Ouida’s world of paintings
Ranga CHANDRARATHNE
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Ouida and her abstract arts.
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Art is a complex medium. Unlike in a narrative, artist impressions
are delicately turned first into brush strokes and then into diverse
characters before becoming discernable shades and colours that
constitute a painting.
However, grammar of painting is not so easy to understand as the
grammar of language. Abstract painting is a highly evolved mode of
visual expression. Though it may not be understood at a glance, it does
not warrant a viewer to throw it overboard. Picasso said “if you don’t
know French, it doesn’t mean French language was meaningless” when
viewer said that he could not understand abstract.
Expressionist
For instance, the renowned American abstract expressionist Mark
Rothko’s abstract paintings are like patches on canvas. However, Marko’s
abstract paintings convey a soothing feeling which one would experience
in a church. Later in life, Marko Rothko became a minimalist who used
minimum space on the canvas to put a cross his ideas to the viewers.
Keuneman latest collection does not look like Marko’s paintings,
though his influence is visible. Ouida reminds the fact that a true
artist should also appreciate work of other artists and it is natural
for the artists either to derive inspiration from their favored artists
or to get influenced by them.
 Ouida mainly uses oil painting when she paints on canvas and pastel
when drawing on paper. Her pastel paintings are covered with glass. Her
recent paintings manifest unmistakable influence of Marko Rothko on
them.
She has taken a minimalist approach in her creations as if she is
also influenced by her famous husband Pieter Keuneman and his radical
ideas.
It is clear that among her paintings in diverse styles, her
personality is manifested best in paintings which are in abstract
expressionist style. Though she is not involved in active politics,
Ouida holds socialist political views since her childhood.
One of the predominant characteristics in her abstract paintings is
the minimalist approach she uses in conveying her ideas where she
manipulates blank (white) space on canvas against the composition of
shapes. She has also used colours sparingly so that they do not disturb
the central theme of the painting.
Ouida’s paintings are rich in colour combination and diversity of
style. The techniques differ from decorative abstracts to social
philosophical concepts. Her brush does not spare ordinary folk at work;
women carrying water on their heads, human figures, vendor, pink nude,
Banyan three and abstracts.
Themes
 The paintings are also varied on themes. The subject matter ranges
from human figure to human conditions. Perhaps, her extensive training
in Batik and pottery has also paid a role in selection of colours and
designs.
Though she used to conduct Yoga classes at tourists hotels,
especially in South before the Tsunami at the time of the Tsunami, Ouida
was at Barberryn Reef hotel in Beruwala and she managed to climb on to a
roof of a floating bus, thus escaping from the tidal waves. She
expressed her trauma in paintings.
One of her paintings, ‘three figures of women in Sari’ is a
semi-abstract. The painting is being re-done. “Young Girl with her
pet-bird” is a composition she made using material at hand. The
background of the painting is exclusively made out of her garden and
Ouida has added the young girl and her pet-bird to people it.
The pastel on paper is another genre of paintings. One of the
abstracts that attracted me was that which carries the
non-representative pure abstract. It is a pure composition of shapes in
colour.
 Another painting is big yellow flowers (Rukattana) which is a common
sight in fences. Especially in village, the three which bears the big
yellow flowers is planted so that the flowers can be used as an offering
to the Buddha. “The Pirith Chanting “is another painting by Ouida which
captures the quintessential characteristic of the religious event.
Positive
Ouida perceived the trend that younger generation enters into the
field as a positive step. Especially she has seen the best creative work
among paintings exhibited along the leafy street near Viharamaha Devi
Park.
Ouida is of the view that if someone could not understand abstract,
the viewers were at fault and not the creator. Once, an Indian artist
who drew a cross with its end in a toilet pail was put behind bars.
However, he was released later as artists protested against the arrest.
 Speaking on banning the work of art, Ouida does not believe in
banning a work of art. Ouida is of the view that though work of art can
be classified as more suitable for adults, it is absolutely an
irrational idea to ban a work of art which adversely affects the
creativity of the artist.
 Currently she takes a minimalist approach in paintings and loves to
draw abstracts with minimal patches on canvas. Ouida highly appreciates
Asoka Handagama’s “The Flying with one wing” which put it on par with
classical French films. She would have been by now a fulfilled person in
three dimensions ; Spiritually, mentally and physically.
Private
Ouida exhibits her work at the private art gallery named Tiruvasi
Kala Bhavana at her home, 8/2, 27th Lane, off Inner Flower Road, Colombo
3.
The top floor of the gallery is named after the aura of light in the
lord Shiva ‘Thiruvasi’ not only to serve as a place to hang her
paintings but also to serve as a place for her Yoga classes which she
conducts every morning and evening on week days.
It is no wonder that her remarkable agility and good health is the
by-product of her practice and teaching Yoga.
Ouida fondly talks of her two daughters, a dancer and her younger
daughter painter married to a Cuban and domiciled in Cuba. Her only son
is in New Jersey in USA. Ouida Keuneman had held exhibitions of
paintings here and abroad and has been hung at world renowned art
galleries.
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