other foreign artists

<sup>No list of expatriate painters in Bali would be complete without the name of Antonio Blanco, who settled here after independence. Married to a beautiful Balinese woman and father to several talented children, Blonco has successfully created a legend in his own time based on admirable talents, eccentric flair and a long term, successful PR campaign.A Philippine of Catalan descent, blanco was born in Manila in 1927. Later he became an American citizen and attended the Fine Arts Academy in New York City. Blanco traveled the world, dressing outlandishly from Hawaii to Florida, before ending in Bali (see the photos in his book). Picking up where Walter Spies and Le Mayeur left off, he decided that he would be the ultimate painter of Bali. Assuming the role of one of greatest artists of his era, he dazzled tourists with such dramatic statements as, "Life is Art and my Life is Art". If this was not enough, a beautiful bare breasted Balinese girls carrying an offering of flowers would often nonchalantly appear in the background to emphasize the drama of the moment.

While identifying himself with Salvador Dali, another Catalan, Blanco’s painting is much moreindebted to such realists as Willem Hofker. Blanco continued where Hofker stopped, liberating the pigment with bolder strokes and sweeps of color. He also took Hofker’s sensuality to a new often shocking level. His woman are provocative and even daunting. While inviting on the first impression, they display a certain ambiguity which reflects on the orientation of the artist. For many the best part of Blanco’s art is his acting ability, closely followed by his extraordinary frames, often more avant garde then the paintings they enclose.A favorite among the rich of Jakarta, Blanco rarely paints at his point-perhaps too busy receiving awards. A true cultural icon in Ubud -everyone should be sure to visit the immitable and unmatched master, Antonio Blanco.</sup>

^{1956-Ariel Smit was a soldier in the Dutch Colonial Army before the war who knew a good thing when he saw it. Settling in Ubud, Bali in 1965 he is often acclaimed the father of the "young Artists School", a rather dubious movement which had a promising beginning but ended up as one of the worst in Bali. Much to his credit and despite praise for his role, he detached himself from the Young Artists before they aged. By applying for Indonesia citizenship in 1951, Arie managed to avoid being expelled with his friends, Sonnega and Bonnet, in 1957. He regularly wrote to Bonnet, to keep him informed of developments, and to a certain extent assumed his role in Ubud after his departure. Today Smit works under the patronage of Pande Suteja Neka and has achieved great success with regular exhibitions in Jakarta and two books dedicated to his art. With a bright palate his landscapes often echo Cezanne. His portraits could be better compared to Gauguin or Theo Meier, whom he knew well. The best collection of his work is to be seen in the Museum Neka.}

^{1935-Le Meyeur.An eccentric member of the Belgium royal family born in Brussels in 1880, Le Mayeur rejected his heritage and sought to follow in the footsteps of the first white primitive, Gauguin, by sailing off to Tahiti and French Polynesia to become a painter. These places were already in decline in Gauguin’s time and sorely disappointed Le Mayeur. He ended up in Bali in the 1930’s which he found much more inspiring. His muse was his beautiful wife, the famous Legong dancer, Ni Pollok, whom he married when he was well into his fifties. Together they settled in a wonderful home on Sanur beach which is now a colourful but dilapidated museum much in need of conservation (funds have been granted by Belgium for this purpose but they seem not yet to have reached Bali). During the 1930’s numerous tourists, just off the round the world cruise boats which docked in Bali to every week, would visit to be served drinks and snacks by his gracious topless wife and her pretty servants. This so galled the head of the Colonial government towards the end of the decade that he sent a warning to him that this immoral behavior must stop. Le Mayeur wrote to his cousin the king of Belgium, who in turned wrote to Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, who in turn wrote to the Governor -General of the Dutch East Indies, who in turn told the puritanical governor of Bali to shut up. Le Mayeur’s style is impressionistic, using short strong brush strokes of rather thick paint and palate of rich colors (liberated by his contact with Theo Meire?). This combination results with an agitated sense of movement in a sharp but harmonious combination with an inevitably idyllic scene. These usually include one or several topless portraits of Ni Pollak in dance or reflective poses against a sunny garden background with twisted frangipani tress and fallen flowers true visions of paradise. His canvases presently fetch around $.150.000 a piece. Despite theft and conservation problems several of best canvases are still at his house now museum in Sanur which is well worth a visit.}