Neal Adams Finds His Focus in Bali

October 31, 2010
Neal Adams puts his love for nature on canvas in trademark landscapes. (JG Photo/Richard Horstman)

Painter Neal Adams has found spiritual peace and a wellspring of inspiration — the likes of which he has never experienced before — in his home among the green rice fields and fog-shrouded mountains of Ubud.

He is fortunate, considering he almost never made it there. “I packed my bags and left London for Bali, yet I recall a moment at the airport when I thought, ‘What on earth am I doing?’ ”

Adams, a contemporary landscape artist, first visited Ubud in 1998. Like so many other foreign artists, he sensed something unique about the town and inexplicably felt drawn to it, finally taking up permanent residence there in 2003.

He quickly discovered that he could focus his creative energies better, tapping into a distinctive energy that Adams found very conducive to creative expression.

The town’s culture integrates art and life simultaneously through music, dance, ceremonies, sculpture, painting and rich narratives from Hindu epics.

“Living in Bali, I developed a strong work ethic by painting every day,” Adams said. “I discovered a practice to refine my technique and at the same time carved out a voice in my work — a personal style which was very much my own.”

Adams has always had a creative bent. He was born in London in 1968 and grew up in a creative family. Drawing came naturally to him as a child, he said.

At the age of 14, he started getting private art lessons from James Turner, a professor at the Wimbledon College of Art, near his childhood home.

“I regularly visited exhibits and the National Gallery in London. It became my temple,” he said. “As a child, I loved to venture alone into the chambers and immerse myself in the works of the great masters — Rembrandt, Monet, Cezanne and others.”

He studied their methods and, upon returning home, tried to reproduce their techniques. “I had a burning desire to become an artist,” he said.

Living and painting in his small studio in London, Adams supported himself by working in the printing industry. Later, he was able to sell paintings, rendered in traditional oils, to tourists at the Piccadilly Flea Market in London.

The painter has a distinctly philosophical take on his craft. Adams describes painting as an emotional and deeply introspective activity.

“Painting is like music, it is an expression on an emotional level. It draws from the interior,” he said.

“A painting is a reflection of life and how we witness it. I strive for the emotional connection with the observer that they can feel the painting as well as see it. I believe I have succeeded when I make people view the world in a slightly different way.”

His Zen-like approach probably stems from his love for contemplation, especially outdoors, where he says he “developed a respect, a reverence for trees and nature” as a young boy.

“I adored sitting in gardens but preferred to be within the depths of a forest with a pencil and sketch pad,” he said. “To be in its silence, surrounded by its energy, I had a sense of calm.”

In his paintings, he loves to play with trees and light. His creations strike a balance between realism and abstraction.

His style was heavily influenced by Impressionism, which captured nature in a way that allowed viewers to regard the illusion on the canvas and let their imagination run wild.

Interestingly, his paintings change according to the amount of light in the area in which they are displayed. The artworks seem to flow or shift, depending on a viewer’s vantage point.

Observers will be surprised to see silhouettes, shadows and abstract images appear as they study a painting from different angles.

Adams said the dynamic, almost surreal results, were a vital part of his creative process. “Each piece has its own individual character,” he said. “I produce something unique with every canvas I use and each painting has a life of its own.”

Gold and silver metallic leaves on his paintings, for instance, reflect light and function as background lighting to the painting’s foreground subjects.

The luminous and textured material contrasts starkly with the flat and dark figures of trees, creating a powerful effect.

Adams painstakingly applies the metallic leaves onto the canvas, sealing them in thin films of translucent lacquer. He favors gold metallic leafing since the color has religious significance in Bali. “Gold is God’s color,” he said.

Through this leafing technique, he is able to play up the variances of light and depth of field, creating a striking picture.

Adams’s message has resonated with collectors and art lovers. His paintings sold out in his Indonesian debut at Jakarta’s Canna Gallery in July 2007.

His works are regularly traded at Masterpiece Auction House in Jakarta and each October, he exhibits his paintings in sold-out shows at the JL Gallery Modern Art & Design in California.

In Ubud, his works can be viewed at Orgone Gallery on Jalan Raya, Sanggingan, just up the road from Mozaic Restaurant.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/neal-adams-finds-his-focus-in-bali/404172

VP Orders new Bali and Lombok Airports to be Operational soon

Indonesian Digest


• VP Orders new Bali and Lombok Airports to be Operational soon

Vice President Boediono has instructed Ministers involved in the construction of the new Airports in Bali and Lombok to accelerate construction to increase the number of tourist arrivals to Indonesia, repoted Bisnis Indonesia as quoted from Antara.

Present at the meeting held in mid June, were the Minister for Public Works, Djoko Krmanto, Communications Minister, Freddy Numberi and Chairman of the Presidential team for the Oversight and Monitoring of Development, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Governor of Bali, Made Mangku Pastika and West Nusatenggara Governor, Zainul Majdi.

According to Governor Majdi construction of the Lombok’s International airport is 90% completed, and is expected to become operational before the end of 2010.

The main drawback at the moment is clearing 19.9 kilometers of access road from the Airport to the town of Mataram. However, Governor Majdi assured that this has been settled and that therefore construction of the road, planned to be twice 7 meters wide from Mataram to Lombok International Airport and to Kuta in South Lombok can start immediately.

While Public Works Minister, Djoko Kirmanto promised that once the land has been cleared, then the access road can be completed before the end of 2010.

Whereas, regarding the new terminal for Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport this is urgent as the present terminal is no longer capable to properly receive th rapidly expanding numbers of arrivals.

The present international terminal of 65,000 sq, meters will become the domestic terminal. While the present domestic terminal of 13,300 sq. meters will be extended to 120,000 sq meters to become the international terminal. While funds for the expansion totaling Rp. 1.7 trillion will be borne by the Airport Authority of Bali.

Also discussed was the flyover near the airport to reduce congestion, especially on the bypass and at Simpang Siur.

To accelerate contruction, VP Boediono has instructed PT Angkasa Pura I to submit the airport’s masterplan to the Minister for State Enterprises within one week after the meeting.

These projects have been long delayed, said VP’s spokesman, and VP Boediono wants these to be completed as soon as possible, especially considering that Indonesia will host the APEC Conference in 2013.