Ubud town is an art gallery by itself. We can see it from numerous artworks that are displayed in public areas. One of them is the legendary archer Arjuna whose giant statue is standing on a street junction of Ubud. There are a lot of big and small galleries in Ubud town. I am visiting several oil painting galleries in Ubud this week.

Neka Art Gallery

Yesterday, I went to Neka gallery. Neka Art Gallery has been around since 1966 . It was free to enter the art gallery, so, I didn't have to buy a ticket to see its collections. There were a lot of oil paintings and some watercolor ones in the gallery created by Balinese and other Indonesian artists as well as Western artists.

Museum Puri Lukisan - The Palace of Paintings

This afternoon I visited Museum Puri Lukisan which was built in 1956 as the fruit of the hard works of Rudolf Bonnet, and Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati (King of Ubud) and his brother Tjokorda Gde Raka Sukawati. Puri Lukisan means Palace of Paintings. It has got a large collection of watercolor and (oil) paintings, as well as wood carvings. There is a new building inside the museum area on the left side of the complex which exhibit modern-traditional Balinese artworks. Paintings and wooden carvings that are exhibited in this gallery have got price tag and detailed information about the artworks. Visitors can buy them. Some of them have been sold to collectors. Art lovers must not miss this Museum Puri Lukisan of Ubud town when they go to Bali island. Visitors are not allowed to take pictures of the artworks. So, when I had a tour inside the museum I could not photograph the artworks. I could only make some pictures of the park inside the museum. Food and drinks must not be brought inside the buildings either. 

Travel agencies usually offer trips to museum and art gallery to allow visitors enjoy the beauty of Balinese paintings and sculptors. The presence of tourists in Ubud greatly support the art industry and the livelihood of the Balinese artists.

Antonio Blanco's Museum

On 17 January 2012 I walked further to the east crossing a bridge where Antonio Blanco's Museum was located on a hill - on the left side immediately after the bridge. The entrance ticket for a domestic visitor like me was Rp. 30,000 (thirty thousand rupiahs). A yellowish white plumeria flower is given to each visitor to be put on his or her ear. A glass of ice-tea is given as a welcome beverage. Entering the courtyard of the museum, I could feel the blend of European and Balinese art styles. A Spanish song was being played, perhaps from a CD player inside the office of the museum. I saw some birds inside the complex of the museum. Some of them are the almost distinct white starlings - an endemic species of Bali island, Papua's female blyth's hornbill and sulfur crested cockatoo.  As I walked along the first floor of the main building, I could see rows of figure paintings most of them about Balinese beautiful ladies and dancers colorfully and erotically painted by painter Anthony Blanco. He was able to a different dimension of painting style to the development and evolution of art in Bali. In another smaller building next to the main gallery, visitors can see more paintings and photographs of the Blancos. He married a Balinese woman.

No Words for Art and Artists - Why?

In Lonely Planet Travel Guide Book on Indonesia, especially on a chapter about Bali, it says that "the Balinese had no words for "arts" and "artists" because art was jut part of every day life. ... Even the simplest activities are carried out with care, precision and artistic flare."

I have spent nearly three weeks of my time in Ubud now. Where ever I walk I will always see interesting objects and unique activities that have been carefully prepared or conducted artistically. My neighbor has just held a religious Hindu ceremony. The members of the family erected penjor at the gates of their house. It is a long decorated bamboo poles. I also had the chance to see funeral procession in Ubud where hundreds of Balinese in their white clothes walk from their Pura at one end of the Sukma street, through the busy Ubud main street, to the burial ground in the north of the village. Some people walking behind played their musical instruments.

I highly recommend Museum Puri Lukisan and Museum Neka if you really want to see the beauty of Balinese people and culture in the form of artworks. You need one or two days walking from building to building of the museums. Once you have finished exploring the paintings and the carvings, you will feel exhausted. The muscles on your legs may become stressed because of long hours of walking and standing. You need massage service to relax and relieve the tensions. Gentle presses on your body and legs will make your inner energy flow smoothly again. Charles Roring

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Watercolor Painting of Balinese Pura