Respected Sri Lankan artist Marie Alles Fernando opines why more young people should embark on collecting art and explains why she will never hang up her painting smock and pack up her easel and paints
Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Visual Studio Plus
Born into an atmosphere of art with her mother and grandfather both artists, as a little girl Marie spent hours watching her mother Genevieve engage in painting. As her curiosity grew, Marie’s mother took the time to teach her the elementary brush strokes. Speaking about her young days on the cusp of embarking on an artistic career that would span over five decades Marie says “someone has to notice natural talent in young artists and trigger that instinct in them. In my case it was my artistic mother.”
Surrounded by beauty in the form of paintings on the walls, unending shelves of books, the beautiful gardens of her grandparents home, her grandmother’s beautiful collection of jewellery coupled with the freedom to roam and read enabled Marie to immerse herself in an atmosphere where art was very much part of her daily life.
Painting as a hobby, while at school, Marie’s unique artistic talent was observed by an eagle eyed art teacher who encouraged her to keep painting. Recognising that Marie was blessed with a gift of being able to paint, her parents enrolled her at the College of Fine Arts in Horton Place where she studied under two teachers, Ivor Baptiste and Professor Douglas Amarasekera who spotted immense potential in her.
Marie’s love for painting landscapes is attributed to her teacher Ivor Baptiste who used to take them outdoors and get them to paint on the spot. However it was
Professor D Amarasekera that taught her the impressionist techniques of the French. Marie describes her own style of painting as “impressionism bordering on expressionism with a touch of abstract”.
Marie views retirement as anathema preferring instead to paint till she “drops dead.” Armed with a trove of artistic experience Marie is preparing for her umpteenth exhibition. Her next exhibition which has been almost ten years in the making had to be postponed due to various personal tragedies including the loss of her supportive husband. Scheduled to be held in June at the Lionel Wendt, due to Covid-19 rearing its ugly head the exhibition looks set to happen in September later this year.
Cocooned in your house during the pandemic, creatively speaking how productive were you?
It has been a very productive time for me as
I have been surrounded by peace and calm which is the perfect environment for me to be creative. During the past year I created 25 paintings which will be part of the exhibition.
What can art aficionados expect from your exhibition?
Despite the many personal tragedies that caused this exhibition to be postponed I am determined to hold it in September at the Lionel Wendt. I want this exhibition to be a special one as I want my work to uplift the spirits of the people who have faced some dark times since our lives were marred by Covid-19. I believe my paintings are usually joyful and positive and I want this to have a positive effect on those that attend. The title of the exhibition is called ‘Colours that Sing’ and I want people to be filled with joy and hope after they see my work.
