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Buying Traditional Painting
Modern examples of traditional wayang-style cloth paintings are still created, particularly by artists living in the village of Kamasan, a few kilometers to the south of Klungkung Regency. These paintings make superb souvenirs because their cotton cloth can be folded easily. When you get back home, just stretch the canvas or spray or dampen it with water, then iron it carefully on the back on a low heat setting. In the past, the Kamasan studios worked with natural paints made from slivers of bone, a mixture of plain and holy water, and powdered stone (from which the color was derived). The paint's base was worked with a pestle and mortar for an hour, and the only color that was not natural was blue. Today, the majority of artists use acrylics because few people still know how to prepare the natural paints. Fine specimens of Kamasan paintings are seriously undervalued. As in former times, paintings are still unsigned and the artists are taught from a very early age not to express themselves in original and individual forms but in highly patterned ways. Look before you buy. Watch the painter at work if you can, then you know they're authentic. Spend time learning about the painting you're considering. Let it grow on you. What's the story behind it? Just like the stained-glass windows in the cathedrals of Europe, which illustrate fables from the gospels, these Kamasan paintings portray a certain character or god in Balinese legend. Have the artist explain the work to you. In the village of Krambitan, 20-km southwest of Tabanan, the painters' association Karya Dharma has revived a regional offshoot of traditional Balinese painting that thrived here during the 1930s. They produce wayang-style paintings but with more colors and a bolder style. For antique pieces, look in the antique shops of Klungkung and Kamasan. |
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