘Exceptional’ rating of five stars, which LIVING has so far not given out to many establishments.

The Fortress on the southern coast is the five-star property under review in this edition. Per AQUUM’s first venture in Sri Lanka, The Fortress blends the old and the modern into the resort, which targets the high-end traveller.

One of the newest nightspots in town – Tramps – gets a look-in as well and LIVING recommends the venue for all those who want to party hard! The magazine also carries a handy guide to restaurants, bars, pubs and nightclubs in the city. The stylish bimonthly, now known as ‘Sri Lanka’s Definitive Guide to living’, is packed with features on entertainment, fashion, hospitality, interior décor, sport, wildlife, health and much more.

Focusing on luxurious residences, a pictorial feature by Channa Daswatte and Dominic Sansoni breathes new life into the interior-décor section of LIVING. A welcome regular feature, the images of elegant homes, may well inspire you to redecorate your own domicile.

Familiar faces between the pages in this issue are Chinthana Vidanage, Tom Moody, Sarala Kariyawasam, Piorina Fernando and Jackie Fernandez, who models Dharshi Keerthisena’s exotic creations.

On the health-and-fitness front, there is a useful feature on why you should continue with your exercise routine and a guide to sensible living to prevent falling victim to disease. A perspective on how to discipline your kids, with expert views from across the globe, is also included.

Available on news-stands this week, LIVING contains useful discount vouchers from hotels, furniture suppliers, skincare specialists and many more. A good mix of articles, from entertainment to real estate and wildlife to fitness, this comprehensive leisure and lifestyle journal is a thoroughly good read, with many useful directories of essential services.

LIVING is published by Media Services, the publisher of LMD and THE LMD 50, and presenter of the weekly business television programme BENCHMARK.

The Colombo Centre for Special Education is a place for rehabilitation and care of the mentally disadvantaged males. Those who are enrolled at the centre are those with down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and slow learners which have made them retarded in their mental growth.

This centre is in the process of looking at the long term needs of these young persons, when those who now care for them may be unable to do so, with permanent hostel facilities

The centre is a non profit making organisation and all funds collected are used for centre activities. At present the centre is funded through voluntary donations from individuals. The centre has its own respite care facility where the students can stay overnight.

The centre strives to develop the potential of the students’ creativity in a relaxed atmosphere. It has been decided to hold an Art and Craft Exhibition to encourage the students and to create more awareness among the public. The chief guest will be Marie Alles Fernando, a renowned artist. The centre is taking this opportunity to display the range of talents at the centre as well as create awareness and respect for individuals with similar needs in society

Items made by the students include greeting cards — birthday, anniversary, thank you, plain etc., Note pads, Envelopes, Gift tags, book marks, jute rugs, serviettes, dish towels, pot holders etc., wrapping paper, woodwork articles, bread baskets, wall hangings and other articles.

This exhibition will be held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on July 18, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• A review

I went recently to a play staged by the young Visakhians at their auditorium in Colombo. It was the fourth presentation of the Jataka story Migara during a span of almost 50 years.

It was an emotion filled experience to see Ms. Karawita who was our deputy principal in the 1950s, Dr. Mrs. Lalitha Katugaha (nee Wijesuriya) and Kamala Kapilasena (nee Wadugodapitiya) gracing the occasion as the chief guest and guest of honour respectively.

Going down memory lane it was that affable pedagogue Ms. Karawita, who almost single handedly created this great play in 1958. I think most of her lines and lyrics are still used. This dramatisation also held a special appeal to me as it was my sister Lalitha, that versatile one time head girl, who played the lead role as Migara, in the inaugural show.

This in itself was a lavish presentation, with a large cast, exquisite costumes, impeccable diction and fine music that blended very well. This was truly a tribute to the producers.

All in all it was one great show. But special mention must be made of the 14 year old Mudushani Seneviratne who played Migara and Nethmi Adikari who was Visakha. They won the hearts of that august gathering and showed a lot of promise. It is my wish they capitalise on their talents.

My thanks to the producers and the young actresses, who gave us a most entertaining evening.

— Dr. Mrs. Manel Panditharatne

In spite of its rich past and tra-ditional historical assoo ciations, in the hands of a thinking improviser, the piano has the capability of being transformed into a musical instrument of the future.

Jazz Piano: Local Edition, an evening of innovative jazz music presented within a distinctively Sri Lankan framework, promises to do just that.

Led by pianists Eshantha Peiris, Cumar de Silva, and Harsha Makalande, this concert will consist of three sets of tunes mainly composed by the performers themselves. Joining the pianists in their quest for thought provoking entertainment will be drummers Sumudi Suraweera, Shiraz Nooramit, Aruna Siriwardhana, bassists Alston Joachim, Dulip Gnanakan, Upula Madushanka, and guests including a percussionist and a poet/spoken-word-artist.