It is correct to say that Sri Lanka is a country which can be considered a symbol of the art of postage stamps. Not every artist has the opportunity to create a postage stamp with paintings. However, we met a unique artist, Isuru Pothpitiya, who is a young Sri Lankan stamp artist and has done exactly that. He takes the postage stamp to a new level of art, using his innate talent and unique art education background. Isuru was inspired to create art by his brothers, who are also good at painting. He is one of the youngest stamp designers of our time who designs stamps in his own unique style and has gained international fame with his innovative designs. Isuru currently created a large number of stamps and related paintings for Sri Lanka and joint issues of Sri Lanka with other governments. He has hand painted and designed a large number of postage stamps, first day cover, souvenirs, postcards, stamped postcards, special souvenirs, personalized stamps. In addition, Isuru has been doing a great service to the art of this field as a talented young designer who creates portraits, landscapes, the environment, wildlife, flowers, book covers, paintings, and even digital drawings by computer. He is also a stamp designer and freelance designer at the Sri Lanka Stamp Bureau and has been making an invaluable social contribution to the arts, specifically in philately.
Accordingly, the latest stamps that Isuru designed have been created to symbolize the replacement of coral reefs through the painting on the Sri Lankan stamp, and to indicates the mangroves in Singapore on the Signapore stamp. The stamps, pictured above, were issued on the 27th of July of 2021.The theme was the Diplomatic Friendship between the Sri Lanka and Singapore. And the common theme for these two combined stamps were Marine life conservation. The issue includes a stamp souvenir leaflet and first day cover for both countries (Sri Lanka and Singapore) since it is a joint stamp issue. "The Singapore stamp was designed by Cheq Chong and I have chosen the unique ocean system around Sri Lanka to design this stamp. Sri Lanka's sea corals take one of the most important places in the world. The destroyed corals have been restored and that environment has been painted on this stamp. I used the watercolor medium and the special paper to design this stamp. and also I have used the coral biodiversity of the mangrove environment endemic to Sri Lanka for the commemorative leaflet." explains Isuru.
Examples of other stamps that Isuru has designed
Another joint issue designed by Isuru
Isuru is an example of someone who has made stamp art his life. We congratulate him on his artistic ability, and hope to do a series of special articles about him in future issues. We plan to meet with him in the future to discuss more of his unique creations.