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Far away from Colombo, a beautiful village in the name of Demataluwa in the district of Kurunegala was my birth place. Born in 1945 I had my early days of my child hood spent at Mahananneriya, a hamlet in Wannihathpattu in the same district, as my father, being the head master to the village school was serving there. We were there until 1952. I had my primary education at the school where my father was the head master.
Replete with natural surrounding and environment the area was highly rich in Fauna and Flora. I was so fascinated and impressed by the scenes where elephant, deer, samber and other wild animals were frequently seen. Birds of varying beauty and colour were a day today scenes. The forest was field with large trees and creepers and some endemic plants. I was so fortunate to be in these surroundings which provided me with knowledge and artistic ideas. The people in the area were simple, helpful and filled with noble human qualities. This background surely was the launching pad of my artistic career and aesthetic thinking.
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After 1952 I got admission to Maliyadewa College of Kurunegala for my higher education. In 1959 I started following a weekend class conducted by the Government College of Fine Art (Haywood). I was so lucky to be trained under Mr. Stanley Abeysinghe, David Painter, Saldeen Master and S.P. Charles, all of whom were world famous artists.
Presently I reside at Ahangama, an urban area in the district of Galle, Southern province. People in the area are predominately engage in the fishing industry. Other than that agriculture handy craft and small scale industries are there.
While the things were going smoothly and the luck was looming gradually sudden unexpected misfortune befell on me when Tsunami hit Sri Lanka on the boxing day of December 2004. Tsunami grabbed all my properties bringing down me to zero. I had no courage even to think of a way to get out of this mess. Such was the severity of the damage. However, Tsunami failed to deprive me of my ability and reputation. Amides great difficulties and hardship I have now restarted my business due to the generous attitude of my few friends, local and foreign.
Recently I participated in foreign trade fairs conducted in U.S.A., U.K., Germany and Austria. Understanding customer priority and taste is something important when presenting a painting. As such my method and technique of offering a painting differ from one another. I am always adjustable to needs of my customers. Some of my paintings are unique in nature as they are painted with earth colours. This method has deep roots in the artistic field in Sri Lanka. Using earth colours is something special that only those who studied the subject can use them making the paintings colourful and conveying a meaningful message.
I have a strong desire to adorn a religious place or other important place with earth colour paintings which would undoubtedly captivate the art lovers around the world.
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