Old Lovers (2026) Original Oil Painting by Nimasha Perera

*FRAMES ARE PRESENTATION ONLY*

A five-panel series about a person and their many lovers who met throughout a lifetime. At the centre sits an old lock, rusted and weathered, its keyhole open and waiting. Around it, four antique keys, two on each side, each painted on its own small panel.

No two keys are alike. One is warm and rust-worn, plain and honest. One is dark and heavy, solid but blunt. One is ornate gold, all elegance and flourish. One is cold grey iron, simple and unadorned. Each arrived in its own time. Each promised to fit. None of them quite did.

The lock at the centre, the heart, the body, the guarded self that others seek to open, bears the marks of every attempt: patinas of orange and green, scratches, tarnish, the residue of being tried again and again. Love, lust, a season, a lifetime, each key turned differently, and each left something behind.

Painted in oils, this is a work about intimacy and imperfection, about the long, worn history of the ones who came close. Five panels: four keys (5 x 7 inches each), one lock (8 x 10 inches). Unframed. Hanging hardware not included.

Materials used:

Oil on canvas panel

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 76.2 x 20.32 x 0.3cm (unframed) / 76.2 x 20.32cm (actual image size)
• Signed on the front
• Style: Impressionistic
• Subject: Still life