I Wayan Dastra
“Nature Will Definitely Be Changing”

Every year, every month, every day and every second, without being realized, there must be changes taking place in nature. At a smaller environment like one’s home for instance, there are various kinds of plants that can keep our environment healthy. However, without being realized by us, such changes keep on running in line with the changes of nature. Such plants have been replaced by reinforced concrete building making the environment progressively crowded.
“Cutting down the forest, housing construction, road and so forth continue to follow the development of time disregarding any risks resulted. This looks like phenomena of nature,” said I Wayan Dastra to Bali Travel News at Ubud Art, a bijou gallery of his own at Lodtunduh.
The man who was born on 7 June 1980 lives at Abiansemal Hamlet, Lodtunduh—Ubud.
I Wayan Dastra is the only son of the couple Jro Mangku Lisig and Jro Mangku Mandri. He had flair in painting since his childhood. However, since the surrounding community mostly works as sculptor, so he does the same work.
His aspiration to paint remained intense therefore he seriously learned to paint when he was in secondary school (1994). “I learn to paint taking the theme of flora and fauna from my teacher, I Ketut Rudi and Raka Swasta,” he uttered.
Having graduated from secondary school, he continued to Vocational Senior High School majoring in fine arts and then in 1999 to the Art College of Indonesia (now, the Indonesia Institute of Arts or ISI Denpasar) and obtained the undergraduate degree in art in 2006. “When I studied at the institute I have actively joined some exhibitions, either at campus, outside campus like Bali Museum, Ancol Jakarta or even abroad,” he said while adding, many of his paintings were collected by foreigners like from Germany, Holland, Singapore, the Philippines, France, Malaysia and so on.
Paintings of Wayan Dastra, who is intimately called Alup, exclusively belong to the abstract style, so people categorized them into decorative abstract. With the moderately bold coloring and distinctiveness they have, his works differ from that of others. To him, whatever style people give to his works is not important. “As long as the art enjoyers feel agreeable and entertained, I do so as well,” he added.
Scratches of his ink are somewhat clear-cut and courageous, symbols of trees as if referred to the phenomena of nature within the life of hundreds of year ago. Ambience of nature within the abstractness of his scratches on canvas as if reminded us of how cool the beautiful this mundane world is. “Through the changes of phenomena of nature coming about within this world, I express my imagination through scratches on canvas that make my works as these,” he observed.
Furthermore stated, most of his paintings narrated about the environment of nature where trees dominated them. “Without trees, we can not live. Why?” he asked rhetorically while replied by himself that those trees were the source of oxygen (O2) delivering the life to all creatures, not only human beings, but also animals and other beings need O2. Additionally, other function of trees is as water absorbent so they could prevent the flood or landslide. (BTN/Ketut Budiarta)

Painter Dewa Putu Adnyana Ola:
“Celestial and Worldly Harmony”

Mr. Dewa Putu Adnyana Ola, a painter who was born at Pengosekan Village, Ubud, exhibited his works at the Millennium Gallery, Jakarta not so long ago. The young painter is a graduate from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Indonesia Institute of Arts (ISI) Denpasar. His works on show are made of media comprising acrylic paint on canvas.
Adnyana Ola confessed to Bali Travel News at his studio on Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud, that prior to painting in abstract style, most of his works were in naturalistic style. “Since I get bored and would like to develop myself, I turned to the nuanced abstract style,” he said.
The painter added that for this nuanced abstract style, he paints based on explicit concepts. Firm and obvious colour placement is called harmonious and contrast colour.
Spaces and colours should be balanced and harmonious so they could compose enchanting image and panorama or nuance to luxuriate. As a painter, he learned a lot on the colours of nature like that of sky, sea, jungle, mountain and fauna as its dwellers. As a consequence, on the exhibition held in Jakarta (10 January-5 February), he presented the theme “Celestial and Worldly Harmony.” (BTN/018)