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Klungkung,
Ancient Kingdoms
Nyoman
Dogol
Formerly
a Dancing Teacher, Now a Wayang Painter
The
name of Nyoman Dogol as a wayang painter
in the traditional Kamasan style during
the period of the Klungkung kingdom was
very celebrated since he was the first painter
who painted the ceiling of Kertha Gosa justice
hall and Taman Gili with distinctive Kamasan
wayang style. Due to his merits, his name
is still stuck in the heart of Kamasan wayang
style painters at Sangging hamlet, Kamasan
village.
 I
Ketut Madra is one of the Nyoman Dogol’s
generation his expertise in the art of painting
is still maintained as told by Ni Nyoman
Suardani, Madra’s wife. Sangging hamlet
is about 3 kilometers from Semarapura city,
while the distance of Semarapura from Denpasar
is some 40 kilometers.
Her role as a woman in inheriting the impressive
cultural tradition, in fact, is not so easy.
To be able to paint the entire wayang in
the style of Kamasan, took her some five
years. . Prior to being deeply involved
in the art of painting, Suardani was also
a Balinese dancer and at the same time also
a dancing teacher. She taught students to
dance Balinese dance at state primary school
(SD) Dawan, Klungkung. As matter of fact,
since primary school she has been good at
dancing Balinese dances. Of course, to be
deeply involved in both arts is not possible
for her. But she ultimately preferres to
work painting wayang of Kamasan style.
The phase of painting wayang of Kamasan
style is categorized to be somewhat complicated.
In essence, this phase consists of material
preparation (unbleached cotton, rice porridge,
mussel shell, various stones as coloring
agents, Japanese imported ink). When all
materials are ready, there is a term ‘zoning’
or sketching determining the figure of wayang
presented. The next phase is coloring in
accordance with the painted figure and the
process of smoothing the surface of the
painting by means of using a mussel shell.
For Suardani, it needs patience and deep
concentration. Based on her experience for
17 years in painting the Kamasan wayang
style, to complete a Kamasan wayang painting
could be said to be difficult. It means
that a painting measuring 10x45 cm could
be completed in around a week. The painting
is sold at Rp 150,000 (domestic guest) and
Rp 300,000 (for foreign guests). “Foreign
guests who are interested to buy my paintings
come from America, Italy, France, Germany
and Japan,” Suardani said.
Since it’s difficult to paint wayang,
makes Suardani practice it incessantly.
Everyday she paints beginning at 09.00 am
to 6.00 pm. Before 9 in the morning, she
usually finishes her tasks as a household
mother. Apart from painting on the unbleached
cotton, Suardani also pours out her expertise
onto the shell of swan’s eggs, fabric
fans, jewelry boxes, wallets, and bamboo
hats. All of this merchandise is decorated
with the painting of Kamasan wayang. (BTN/033)
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