Contact

Jetwing Eco Holidays

Jetwing House
46/26 Navam Mawatha
Colombo 2
Sri Lanka.

Phone :
94 11 238 1201 or 94-11-234 5700 (Ext) 559, 561 or 593
Fax :
94 11 462 7743

Our usual office hours are from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5 pm. We do access emails intermittently outside these hours. We are at GMT plus 5 hrs 30 mins.

 

Photographers

 

Artists

 

 

 

 

Wildlife Artists

Wildlife Artist Pages are provided to assist Sri Lankan and other natural history artists. This is another project under the Jetwing Research Initiative whereby Jetwing supports careers in Wildlife . The use of web space on this site by an artist does not suggest that the artist has in any way endorsed Jetwing products or has tied up with Jetwing. We hope that other private sector companies will also lend support to artists under similar non exclusive arrangements.

Jetwing makes no endorsement on the views and opinions of these artists whose activities are wholly independent of Jetwing.

If you are interested in purchasing or commissioning artwork, or would otherwise like to seek a dialogue with the artists, please contact them directly. Some artists do not have e-mails and you will need to correspond by snail mail with them.

Jetwing Eco Holidays would appreciate if we are not asked to act as intermediaries for communication with the Sri Lankan artists. At present artists are featured without any fees being required for listing them and we would like to keep it that way. If a lot of our office time is taken up with an intermediary role, it would discourage us from offering a free listing.

 

 

 

Richard Allen

 

 

 

 

 

Born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1964, an Art Foundation Course at Brighton was followed by a Degree in Graphic/Illustration at Kingston Polytechnic. Starting as a freelance illustrator in advertising, publishing and newspapers, my work has gradually drifted towards my main interest of birds and wildlife, especially after winning "British Birds", Bird Illustrator of the Year 1993.A keen birder from an early age, the bird rich estuaries and marshes of the Essex coast where I live have fuelled a passion for field-sketching.

Recent travels to China, USA, S.E. Asia, Senegal and many parts of Europe have continued this interest and numerous sketchbooks have been filled.

The experience gained in the field has been put to good use in the many books illustrated. These include, "Concise Birds of the Western Palearctic", "The Handbook of Birds of the World", "A Field Guide to the Birds of South East Asia" and the recently published "Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers". Current projects include a book on Birds of Paradise and illustrating a regular gardening column in "The Times" newspaper.

 

 

 

I have recently moved to Wivenhoe on the Colne estuary, next to a wood with Nightingales and woodpeckers to tempt me away from the drawing board.

1984 Foundation Studies, (Art & Design), Brighton Polytechnic

1987 BA Hons Graphic Design, Kingston Polytechnic

1988 Second Prize, Reader's Digest Young Illustrators Competition

 

1993 Winner "British Birds" Bird Illustrator of the Year Competition

Regularly exhibited at the Society of Wildlife Artists exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

 

For more information on Richard Allen and his works, visit the websitehttp://www.richardallenillustrator.com/

 

 

 

 

Alan Harris, UK

 

 

 

 

 

Alan Harris is probably best known for his meticulously accurate field-guide illustrations. He is a dedicated field ornithologist and has travelled extensively in search of birds, particularly in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, but also Canada, the West Indies and Hong Kong.
Alan was born in Essex in 1957, and was keenly interested in the natural world from an early age. His route into ornithology was typical of the time, school boy nest finding soon transformed into careful nest-recording for the British Trust for Ornithology's Nest Record Scheme. At the age of fourteen, he put his expert nest-finding skills to further good use when he joined the Rye Meads Ringing Group.

  His teenage years were spent training to ring, and the opportunity to study live birds 'in the hand' was crucial to his approach to bird illustration. The time spent examining birds' structure, age and moult has been pivotal to his development as a bird artist.

After leaving school, he studied Graphic Design at the Middlesex Polytechnic and in 1980 embarked on a freelance career. Over the years, he has illustrated over 70 books or magazines, including The Macmillan Guide to Bird Identification and the accompanying Macmillan Birder's Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds, Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World, Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers, and Finches and Sparrows: an Identification Guide. His latest work includes an in-depth identification guide to the Sylvia warblers with Dave Cottridge and Hadoram Shirihai.

 

Alan won the British Birds magazine 'Bird Illustrator of the Year' award in 1982 and has been joint Art Consultant to that magazine since 1988.Alan spends most of his birding time in the Lee valley, on the border between Essex and Hertfordshire, England and this area provides inspiration for many of his paintings. 

 

Alan spends more time painting, drawing on years of sketch book material. Often the inspiration will not be the bird, but a landscape, where Alan will see the potential and place a bird into that landscape. Almost as a reaction to painting large clear portraits of birds with minimal background for book plates, Alans paintings are often of scenes with the focal point bird very small in the painting.

Whilst most of Alans book plates are executed in a mixture of watercolour and gouache, his paintings are often in acrylic. He is married to Sally, and has two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth.

Artwork by Alan Harris and other leading Bird illustrators can be viewed and bought at birdillustrators.com

 

 

 

 

 Jayantha Jinasena, Sri Lanka

 

 

 

 

Jayantha's work on reptiles is considered to be some of the finest colour illustrations done on this group of animals, by a contemporary Sri Lankan artist. He illustrated the Endemic Birds of Sri Lanka authored by Sarath Kotagama. A few of the illustrations of this large format book are featured here. Jayantha has also had his bird art published as greeting cards.

Jayantha Jinasena
33, 2nd Galpotta Lane, Nawala, Sri Lanka.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Partington

 

 

 

 

 

PETER PARTINGTON
THE HALL, KETTLEBASTON
SUFFOLK IP7 7QA
Tel: 01449 741538 
From his early teens Peter lived near Poole Harbour, which proved to have a deep influence on his art.

 

It was easy to escape from school and sit watching the shore?line; holidays and weekends were often spent bird?watching and exploring its inlets and unspoilt reaches, where sea and marsh intermingle with woodland and meadow.
He started sketching at an early age and went on to Art College where he studied all aspects of art. He taught art students for many years until demand for his work encouraged him to pursue painting and printmaking professionally.

 

He has had numerous one?man shows and his hand?coloured dry?points, etchings and original water?colours are eagerly sought by collectors. He writes magazine articles and his illustrations for books and cards has introduced his work to a wider audience. His book for Harper Collins 'Learn to Paint Birds in Watercolor' was launched at the Tryon Gallery in Cork Street, London with great success. He has followed this with three further books in the 'Learn to Draw' series; Wildlife, Farm Animals and Birds. They are all written with real enthusiasm for the subject and are delightfully illustrated.

 

 

 

In his paintings he seeks out the effects of light and weather on the landscape and its wildlife, and expresses this through the discipline and freedom of water?colour. His technique has been described as 'magical'. Intense concentration goes into these, apparently effortless, expressions about the natural world. He is at his happiest in the field working in his sketchbook, keenly observing bird plumage and wild life behaviour. It has been said that he paints with understanding, wit and feeling. His interest has turned again to sculpture which he is exploring with great enjoyment


He has been elected to the Society of Wildlife Artists. The International Museum of Wildlife Art has several pieces of his work in its collection.

He was invited in the spring of 1992, by the Artists for Nature Foundation, to join their group of artists to record the Briebrza Wetlands to publicise the need for their conservation. He was invited again to Extramadura in Spain in 1994. Both trips resulted in sumptuous books which contain examples of his work. He travels widely and has taken painting trips to places as far a field as Africa and India and to Scotland and Wales. His talent has gained deserved recognition as a prize winner in the European Bird Art Competition. He willingly shares his expertise and has taken numerous trips abroad and in England with painting students. He writes regularly for The Artist magazine on a range of painting subjects from landscape to weather, to birds and drawing.

He now enjoys life in the depths of the Suffolk countryside near Lavenham, which provides much of the inspiration for his recent work.

A selection of drawings, watercolours and oils are often available from the studio. Etchings range from ;C20. 00 to f65.00 unframed Painting and drawing commissions accepted ?Please enquire:

 Tim Worfolk, UK

 

 

 

 


Smaller Herons and Bitterns


Stints; White-rumped, Spoonbil, and Broad-billed Sandpipers


Trogon, Kingfishers, Bee-Eaters, Rollers and Hoopoe


Bulbuls, Leafbirds, Iora and Orioles


Thrushes and Pitta


Monarchs, Paradise-flycatcher and Flycatchers


 

 

 

 

 

Michael Wood, UK

 

 

 

 

 

Michael enjoys painting birds but his commissioned work has covered insects, animals, plants, perspectives of Ikea distribution depots, landscape design projects and interpretation panels for nature reserves)

On invitation, he teaches for garden design and wildlife drawing courses.

 

His drawings have been published in Bird Life and a Guide to Mount Kinabalu Park, Borneo, for New Holland. He is currently working on four books to be published by Oxford University Press.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lester Perera

 

 

 

 

 

Lester's forte is in bird art for which he has established a name for himself. Nevertheless the line drawings in this book demonstrate his wide repertoire.
He has held several well received exhibitions and had his artwork published by the Oriental Bird Club and in commercial commissions for brochures, company annual reports, cards, books and book covers etc.
His black and white work encompasses subject matter from cultural relics and monuments to mphibians and mammals.

548/4 Daham Mawatha, 
Moragahahena Road, 
Pitipana South, Homagama, 
Sri Lanka. 
Tel. 854334


Endemic Birds of Sri Lanka

 

 
Sri Lanka Blue Magpie


 

             
   

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marianne Nightingale

 

 

 

 

 
Spotted Deer

Marianne Nightingale has many years experience as a self-taught artist and textile designer, specialising in working with natural materials. Due to the experience she has in working with silk, nearly all her paintings are worked on this beautiful fabric.

 
Son of Genghis


Using different weights and weaves of silk to suit the chosen subject, Marianne's distinctive paintings have a character which is absolutely unique. Each painting uses the luminosity and sheen of the particular weave of silk to achieve an intensity and depth that is unobtainable with any other medium.

 Lazing Leopard
Travelling extensively in India, Sri Lanka and Asia has resulted in her dedication to the cause of wildlife conservation and to try and keep animals where they truly belong - in the wild.


Short Trunk - Aged 8

Her work is increasingly sought after and is in galleries and private collections throughout the UK. Donations to wildlife conservation charities are made through these sales. The Born Free Foundation has a selection of prints available - all proceeds to that organisation. Commissions are welcome and an exciting challenge and will always increase in value because of her unique way of working and distinctive style. She lives in Norfolk, England with her partner Jim Kerr, with her three children and four grandchildren living close by. 

 

FLORENCE. This is my tiny little foster 'daughter' aged 2 weeks. She is an orphan and is being cared for at the Born Free supported Elephant Transit Camp, Uda Walawe which I visited in February this year. I have now officially adopted her as a sole provider and named her after an illustrious ancestor! Sales of my artwork will keep her in elephant formula milk for the next 4 years until she is released into the wild. This obviously means I will have to return to the beautiful island of Sri Lanka to see Florence as much as possible, and hope to return in February 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sriyanie Miththapala

 

 

 

 

 

cannot remember learning to draw or paint. Her father was a professional cartographer and an artist during his spare time, and she remembers hanging around him while he painted, watching and mimicking him. Thus, she learned to dabble with oils, draw freehand maps of Sri Lanka and distinguish between burnt sienna and Vandyke brown at the tender age of four. Without knowing that she did, she learnt to observe and record her observations meticulously.

Her training in biology as a graduate in Biology of the University of Colombo and with postgraduate degrees from Smith College, Northampton MA USA, and the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, helped hone her eye for detail.

 

During her graduate studies, Sriyanie served as a Design Consultant for the ZooGoer (Friends of The National Zoo Publications, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA) for the annual calendar in 1988 and the Jan/Feb issue, 1989. She alsoillustrated several articles in Zoogoer issues from 1988 to 1992. Sriyanie has also designed book layouts and cover designs inter alia for the Civil Rights Movement in Sri Lanka for Cold Spring Harbour Publications in New York, USA.

 

 

 

With her father, she is thejoint artist of a series of educational posters for the Forest Department and IUCN- The World Conservation Union, Sri Lanka on Ecosystems of Sri Lanka and for IUCN on Dolphin conservation. She is also the joint author and illustrator of three books, including two for children, on trees, birds and mammals of Sri Lanka.
Sriyanie has been a visiting lecturer in biology at the at the Universities of Colombo and Sri Jayawardenapura and until recently, was principal of Ladies' College, Colombo. 
At present she is a freelance consultant, natural history writer and illustrator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hasitha Kumaradasa

 

 

 

 

 

 A talent to draw, as well as to paint is a gift; a gift placed upon some of us from early childhood. I began to draw and paint from the young age of three, however it was through continuous hard work and commitment that

I was able to nurture and mould my artistic abilities to its current shape. In pursuit of improving my skills I joined the National Foundation for Child Art in 1996 and improved my artistic skills under the guidance of Mr. Lional Ranaweera. 

During the time I spent at the foundation, which extended for over four years, I had the opportunity of presenting some of my paintings at international art exhibitions. As a result I was able to win two gold medals and a silver medal at the annual Nippon Art Exhibition in Japan. I further won a bronze medal at the annual exhibition of the National Foundation for Child Art.

 

As long as I can recall, no other activity has brought me more joy than drawing and painting, which enabled me to express my feelings through paper and paintbrush. My hope now is to use my talent and express the strong feelings I have towards nature, through an exhibition of paintings and drawings. 

In order to further develop my knowledge on the subject of Birds, I joined the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka headed by Prof. S.W. Kotagama in 1995, of which I'm still a member. The FOGSL is one of the oldest and among the few organisations/clubs dedicated for the education and the conservation of bird species within the island. During my time as a member of the FOGSL I was involved in many projects and surveys on birds carried out around the country, aimed at conservation.

Bird watching or the love I have for birds has become a passion where I find myself roaming every part of the island during vacations in search of various bird species. Therefore, my ambition is to hold an exhibition of my drawings and paintings whereby I could blend my artistic abilities with my love for birds and create awareness on bird species that inhibit our Island. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darshani Singhalage

 

 

 

 

e mail       -  idsinghalage@yahoo.com
telephone - 094714193229


My interest is in studying and exploring flora, especially wildflowers of Sri Lanka. I started studies on wild flowers when I was school student and at the same time I took a membership of the voluntary organization named Youth Exploration Society of Sri Lanka, established in Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.  It provided me very good background to improve my exploration ability. 


   
 

I graduated in Botany from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. After my graduation I worked as a Demonstrator in Botany of the University of Peradeniya. Then I joined the Crop Wild Relatives Conservation Project, conducted jointly by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. I worked in that project as a Botanical illustrator and herbarium specimen digitizer.  Some of the drawings I illustrated (Coccinia grandis (Cucurbitaceae), Momordica dioca (Cucurbitaceae), Mukia maderaspatana (Cucurbitaceae), Trichosanthes cucumerina (Cucurbitaceae), Cinnamomum caparu-coronde (Lauraceae), Musa balbisiana (Musaceae), Mangifera zeylanica (Anacardiaceae)  for the project was published in a Calendar for year 2007 themed as  ”Crop Wild Relatives of Sri Lanka”. 
  


   



After completion of the project I joined with Rajarata University of Sri Lanka as a Demonstrator again for a period of one year. At that time I illustrated most of the common dry zone woody plants of Sri Lanka.

Currently I am working as a Lecturer in Biology at Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, the newest University of our country.

My most popular Botanical Drawing on Cassia fistula L. (Shower of the God) is to be exhibited for the Margaret Flockton Award 2008, for excellence in scientific Botanical illustration from Friday the 4th April to Friday the 20th June 2008 at Red Box Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney, Australia.

 

 

   

 
 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sugandhi Edirisinghe

 

 

 

 

I am one amongst several talented family members who have always expressed ourselves through the medium of cloth, food, oil paints and acrylics, and designing creations which are unique.

I was guided by school teachers in my early years, later by Mrs.Lathiffa Ismail and latterly by W.A.Ariyasena, renowned senior lecturer of the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Colombo Sri Lanka.

I think I am too impatient and adventurous to be tied down to a particular style since I am modern and experimental and my master encouraged me to try out every aspect of creativity. Therefore my experiments with colours, textures and different media, means my style is varied. I paint what I feel, focusing on the ways colours relate to or react with each other. The paintings represent my view of the world and nature, captivating my emotions and thoughts on canvas.

My work falls into many categories, such as abstract landscapes, semi abstract figurative, traditional motif designs and modern abstract space paintings.

Abstract is wonderful in view of it’s versatility in that each individual viewers perspective is an entity. Rotating the painting to the viewer’s choice creates a new meaning for the viewer and the onlooker.

My love of the natural world and a keen interest in environmental issues forms some of my work and is brought to fruition in my home which is surrounded by the Diyawanna oya and is set in a natural habitat.

My paintings speak of how nature can positively effect our emotions, health and outlook on life.
I create, while you think and I can convert your thoughts into creation. Creativity is only a phone call away.


Below are a few of my creations:

        


   
 

Sugandhi Edirisinghe
Email; sugandhi_pinklady@hotmail.com
Address; 109 Ferry Road, Ethul Kotte, Sri Lanka.
Phone; 011-2864970              mobile; 077-3895288