Many art critics have given positive comments on the paintings done by artist Chandana Ranaweera of Alawwa for several decades. He creates unique styles with pen and paper; obviously he has a natural knack for line drawings.
Ranaweera in a way is quite fortunate to have got rave reviews of his paintings by veterans such as the late Prof Ashly Halpé, well-known media personality Dr Edwin Ariyadasa and renowned art enthusiast Gwen Herath.
The collection of paintings we are presenting on this page today consists of colour lines. Ranaweera says, it is a collection he has done over several years and each painting is unique in its own way.
Dr. Ariyadasa, who is a keen admirer of Ranaweera’s paintings once wrote, “Artist Ranaweera has always been sensitive to what was going on in his surroundings. He is very much the outcome of his rural cultural heritage.
“At first he created his works of art, merely as a response to the phenomena that he perceived around him. At that stage his art was dominated by the need to record his experiences rather literally-realistically. Only the vague of a personal style can be seen in Ranaweera’s early works. But he has evolved into a creative person with a decided perception of his own.
He has acquired a mature personality enriched with an individual vision. His latest works stands out due to his own peculiar idioms and motifs of expression. One could sense a profound undertone of social comment in the series he has created in the recent past. His latest works are heavily focused upon themes that are derived from various aspects of religion and its practice,” writes Dr. Ariyadasa.
Art citic and journalist, R.S. Karunaratne in an article published in our sister paper Daily News recently, said, “I have not seen any of Ranaweera’s water-colour, oil or acrylic paintings.
He seems to be wedded to ballpoint pens and paper leaving aside the palette and the brush. An artist needs not necessarily use traditional raw materials such as watercolours, acrylic and oil paint. A creative artist can use a pen, pencil or even a piece of charcoal to give expression to his feelings.”
“Living away from the bustling city of Colombo, Chandana is not in a position to hold regular exhibitions of his paintings. It does not mean that he should give up his vocation. As a genuine artist, he breaks new ground every time he puts pen to paper. Some of his creations show his inner feelings about art in a fast-changing world where almost everybody is running behind fame and power,” according to Karunaratne.
Chandana passed on his skills and knowledge to young students at his old school, Rathanalankara Viduhala, Alawwa, where he teaches. His work can be viewed at his rural home ‘Mallika Niwasa’ in Alawwa.
Ranaweera has also held several solo exhibitions in Colombo and group exhibitions in Sri Lanka and overseas in the past. Although he is willing to organize another solo exhibition in Colombo, unfortunately, the monetary issues keep him away from it.