Tags:
Since I started sketching, it’s been my dream to do a road trip around Sri Lanka and draw. I haven’t quite done it yet, but I got close this time when I went home for a two week break. My father had made plans for us to travel north to the ancient city of Anuradhapura, by train (on First Class tickets, no less!) to see the sites and, most importantly, for me to sketch. I couldn’t remember the last time I travelled by train there, probably not since I was a teenager on a school trip – train travel in Sri Lanka has changed over the last 30 years, but that’s a story for another time.
Anuradhapura
The ancient temple of Isurumuniya was our first stop in Anuradhapura. I used my new Uni-ball Signo DX brown pen for the whole sketch and decided to leave it as a value study.
In the evening, we visited Ruwanweli Maha Stupa. The site of the Maha Stupa never ceases to amaze me – gleaming white and truely magnificent. The “bubble-shaped” stupa stands at an impressive 103 meters tall, with a circumference of 290 meters at the base. Legend has it, King Dutugamunu struck a deal with Godess Swarnamali that he will name a stupa after her in exchange for her permission to cut down the sacred Thelimbu tree on which she lived, in order to build it on that location.
In order to do justice to its impressive size, I scaled up close to draw a partial view of the stupa and add the pilgrims and tourists who kept drifting in and out around it. It was getting dark by the time I finished my sketch and storm clouds were gathering, promising torrential rain before the night was out.
We took advantage of a brief gap between thunderstorms to visit Mihintale – a mountain peak of around 300 meters, located about 30 minute drive east of Anuradhapura. According to Mahavamsa, King Devanampiyatissa met the missionary Arhat Mahinda who arrived at the peak with the sacred message of Dhamma in the 2nd century BC.
There was so much to draw here but little time with another thunderstorm threatening. I chose the view looking east from the Mihintale Temple. I scoured Google Maps to locate some of the landmarks – mount Katupotha (peak in the foreground, right) with the pond at it’s base, Lake Mihintale (mid-ground) and Kok-ebe forest reserve (far background on the left).
Kelaniya on my mother’s birthday
She would have been 79 this year. I still remember a trip we made to Kelaniya in the early 80’s when my mother was pregnant with my sister. My father recounted the back story about how she was craving food made as an offering to worshippers at a temple. So off they went to Kelaniya with 4-year old me on tow, and they found a group that were offering alms and joined them for lunch! It felt quite poignant remembering her life. We spent a few quiet hours at the temple and I got to do some sketching.
Urban Sketchers Colombo
During my last 2 trips, I had the good fortune to sketch with Urban Sketchers Colombo. The day after I landed in Colombo, I joined their October sketch walk at Viharamahadevi Park. The privilege of being part of the Urban Sketchers movement is that you always have sketching friends around the world!
Sinhabahu – sketching in the theatre
My father had made another little plan – to see a play, a traditional Sri Lankan musical called “Sinhabahu”. Again, I don’t think I’ve been to see one of these live since I was in school. The play was based on a folk tale about a princess who falls in love and marries a lion. The teenage son, borne from this union (didn’t question the biology!), eventually convinces his mother and the sister to escape the forest den where they were held, and go back to human civilisation. The lion, in his grief and despair, causes havoc burning villages and killing everyone in sight, looking for his family. The dramatisation of this tragic story was superb, from the cast to the music and costumes. I did manage to sketch some scenes despite the dark theatre lighting (in monochrome and colour added later).
Balcony views
The apartment complex my father lives in is built on a higher elevation compared to the rest of, mostly flat, Colombo. The view from the 9th floor of the building is therefore, pretty spectacular. On a clear morning, just as the sun rises in the east, you can see Adam’s Peak mountain range silhouetted against the sky and it never fails to take my breath away. I sketched this view during my last trip (left), and this year, I decided to sketch the southern view from the apartment (right).
I did my last sketch in this series sitting in the balcony of the apartment, on a cool, breezy afternoon while it poured down with rain outside. The sound of rain and thunder in the distance calmed my mind while my pen worked across the page capturing the rain-drenched urban scene in front of me.
My trip to Sri Lanka has been a special one. I got to spend some quality time with my father (and I think he really enjoyed hanging out with me while I sketched for hours outside), sketch with the Colombo sketchers, and get some proper travel sketching in. I’m writing this nearly 4 years after my last blog post (life and work getting in the way). I thought this trip would be a good excuse to get back on it. If you are reading this and got this far without getting bored, thank you. I hope you enjoyed reading about my travels as much I loved sketching them. I’ll promise to be more consistent with my blogs.
