Facial expressions are some of the most important, non-verbal examples of how a human being communicates. We have 43 muscles on our face and with these, we are able to style many expressions such as fear, anger, disgust, sadness, surprise, contempt and happiness. Dileepa Jeewantha takes the idea of facial expressions to another level. There appears to be thousands of variations of his own facial expressions he very unreservedly and aptly paints.

Dileepa Jeewantha, born in 1980 in Galle, holds a Higher Diploma in Multi-Disciplinary Designing from the National Design School in Sri Lanka, followed by a Certificate Course in Paintings from Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA), Colombo. Dileepa is a jovial and somewhat of a mischievous character and this shows in his art. The artist has had numerous exhibitions since his first in 2005 – ‘VAFA Annual show’ at The Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo. His latest was ‘My Golden Line’ held at The Paradise Road Galleris, in 2022.

Dileepa’s artistic subject or object has been he, himself, for some time. In ‘My Golden Line’, Dileepa paints his face with all the vulnerabilities, the fake smiles as well as some serious, moody and serene looks. The artist paints his self-portraits as if taking snapshots of himself, spontaneous selfies, except they are painted with grueling patience and accuracy to get the exact effect he desires. Dileepa’s self-portraits are unique in that they don’t follow the usual statuesque style of portraiture. They are whimsical, exaggerated, and sometimes comical, yet the self-portraits capture his depth of character, his implicit emotions, and expressions with profound character, all in an abundance of oil paint.

With ‘My Golden Line’ Dileepa inspects the various emotions his face can create. These selfportraits on paper serve as a form of self-analysis for the artist. This show is not full of ego, rather one sees the skill of the artist through the colors he uses and the inviting expressions his face gives out spontaneously as if being photographed rather than being painted over and over again with such variety that it is sometimes difficult to realize that one is looking at a piece of art of the same person.

Dileepa clarified that he sourced his own face to paint so as to try and create all the vibrations, reactions, and moods in a person’s life. The artist comprehends that his face is the only part of his body that he cannot see himself, at least from the front. He chooses to see himself in a mirror while understanding his actual emotions inside his real head. This allows him to fully grasp the extent of emotion that is present on a human face in his artwork. Dileepa implied that there are hidden features incorporated in his works. This is to show that behind the vale or the mask of a human face there lies a secret, a thought or an emotion unknown to the spectator, usually hidden by words.

The artist considers himself to be an enduring painter who learned to trust in his own creative process. Dileepa has opened up to the progression and the trials of being an artist and finds that; therefore, the process actually tolerates, captivates, assists and nurtures him to be strong and go forward as an artist.   
Dileepa explained that the COVID19 pandemic was actually a ‘blessing’ for him. He never had to face any serious encounters due to the pandemic. Luckily none of his children, wife or any other member of his family caught the virus. But the reasoning behind calling the virus ‘a blessing’ to him is that Dileepa had nothing in his daily routine to change. Every day, for many years, the artist has gotten up in the morning washed, eaten and had walked into his studio and painted. His usual, daily routine had never changed, except that the painter had more peace and quiet with less distractions as he sat in his studio and painted.

Creating his self-portrait necessitates Dileepa to take time from all else, completely. His concentration, his entire being has to fall into place and into the pace with the work he is doing. Being an artist, Dileepa told us, is not a hobby for him, his entire focus is on the piece in front of him. This is a vital aspect of painting for the artist and moments of solitude and peace are a rare commodity in a full house where Dileepa requires time and silence to activate his artistic forces of inspiration or ideas.

While chatting with Dileepa we inquired about what his future works entail. The artist quite coyly replied, that it is based on a wedding day or rather after the wedding or rather what happens on the honeymoon. Painting with thick oil paint on canvas, the painter depicts scenes of discarded clothes, fancy shoes and hurriedly piled up clothes with scattered lipsticks and other make-up items. There is no question as to what is happening just beyond the view of the spectator. It is a happy Honeymoon.

For Dileepa, ‘the paint always talks’ but to him, however, he finds it impossible to comprehend what the paint requires from him, except perhaps requiring him to live in the truth and to be truthful to his visions and the internal voice speaking to him very clearly. Even if the artist finds resistance from society for his bold subject matters. Dileepa lives by these truths even at the cost of being subjugated, ridiculed or slandered for his very original artwork.

Once Dileepa received his Higher National Diploma in Multi-Disciplinary Design at the National Design Center and from 2003 to 2006. The painter followed under the mentorship of Professor Chandraguptha Thenuwara at the VAFA Academy. He then grew into a true relationship with oil on canvas. Dileepa’s paintings are partial to realism. He goes away from the norms of today, where abstract art is celebrated. Though from the outside, one may perceive him to be cheerful and breezy, Dileepa recognizes himself as being intensely private and reserved. He prefers to withhold his actual sentiments from what he feels is a brutally critical world.  

Dileepa Jeewantha has had numerous exhibitions. Starting with his 2005 exhibition at the VAFA Academy.The artist has exhibited at (in no particular order) at the Gandhara Gallery, 2009, The Lionel Wendt Gallery, 2009, The American Center, 2010, The Xpon Art Gallery, (Hamburg, Germany), 2020, Saffron Gallery, (Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka), 2022. The Paradise Road Gallery, 2021, at Oberfett, Germany, 2020, CA Collectors Gallery, (Germany), 2020, the Barefoot Gallery, 2019, at the Cultural Center, Belgium, 2019 and at The Literary Festival (Galle, Sri Lanka), 2017. These are a few galleries in which he has had solo and group exhibitions. It is noteworthy and inspiring to see that Dileepa has crossed many boundaries with his art based on realism even internationally, he has been recognized for his wonderful and inventive form of art.