印尼记遊（五）
Travelogue in Indonesia 05

四月七日今天我们决定上午出去勾几张画稿之后，就去参观附近画家的画室与作品。

七时起身，准备就绪，就到乌木Ubud去作画，此地距离星那卅五里光景。一路而下，古树清溪，佛塔⻔楼，庙宇⻔柱，触 ⺫皆然，重重峦壑，段段梯田弥漫眼际。那些饶有中国农村⻛味的茅舍，泥墙，均宜入画。我们漫然地描画着，竟不觉时间 的易逝。十时过后，即去拜访当地的一位美国画家佛兰古。佛氏是於一九五二年到巴厘岛来，就在这座幽雅的山顶上筑小舍而居住，并娶巴厘女为妻，室中一切设备均巴厘化。他拥有三位擅⻓於舞蹈的太太，故当地乐器的设备亦很完全。他那三位 太太不但是家庭的主妇，同时还是他绘画的模特儿。佛氏生活在这山气清爽的环境里，有健美能舞的太太们作为模特儿。每天由太太们敲打着「甘姆兰」的音乐节奏，跳着优美的巴厘舞蹈，自己则写意地挥画着，这种的享受，诚不可不谓达到登峰造极的境地，他的艳福真使我们称羡不已 !
茶话已毕，我们就去参观他的作品，他说：「许多人以为美国人只会作抽象画，其实美国人也一样地苦心於写实，我在画面上的表现，是追求着一种音乐的旋律与轻松愉快的调子······」但在我看来，其作品过於做作而带有干告⻛，画面的组织显得零乱而轻飛，尤其是白色的运用，更像美国时行的封面女郎干告。不但没有音乐的旋律表现，反而破坏了画面的和谐，室内壁上挂了许多画，普遍的犯上「不完整」的毛病。他特别指出:苏卡诺总统参观他的作品时发给奖状的照片。看样子，他对这帧照片是相当重视呢！

十一时半：我们回到星那，又到海边去拜访比籍画家玛约LE MAYEUR的故居。他是去年才逝世的，年六十多岁，太太名波乐POLOCK是巴厘的一位著名舞蹈家。我们的⻋子抵达星那，要先付七十五盾才能进去参观。这里有卖木刻及画片等的「画店」，时品，古迹都有，生意非常兴隆，经过画店，是一个干阔的庭园，园中有一小亭，安置着这位画家雕像，除了白色以外，完全是巴厘神像的⻛味。雕像前有红白鲜花杂陈着，那是他的未亡人每天给他的礼物了。我们⻥贯地走入他的画廊，只⻅墙上悬挂着十二幅庞大的作品，其中以舞蹈一幅最为出色，确是艺术妙品，不易观遇。我再三地徘徊在这幅画面之前，良久，良久才离开。这幅画要出售四十万盾(约折叻币二千元)，可惜我没有钱，不然，我真要把它买回去，慢慢地欣赏呢！

这位画家留给我的印象是深刻的，他的绘画⻛格近於后期印象派，画面的动律可以表现出乐的节奏，素朴轻松而又没有轻佻的感觉，笔触活泼有力、画面构图严谨，用色多以金色为主调，有炽热的感觉。不过其中也有不少为迎合顾客心理的意向，显得庸俗，刻板。在「舞女」之中某部份太过夸张，失去了画面统一性。但这只是一部份，一般说来是成功的。我认为一个苦心作画的人，虽然是死了，可是他在艺术上的伟大成就，还是活存在人们的心坎里。走出画廊时，与画家之妻合摄了一帧照片以资留念。

时间还早，我们就到附近的海边去作画，这里的⻥形小艇，与⻢来亚东海岸的渔船，竟是一样的多采多姿，堪入画面。一株株的树木用各种天矫的姿态，迎⻛挺立着。平静的，闪着银光的海面呈现在我 们的眼前，这些都足以鼓起我们绘画的感性来。子平与庆光对这些景物最是向往，不管天色已暮，还 是坐下来画他们的水彩画。凤英大姐更加紧张了，单只船头的⻥形装饰就画了十几种。一直画到夕阳 已在海平线上呈露出颓丧的金⻩色时，我们才回到旅馆去。晚上在巴厘旅馆看巴厘舞蹈，十一时就寝。(五)

Today, on April 7th, we decided to spend the morning sketching some drafts before visiting nearby artists' studios and their works.

We woke up at 7:00 AM, got ready, and headed to Ubud to work on our sketches. Ubud is about 35 miles away from Sanur. Along the way, we encountered ancient trees, clear streams, Buddhist temples, gateways, and temple pillars—everywhere we looked, there were breathtaking landscapes and terraced rice fields. The charming rural homes with a distinct Chinese countryside flavor, complete with thatched roofs and earthen walls, were perfect subjects for our sketches. We leisurely painted, completely losing track of time. It was well past 10:00 AM when we decided to visit a local American painter, Flangu.

Flangu had come to Bali in 1952 and settled in this serene mountainous location where he built a small house. He married a Balinese woman, Polock, who was a renowned dancer. Their house was adorned with all things Balinese. Flangu had three wives who were skilled dancers and also served as his models for painting. They would create a musical rhythm called "Gamelan" as they danced, and he would paint in a carefree manner. This kind of enjoyment was truly admirable and made us quite envious!

After a tea break, we explored his artworks. Flangu said, "Many people think that Americans only create abstract art, but in reality, Americans also put a lot of effort into realism. My artwork aims to capture a musical rhythm and a light-hearted melody..." However, in my opinion, his works seemed overly contrived and lacked a certain naturalness. The composition of his paintings appeared chaotic and light. His use of white color, in particular, resembled the glamour of American magazine covers. Instead of conveying musical rhythms, it disrupted the harmony of the paintings. Inside the gallery, there were many paintings, most of which suffered from the problem of "incompleteness." He emphasized one picture in which President Sukarno had given him an award during his visit. It seemed he held this photo in high regard!

Around 11:30 AM, we returned to Sanur and then went to visit the former residence of the Belgian painter, Le Mayeur. He had passed away just last year at the age of over sixty. His wife, Ni Polock, was a famous Balinese dancer. To visit, we had to pay an entrance fee of 75 rupiahs. There were "art shops" selling wood carvings and paintings. The items for sale and the antiques were all quite exquisite, and business was booming. After passing through the art shops, we entered a spacious garden where a small pavilion housed the statue of the painter. Except for the color white, the whole atmosphere was reminiscent of Balinese deities. Fresh red and white flowers were offered, which were daily gifts from his widow. We walked through his art gallery, and there were only twelve large paintings on the walls. Among them, a painting of a dance performance stood out and was truly a masterpiece of art. I lingered before it for a long while before reluctantly leaving. The painting was for sale at 400,000 rupiahs (approximately 2,000 Malayan dollars). Unfortunately, I didn't have the money; otherwise, I would have purchased it and cherished it slowly.

The impression left by this painter was profound. His artistic style resembled the later Impressionists. His work could capture the rhythm of music, with a simple, light, and yet not frivolous feel. The brushwork was lively and powerful, and the composition of the paintings was well-structured. Gold was the dominant color, creating a vibrant and warm feeling. However, there were parts of his works that seemed overly exaggerated, losing the unity of the painting. But these were just some parts; overall, it was a success. I believe that someone who earnestly creates art, even after death, their great artistic achievements continue to live on in people's hearts. As we left the gallery, we took a photo with the painter's widow as a memento.

With some time still available, we went to the nearby beach to do some painting. The boat-shaped canoes here were as colorful and charming as the fishing boats on the east coast of Malaya. The various trees stood gracefully, adopting various postures against the wind. The calm, shimmering sea stretched out before us, arousing our artistic sensibilities. Tze Peng and Keng Kwang, in particular, were very enthusiastic about these sceneries. We continued to paint even as the day turned to dusk. Fengying was even more focused, sketching over ten different patterns of boat decorations. It wasn't until the setting sun displayed a melancholic golden hue on the horizon that we finally returned to the hotel. In the evening, we watched a Balinese dance at the Bali Hotel before retiring to bed at 11:00 PM.