Painting Tradition of Keliki Kawan Payangan

Each painting has its own journey, including the traditional Keliki Kawan Payangan, Bali painting.

Maybe, not many people would know about this traditional painting.

In a beautiful village, Keliki Kawan Payangan, there is a Balinese traditional art studio led by an artist, I Wayan Mardika. This studio was called Om Hara Kailasha, a place where various traditional paintings from small children were taught directly by Bli Mardi. This painting was in the form of a very detailed miniature of Balinese traditional life which was painted on special paper. Also produced to maintain the continuity of this tradition.

Bli Mardi covers all the operating costs of the studio by selling his paintings and the students’ through exhibitions in Bali. The income from the sale is given to the children of the painters so they can support themselves, including for school. In this way, the traditional painting of Keliki Kawan, Payangan in Bali can survive and preserve.

In this Pandemic era, Keliki Kawan’s painting is also inseparable from the difficulties of maintaining it’s continuity. Complexity and difficulty had approached Bli Mardi in maintaining the traditions of his ancestors. He even had time to change his profession to become a mason.

We Love With Love met Bli Mardi and his students, also gave suggestions to survive through the pandemic season which was hitting the continuity of the traditional painting of Keliki Kawan Payangan Bali. We all can support and help Bli Mardi and the young painters at Keliki Kawan to maintain this tradition of beautiful painting through the We Love With Love donation page.