"Shantha's cartoons display lines with rhythm, a cutting edge and a sharp and vivid mind exuding fertility and alacrity. His main advantage over most others is that he is an artist and sculptor by training. His brush strokes are swift and powerful, yet elegant and appealing because of his mastery of the discipline. His lines are cuts from a surgeon's knife, and not chops from a butcher's."________________
by Prabath Shahabandu
(March 8, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) What makes good political cartoons is a talented hand, which facilitates the conveyance of ideas generated in a disciplined mind capable of incisive thinking, which helps an artist to see hidden dimensions of otherwise common issues. It is not often that we see in cartoons a fine blend of both artistic talent and a probing mind seasoned with humour, wit and sarcasm.
Shantha's cartoons display lines with rhythm, a cutting edge and a sharp and vivid mind exuding fertility and alacrity. His main advantage over most others is that he is an artist and sculptor by training. His brush strokes are swift and powerful, yet elegant and appealing because of his mastery of the discipline. His lines are cuts from a surgeon's knife, and not chops from a butcher's.
His cartoons are characterised by the economy of lines, which leaves much to the imagination of the reader. His works are also topical and therefore socio-political commentaries themselves, powerfully rendered through the medium of lines.
Shantha is really original and jealously guards his freedom–to a fault at times. This makes him a difficult customer when he wears the illustrator's hat. He oftentimes overtakes the writer concerned but facilitates the delivery of his message creatively and makes oft-used blurbs etc. redundant through the provision of a broader window on the thematic thrust of the article.
Shantha is a multifaceted personality: Besides his contribution to newspapers, his artistic pursuits include experiments with ancient art forms. He copied the murals of the Koggala Raja Maha Viharaya under the patronage of the Martin Wickremesinghe Trust and the Upali Newspapers Ltd. The project took him six long years.
At present he is researching into the Kandyan art and its evolution, evidence of which is woefully lacking He has a large number of drawings done on these lines, adorning his studio-like house.
Shantha could also be considered a link between the school of pure art and the so-called applied art, which brings art closer to the not-so-enlightened lovers thereof through the various media like newspapers. Shantha does it adroitly and artistically. In him, one sees the confluence of two different worlds.
He is an artist yet to be fathomed!
(The writer editor in Chief of the “The Island”, Colombo based daily.)
(March 8, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) What makes good political cartoons is a talented hand, which facilitates the conveyance of ideas generated in a disciplined mind capable of incisive thinking, which helps an artist to see hidden dimensions of otherwise common issues. It is not often that we see in cartoons a fine blend of both artistic talent and a probing mind seasoned with humour, wit and sarcasm.
Shantha's cartoons display lines with rhythm, a cutting edge and a sharp and vivid mind exuding fertility and alacrity. His main advantage over most others is that he is an artist and sculptor by training. His brush strokes are swift and powerful, yet elegant and appealing because of his mastery of the discipline. His lines are cuts from a surgeon's knife, and not chops from a butcher's.
His cartoons are characterised by the economy of lines, which leaves much to the imagination of the reader. His works are also topical and therefore socio-political commentaries themselves, powerfully rendered through the medium of lines.
Shantha is really original and jealously guards his freedom–to a fault at times. This makes him a difficult customer when he wears the illustrator's hat. He oftentimes overtakes the writer concerned but facilitates the delivery of his message creatively and makes oft-used blurbs etc. redundant through the provision of a broader window on the thematic thrust of the article.
Shantha is a multifaceted personality: Besides his contribution to newspapers, his artistic pursuits include experiments with ancient art forms. He copied the murals of the Koggala Raja Maha Viharaya under the patronage of the Martin Wickremesinghe Trust and the Upali Newspapers Ltd. The project took him six long years.
At present he is researching into the Kandyan art and its evolution, evidence of which is woefully lacking He has a large number of drawings done on these lines, adorning his studio-like house.
Shantha could also be considered a link between the school of pure art and the so-called applied art, which brings art closer to the not-so-enlightened lovers thereof through the various media like newspapers. Shantha does it adroitly and artistically. In him, one sees the confluence of two different worlds.
He is an artist yet to be fathomed!
(The writer editor in Chief of the “The Island”, Colombo based daily.)
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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