An article on Dr.Milinda Salpitikorala on the Sunday Leader
In the intense rush of an emergency department of a hospital, where patients in need of the most urgent of emergency treatment are hurried in; motor accident victims, patients struck by heart attacks and strokes, the adrenaline never seems to cease.
But it does. After each rough day the department settles down to a relatively quiet evening of shifts shared by both nurses and doctors tending to patients like silent angels keeping watch.
One doctor, Milinda Salpitikorala, finds it the perfect place of solitude to explore another talent of his - art.
Attached to the emergency department of a leading private hospital in Colombo, Milinda can draw on anything, anywhere at anytime but saves his talent for when things go quiet at the hospital.
You can find him at a desk lit up by one lamp, headphones on, listening to his favourite band, possibly Dream Theatre, and sketching away at a frenzied rate.
Old man in dead winter, Sketch of a Yaka mask,
The Gampola era inspired swan and (inset) Milinda)
It's strange and amazing, the things that make some artists tick, the motivation that inspires them, how they get started, how they break creative blocks.
Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Milinda says that like most artists, drawing came to him at an early age but the difference was, he could and would draw on anything and any time, creative blocks being a thing he never had to worry about.
He's managed to remain apart from the crowd, different, 'unconventional' one could say.
Talking about his work and being an artist Milinda remembers the early days when his desk at school was covered in so much art that it resembled graffiti, the same with benches and walls, even his father's law books. It seemed his hands had a mind of their own.
The self-taught artist has never been to art class but has learned Photoshop and Illustrator through trial and error. The obvious career path of advertising never crossed his mind; he won't stand for being told how to draw, although he had created logos for local metal bands including Fallen Grace and Raaksha.
He's also set to do some artwork for the book Celestial Trilogy by Arya.
His inspiration comes from the human body and working at a hospital he's seen a fair number. He says, "Most of my art involves the human body and I'm also a big rock fan, hence the art being a bit on the dark side."
Some of his favourite pieces are Hansaya (a drawing of a swan influenced from the Gampola era) an old man in dead winter, a Yaka mask and a scull with an unconventional skied Mohawk hairdo.
He dabbles in oil and even sculptures but says his favourite medium is charcoal and pencil.
He's currently gathering the best of his work for an exhibition, some of which is 'traditional Sri Lankan with a twist.' "I like Yakas, fresco stuff, I'm doing a series on Ramaanya, a different take on it," he says and when he's not painting or saving lives, it's rock and metal music or big fish and animals that grab his attention.
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