Barli hails solace, tranquility of watercolors

Barli hails solace, tranquility of watercolors

By Oei Eng Goan

JAKARTA (JP): Most prolific artists believe that beauty is
more than just in the eye of the beholder, it also has an
inspiring drive to create artistic works that give solace and
tranquility, benefiting all humankind.

Such a perception is embedded in the mind of the Bandung-born
painter Barli Sasmitawinata whenever he holds his brush and
starts working on a piece of canvas or paper to delineate the
subject of his painting, be it a human figure, still life or
landscape.

Barli also tries to convey that message whenever he takes part
in an exhibition, like the week-long Asian Watercolours '97
Singapore held in the city-state which ended Friday.

"Indeed, peace and tranquility are badly needed in the world,
which has been witnessing the tragedies of societal
disintegration and protracted civil wars and armed conflicts.
It's our hope that the (artists') gathering could be taken as an
example of unity and harmony among different peace-loving
people," he told The Jakarta Post Wednesday after returning from
Singapore, referring to the exhibition which hosted around 40
water-colorists from seven Asian nations, including the host
country.

Besides promoting cooperation among Asian painters, the annual
Asian Watercolours exhibition is also meant to arouse public
interest in watercolor painting, showing that it is misguided to
regard watercolor painting as less significant or less impressive
than oil painting, added 76-year-old Barli, whose oil paintings
have been exhibited in many European and Asian countries and
praised by international connoisseurs.

One of his watercolors attests to his statement.

The painting (accompanying photo), done with masterful brush
strokes, reflecting both transparency and opacity and with subtle
use of dark and light colors, gives a comprehensive delineation
of the dancer's beauty and seriousness while the dominant red
color of her dress and yellow hues of her headgear provide a
festive atmosphere.

Barli makes his point with this painting, since watercolor
painting, largely developed in England in the 18th and early 19th
centuries by great artists such as William Blake, David Cox and
JMW Turner, has enriched the world with artistic works as sublime
as those done in fresco, pastel or oil colors.

"In Europe, the price of a watercolor painting, can be even
more expensive than an oil color one," Barli said, adding that
appreciation of watercolors in Indonesia is growing now.

He said watercolorists could produce better results if they
worked on rough-surfaced paper, specially designed for watercolor
painting, so as to obtain the finest effect of watercolor paints.

Obviously, the watercolorists who have just displayed their
167 paintings in Singapore affirm the sublimity of this
particular medium of painting, their reproductions can be seen in
the book published by the Singapore Watercolour Society.

Five Indonesian painters, including Barli who led the dele
gation in his capacity as chairman of the Indonesian Watercolour
Society, took part in the exhibition. The four other Indonesian
painters were Marah Djibal, Rudolf G. Usman, Lie Tjoen Tjoen Tjay
and Sandy Leonardo.

Other participating countries were Malaysia, Thailand, South
Korea, Taiwan and China, which was represented by Hong Kong.

This year's Asian Watercolours, officially opened by
Singapore's President Ong Teng Cheong on Oct. 25, is the 12th
exhibition. The 13th is scheduled to take place in South Korea
next year, the 14th in Taiwan, while the following one will be in
Indonesia in 2000.