MEET BATUAN ARTIST MD TUBUH

I saw my first Batuan style painting (named after the small village in Bali that produces them) in 2006. It was hanging in the office of my then boss. I was fascinated by the colors and the amount of detail on the canvas. It was that painting that first gave me the idea to collect art from my travels around the world. So I was super excited seven years later to visit the town of Batuan and hopefully add one to my collection. 

Unfortunately I was not the first to appreciate the beauty of these paintings. Their popularity with collectors has made them rather expensive, but even worse, has kind of corrupted the whole art scene of the town. The worst offender by far was the Batuan Art Museum. I thought the museum would be a good place to start investigating this type of art. My plan was to walk around the museum and write down the names of artists I liked, and then see if anyone could point me to their homes. I visited the museum three times, and each time someone from the museum would walk around with me and would tell me that if I liked a certain painting that they would personally take me to see the artist. Though that might sound unusual, this is how friendly most people in Bali are. The only problem is that the museum served as a front for a nearby private gallery owned by a wealthy man named Dewa Gede Gautama. I was taken to his private gallery twice when I asked different people at the museum where certain artists lived. It was clear to me after my second visit that Gautama resented my desire to buy art directly from the artists that make it. It wasn't until my third visit to the museum that I discovered that it was a private institution and that Gautama owned it!

Even though it was frustrating, I stuck with the search and eventually stumbled upon the home of painter MD Tubuh. He is an older artist with a gentle disposition. It was that easy going personality that led him to become a popular teacher of the current generation of painters. I was fortunate to buy the bottom painting from him, though I really like the one above it too. The paintings take about eight months to complete, and start with a rough pencil outline that is then made permanent with ink applied by bamboo pen. Lastly, color is added. Nothing is rushed. Artists always wait for inspiration before touching the canvas. Because of the time involved in creating them, there is a very real concern that this art form will die out in the near future. Coincidentally, the paintings are also famous for featuring a way of life that is also in danger of dying out as island life begins to look more and more like Western life.

One other interesting fact: The inland towns of Ubud and Batuan originally began to produce art as a way to attract tourists that were coming to Bali to enjoy the beach. This beautiful art was born out of a desire to bring visitors inland and hopeful make a few bucks in the process.