A passionate watercolor artist who lovingly captures details of landscapes, nature and people with a multitude of brush strokes and a plethora of colour, Wasantha is also an illustrious cartoonist with a great imagination.
Having studied water colour painting under the guidance of Royden Gibbs, he travelled across the country, experiencing firsthand the wide and varied scenic splendour of Sri Lanka. This has resulted in his subject matter covering many beautiful landscapes and significant landmarks.
To further his knowledge in art and to expand his versatility, Wasantha studied Portrait and Figure Drawing under the senior artist Brindley Jayatunga. Also undergone training as a newspaper graphic journalist at IFFRA, Singapore and at Graphic News, London.
Beginning his career as a freelance Cartoonist for the Sunday Times in 1989, he went on to become a fulltime illustrator and cartoonist at the same newspaper in 1991.
He was largely instrumental in taking the great leap from hand-drawn illustrations to digital drawings and introducing ‘infographics’ to Sri Lankan newspapers in 1994. Over the years he has also worked as Editorial Cartoonist, Graphic Editor, Graphic Journalist and Editorial Cartoonist at the Lankadeepa, Daily Mirror, The Nation, Ceylon Today and the Sunday Observer. Currently he works as a Freelance Editorial Cartoonist and his work can be viewed at counterpoint.lk and cwbnlive.com.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- 2018 ‘Rendezvous in color’ Exhibition
- 2018 ‘Nawa Kalakaruwo’ Exhibition, George Keyt Foundation, Sri Lanka
- 2019 ‘Nawa Kalakaruwo’ Exhibition
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENT
- Best Cartoonist Award in 2000, 2004 and 2009
- Best Newspaper Designer Award in 2006 & 2010
