Artist Athula Siriwardene holds his third exhibition of paintings in pastels, water colours and oils at the Lionel Wendt from September 12–15.

Most of the exhibits will be in soft pastels.

"To bring out the real effect of your creation and to express your inner feelings in a more effective manner the best medium is soft pastels", says Siriwardene.

Soft pastels which have the ability to create an illusory effect on the object gives flexibility in using and mixing colours.

These paintings which consist of portraits, scenery and still life, are different in the usage of colours and style while it provides its own identity to the painting.

This exhibition provides one an opportunity and the freedom to explore new avenues in the simplicity and naturalness of a folk song or the subtle technicalities of a classical song.

The camera eye, uses light and darkness to capture its pictures while the three dimensional effect of a film and its naturalness depends on darkness.

But to the artist who experiences the three dimensional effect of an object with both his eye and the mind it is a step ahead of the camera.

Although many artists try to go beyond the boundaries of reality to challenge the camera, it’s very easy for the artist to be natural and still go beyond the camera and achieve his goal.

"When expressing feelings through his creations, a painter has the advantage over a photographer to reach greater heights within the broader horizons", he says.

Athula Siriwardene has practised Vipassana (equilibrium of mind) for 12 years continuously under Mr. S. N. Goyanka of India.

It has prompted him to name this exhibition "Vipassana" due to the inner satisfaction he has gained in life and the success achieved in life through Vipassana meditation.

"When you view an exhibit you know that the illusory beauty of this work of art is not real. Through our own experiences we create reality. But we don’t know that the reality we see in our subconscious mind is an illusion that we have created.

It will be contradictory to name an art exhibition "Vipassana". But in the real sense a work of art is a vision extraordinary.

Vipassana is to feel in a special manner. The method of learning to experience the world beyond ours with equanimity is Vipassana.

When an artist draws one of his creations what he actually practices is not concentration but awareness. Without an awareness of his work he cannot maintain the harmony and unity.

The Samadhi he achieves in this instance is not the result of sheer concentration. Vipassana teaches you to concentrate on an object for a long time and not to take your mind away from that object. These paintings depict the freedom, relaxation and flexibilities achieved in developing your mind through Vipassana.

Vipassana has the ability to develop many faculties of the mind, including the aesthetic sense. But the mind you develop through the aesthetic medium only develops only one faculty of the mind.

Siriwardene, who believes that art is more than 99% a mental activity, is willing to help new artists in developing their mind.

If someone is willing to organise his exhibition in the remote areas Siriwardene will be too happy to have it in such areas.

Siriwardane invites school children to visit his exhibition and requests parents to bring their children along with them.

This is his third exhibition. Earlier he held exhibitions in two schools in different areas.

He could be contacted at Nehinigala, Urala, Wanduramba. Tel: 0712-317259.

Lionel Panditharatne will be the co-ordinator and can be contacted on 0722-56726.