Pathum Sameera is an artist, picture book illustrator, and writer based in Elpitiya, Sri Lanka. He studied figurative drawing and painting at the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts and held his first solo exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in 2011. Since then, he has continued to develop a visual language that bridges art and storytelling, often exploring themes of memory, displacement, and inner life.
Sameera’s interest in picture book illustration was sparked by reading the works of Martin Salisbury, Professor of Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. In 2016, he took part in a formative series of workshops at Vibhavi led by acclaimed artist and illustrator Kingsley Gunathilake, where he gained deeper insight into the technical demands of illustrating.
A devoted admirer of Armin Greder, Sameera is especially drawn to Greder’s raw, charcoal-based style and exploration of difficult subjects.
Today, Sameera continues to live and work in Elpitiya, with his mother, on the same fields he has known since childhood. This is where his practice is grounded in personal experience, rural life, and imagination. Whether painting, drawing, or writing, he seeks to create work that speaks with simplicity but resonates deeply, often through recurring characters and visual metaphors that speak to both childlike wonder and emotional complexity.
Sameera’s interest in picture book illustration was sparked by reading the works of Martin Salisbury, Professor of Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. In 2016, he took part in a formative series of workshops at Vibhavi led by acclaimed artist and illustrator Kingsley Gunathilake, where he gained deeper insight into the technical demands of illustrating.
A devoted admirer of Armin Greder, Sameera is especially drawn to Greder’s raw, charcoal-based style and exploration of difficult subjects.
Today, Sameera continues to live and work in Elpitiya, with his mother, on the same fields he has known since childhood. This is where his practice is grounded in personal experience, rural life, and imagination. Whether painting, drawing, or writing, he seeks to create work that speaks with simplicity but resonates deeply, often through recurring characters and visual metaphors that speak to both childlike wonder and emotional complexity.