* Her paintings glorify beauty of birds
* The birds are portrayed with versatile personalities
* Her works are brimmed with charm
* She never rushes to complete a painting
* Pinnawala has done 66 paintings
Apparently Jayani Pinnawela could not resist the urge to dedicate a part of her paintings in Reflections of Colour held at the Lionel Wendt Gallery recently, to glorify the beauty of birds. In luxuriant shades she has brought them alive on canvas depicting their versatile personalities. She echoes William Shakespeare’s lusty adoration to them:
‘The ousel-****, so black of hue... With orange-tawny bill.
The throstle with his note so true... The wren with little quill.
The finch, the sparrow and the lark... The plain-song cuckoo grey,
Whose note full many a man doth mark... And dares not answer, nay’...
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Sc I
Even the dreary nightingale plays a major role in Romeo and Juliet and the sleepy owl in Macbeth which only reveals the importance of the presence of birds in our lives. Whether Pinnawela thought that far is not what matters but her adoration to fauna and flora at her exhibition focuses her appreciation for nature. In this context Pinnawela has risen to the expectation of her admirers and critics or for that matter, the reviewers of her art. I see her work through her personality that is brimming in charm, beauty and gentleness.
Pinnawela who is never in a rush to complete what is on canvas, pauses to look over each and every detail of the subject no matter how minute it is. Unlike many of our painters who lack strong visual imagination. Pinnawela moves away from them because of her ability to retain whatever caught her imagination and wanted to put on canvas. But Pinnawela has a long way to go if she wants to emulate an artist like the internationally renowned M M Hussain from our neighbouring country, India. Hussain died at 95, just a couple of weeks ago in exile.
Pinnawela has displayed the gravitas of oil paintings and that this medium is capable of rendering the sublime.
But she has not confined her subject to Sri Lankan birds alone. There was a mixture of many and they were so vast and adorable I had to debate over my selection of them.
Pinnawela had 66 paintings on display apart from the birds sections and had confined her art only to nature and her lush beauty.
Asian Paradise flycatcher (Sri Lanka) known as Terpsiphone Paradise Ceylonenis, is mostly found in the dry zone lowlands and lower hills. Chestnut in colour is a very characteristic bird where the male is distinguished by the long tail feathers that are longer than the body. The female is half its length.
Blue Tailed Bee Eater (Philipine) termed as Merophs Philippinus is in shades of blue with black lines across the neck that separate it from other bee eaters. Habitats throughout the country and is not a migratory bird.
European Bee Eater referred to as Merops Apiaster, similar to most bee eaters but stands apart because of its vibrant colours. An annual migrant bird that visits Ruhunu National Park.
Daily News
