JAT Paints launches revolutionary new paint using pigment from natural flowers

Arosha Perera – CEO, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, Shivantha Rodrigo – Head of Design, JAT Paints, Richard Gunawardene – Head of Marketing at JAT Holdings, A. Kalum De Alwis – the artist inspecting the paints that will be used for the restoration

JAT Holdingsrecently launched a revolutionary new paint, which combines ancient traditions and cutting-edge manufacturing technology. Petal Paint is a unique paint that has been created with the pigments from dried flower petals and transformed into liquid paint using innovation from the Research and Development team at JAT Holdings.

This unique initiative will breathe new life into discarded temple flowers, which are a plenty in the country. Once turned into liquid paint, it will be used in the creation and restoration of sacred Temple murals in Sri Lanka.

JAT Holdings has created Petal Paint as an initiative to pay homage to Sri Lanka’s rich heritage of Temple art, often found in the form of captivating wall murals in Temple Shrine rooms. Many of the murals are faded and the wall paint available in the marketdoes not always match the traditional colors or texture of wall paint used in the original murals. 

“We created Petal Paint to give something back to Sri Lanka’s heritage and culture,” says Richard Gunawardene – Head of Marketing at JAT Holdings. “Petal Paint combines the best of our traditional culture – the use of pigments from nature – with the most advanced technology in paint manufacturing, to create a paint that matches the traditional temple mural colors and also provides a more long-lasting solution to temple artists.” 

A section of the temple art that will be restored

Petal Paint will soon be made available to artists working on Temple Murals. The initial colors in the range are Lotus Red, Pigeonwing Blue, Trumpet Yellow, Marigold Orange and Temple Flower White,and will be available in 200 ml tins.

Richard Gunawardene stated that a pilot project using Petal Paint to restore faded murals as well as create new wall murals is currently underway at Sri Sudarmarama Poorana Maha Viharaya, Ganegama, Akuressaand will be unveiled to the public soon. He further elaborated that the ideas were created and conceptualised by Leo Burnett Sri Lanka for JAT Holdings.

It takes around 200 kilograms of dried flowers to make 50 liters of paint, and JAT Holdings will soon launch a public campaign to collect the dried flowers discarded from temples. In addition to collecting the natural pigments needed for Petal Paint production, this initiative will also reduce the daily waste thrown out by temples across the country.

JAT Holdings, one of Sri Lanka’s award-winning conglomerates, has a strong commitment to sustainable practices and protection of the environment through its products. JAT has introduced several world-class paint and finishing product brands to Sri Lanka.

The ceremonial launch of the Petal Paint project

Richard Gunawardene – Head of Marketing of JAT Holdings presenting the first can of paint to Siyam Maha Nikaye Sri Rohana Parshavaye Praveenacharya Ven. Vengamuwe Dhammika Thero.

The restoration of the temple art in progress

The Petal Paint tins