Secret of scenery painting revealed
Today, water colour painting has become a very popular medium in art.
It is highly expressive, exciting and enjoyable and a versatile medium.
The art of painting in water colour is to produce a transparent and a
spontaneous picture.
A good water colour is capable of capturing all the glories of
nature, light and sun, air and mist, with just a few strokes of the
brush. The main delight of a water colour painting is its fluidity and
transparency.
 Observation is the starting point and may be supplement by knowledge
generally by reading books. Treat a book rather like a map for a
journey: it is helpful and is based on sound observation and offers
fairly simple technical advice.
However, 'Dharshana Chithra' book helps every child and adult
interested in painting irrespective of age to learn painting sceneries
methodically and to overcome difficulties. Nayanajith Premaratne,
artist, author, teacher and graphic designer highlights guidelines that
provide simple logical solutions that work.
The book illustrates each problem with a typical beginner's painting
and then demonstrates the pitfalls and solutions that should be applied
as remedy. In addition you'll discover how to improve the vibrancy of
your colours by mixing them and applying in transparent glazes. There
are close up details that reveal the artist's technique and a wealth of
information offering many alternative colour solutions when doing
typical scenery.
The theories and solutions shown in the book are applicable to
painting in any medium, whether it is oil, water colour, acrylic or
pastel. The book covers a broad spectrum from simple colour mixing in
overcoming difficulties with composition, size and shapes.
To make it simple and easy for a beginner the author has shown
step-by-step demonstrations entirely in colour to paint a wide range of
subjects, houses, trees, different textures and light effects. Special
emphasis must be made of the 10 formulas that solve design problems and
offers a wide colour coding variety to the artist. These 10 formulas
could be described as absolute life savers in the choppy waters of
scenery painting.
This book deals with the practical problems involved and the
solutions how to control it totally. Nayanajith has also shown is a
unique work of art 'Seewali Maha Thera' by his grandfather, the famous
early 20th Century Buddhist revivalist painter Kalaguru M Sarlis, and
water colour paintings and picture story illustrations done by his
father Kala Booshana Susil Premaratne. Hopefully, finding these
paintings inspiring one could use them as starting points for own
creative solutions.
The publication also serves as a worthy tribute to three giants of
Sri Lankan art, Kalaguru M Sarlis who belongs to the old masters, Kala
Soori G S Fernando, eminent water colourist and Kala Booshana Susil
Premaratne the artist and musician and the author's father.
These masters dedicated their lives to foster art in Sri Lanka and
have been the teachers for me and Nayanajith.
Therefore, it was an honour and a privilege to have been able to
contribute a foreword and thank Nayanajith for allowing me to become a
small part of the publication. Today the only two pupils who remain from
this generation is Nayanajith and myself who are still active at the
easel.
This book will serve as a lasting memorial of an artist's effort to
the present and future generations which blazed and truly created waves
in the sluggish backwaters of art.
The book is available at Vijitha Yapa Bookshops, Sarasavi Bookshops,
M D Gunasena Bookshops and Thusitha Bookshop, Ratmalana.
-Tissa Hewavitarana
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