Laki Senanayake Family Art Estate

Laki Senanayake (18 December 1937 – 30 May 2021), needs no introduction! Laki began drawing at the age of 3. He was educated, in absentia, at the Royal College, Colombo, where he said, “I failed in art apart from other subjects!”

Nevertheless, he claimed that anyone who could write, could draw, and thereby hoped to justify many hours spent loitering. Subsequently, he worked as an architectural draughtsman with a firm of Architects, where he devoted most of his time to drawing trees on architectural plans to help confuse prospective clients.

Little else remains to be said about his lack of endeavour, except that in 1977, he was responsible for designing the issue of currency notes in Sri Lanka, up to the 100-rupee denomination. These notes, much devalued and easy prey to forgers, included several trees, the original models of which continue to grow happily in the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya.

Laki dabbled in painting, sculpture, architecture, landscaping, agriculture, batik, screen printing, book and currency design, poetry, and inventions of various sorts.

He lived in Diyabubula, a water garden in Dambulla, along with a variety of wildlife including monkeys, otters, snakes, many species of birds and a crocodile, until his passing aged 83.

Laki put the Art into Artist, Craft into Craftsman, and Story into Storyteller. If you were ever lucky enough to follow the sound of his flute, you were sure to have been taken on an unrivalled adventure of wonder and discovery.