I was born among the hills of Matale, where the air carried the scent of spice and temple bells echoed through the valleys. My earliest memories are painted in colour — the sound of my father’s brush, the shimmer of wet paint under morning light. My father, Upali Ariyaratne, was a renowned painter and sculptor, and from the time I could hold a brush, art became the language through which I saw the world.
As a child, I was both muse and apprentice. Sometimes I posed as a princess for my father’s paintings; other times, I helped stretch the canvas or mix the colours. I loved the days when I’d feed my great-uncle’s elephant — my first muse — and paint the wildflowers that bloomed around it. By the age of six, I had begun oil painting, and when I was ten, my parents gave me my own art room in our Dehiwela home. I still remember hosting “exhibitions” there, charging fifty cents from anyone who came to visit.
When we returned to Matale in 1978, my art grew alongside the earth and spice around me. I made pigments from my grandmother’s kitchen — turmeric, charcoal, ash — and turned them into colours of my own. At sixteen, I sold my first oil painting, Cityscape, for Rs. 115 — a moment I will never forget.
My father, along with Marianne North, Ena de Silva, and Lucky Senanayake, deeply influenced my early years. I studied art for my A/Ls and later entered the University of Kelaniya, majoring in multidisciplinary design. At nineteen, I held my first solo exhibition, Sithum (Thoughts), portraying the everyday lives of Sri Lankans and their struggles.
In 1995, I moved to the United Kingdom to study Textile and Ceramic Design at the University of Loughborough. Life brought its challenges, but I never let go of my art. Over the years, I became a floral designer, artist, and chef, raising more than £70,000 for charity — blending creativity with compassion.
Since 2017, I’ve painted 17 sculptures for Wild in Art, supporting causes close to my heart — wildlife conservation, climate advocacy, and mental health.
Today, as I prepare for my second solo exhibition in 2026, I continue to paint, sculpt, and teach. Through my art workshops and retreats, I invite others to experience the healing power of creativity.
Art has always been my home — from the elephant yards of Matale to galleries across the world. Every brushstroke I paint still carries my father’s spirit, reminding me that true art begins not with paint… but with love.
