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Meet Bruce Granquist: Artist, Mapmaker, Writer, Bookseller


Meet Bruce Granquist: Artist, Mapmaker, Writer, Bookseller

For half a decade Bruce Granquist travelled the hills, valleys as well as back roads of Bali on an old Honda 200cc generating sketches, jotting down names as well as correcting as well as upgrading photocopies of old topographic charts made by the Dutch in 1928.

Man as well as machine were embarked on an absorbing as well as meandering mapping project, covering all of the island’s road systems, through the volcanic mountains as well as deep river valleys from the centre to the gentle alluvial plains from the South. Working in his spare time in between additional projects, his task was made all the more difficult because in which was before there was Google Earth, access to detailed charts or any additional reliable base maps.

The arduous labour of love, rendered entirely in watercolour, was finally completed as well as self-published from the USA in 1999, the first large format detailed two-dimensional four-colour pictorial topographic map of Bali, the best obtainable representation of Bali’s marvellous terrain features.

Exploring Bali’s hinterlands was in Bruce’s DNA. Born in a tiny town called Waukegan close to Chicago in 1958, he was drawing before he could walk. Since 1978, Bruce has worked as a freelancer with publishers on a project-by-project basis. At last count, he has contributed art, line drawings, maps as well as illustrations in a total of 24 books. Bruce has also developed a tiny book distribution company based in Bali.

Bruce, did you study art?
I studied art at three different colleges, finally earning an undergraduate degree after several unsteady as well as circuitous years. My father was afraid I would certainly not be able to support myself exclusively as an artist, so following his wishes I got a general education which has a major in art. As in which turned out, he could never know at the time how diverse my work would certainly become as well as how far I would certainly travel in my life.

Why did you settle down in Bali?
I studied the Borobudur in college, so a quest to see in which incredible monument was the reason for visiting Indonesia for once in 1986. I always assumed in which I would certainly settle in nearby Jogjakarta, nevertheless as in which turned out, while in Ubud one night I saw a Baris warrior dance from the rain. The effect of in which performance was so powerful in which I totally changed my plans, left Java as well as moved straight to Bali.

What are the best things about living here?
I love the feeling in which the day to day activities of life run smoothly, following well established patterns, while at the same time there is usually a feeling in which everything is usually about to go completely out of control. in which teetering balance is usually of constant fascination to me as well as has inspired countless paintings as well as drawings.

is usually in which easy generating a living through art?
I’m involved in everything related to books as well as publishing. I consider myself mainly an illustrator, nevertheless I also create as well as publish maps, design as well as publish books, research as well as write articles, import books as well as distribute them. My combination house/studio/storeroom is usually crammed with stacks of books, charts, as well as rolled up paintings as well as illustrations. Something in print is usually always within reach!

What was the first book you worked on?
A guidebook to Thailand from the early 1990s in which I contributed city maps as well as architectural illustrations. in which was quite a challenge. I had stretched the truth a bit with my employer as well as actually had no experience whatsoever doing these types of illustrations. The illustrations were easy, nevertheless the maps were by far the most difficult part of the project.

What kind of illustrations do you do?
Most of my illustrations are about natural history as well as architecture. I specialize in mapmaking, though I have not studied cartography formally. My grandfather worked for Rand McNally. When I was a boy, I marvelled at the atlases in which he’d bring home. nevertheless maps are challenging – I put prodigious effort into learning how to draw them well. currently maps have become the most satisfying type of work I do. With its amazing landforms, mapping Bali was a cartographer’s dream.

As a book agent, how many publishers do you represent?
I have two main suppliers, one in Singapore as well as one in London. Between them I have access to dozens of publishers as well as thousands of books. I often go to Singapore on book buying trips. I purchase stock there, ship the books by boat to Jakarta as well as then take them overland to Bali. I bring the books to about 10 independent retail bookstores around Bali, usually selling them on a consignment basis. If they don’t sell after a few months I either look for a better venue or sell them at a discounted cost.

Does bookselling have a bright future in Bali?
The book business has become very bewildering as well as complex. in which is usually especially the case currently with the rise of e-books. Even experienced as well as venerable booksellers are scratching their heads trying to predict what will happen from the book business from the future.

What is usually your latest project?
I just self published an art book called Inventing Art: The Paintings of Batuan. in which took three as well as a half years to research, write, design as well as print in which book, the most complex yet engaging project I’ve ever done. in which has recently arrived in Bali through my printers in Singapore, as well as I’m just currently beginning to promote as well as distribute in which throughout the planet.

What’s the book about?
The painting tradition of a tiny village just south of Ubud, which basically began from the 1930’s as well as is usually still going strong today. The book’s purpose is usually to demystify the ‘foreign” feeling of these paintings, to make them more accessible for people through outside Bali to understand. Though Batuan paintings are often filled with mysterious imagery, there are many aspects in them in which are easy to understand as well as appreciate. The book tries to remove the “us as well as them” aspect of these wonderful paintings as well as present them simply as Great art, able to be appreciated by anyone which has a patient as well as sensitive eye.

Bruce Granquist may contacted by email: brucegran@yahoo.com.

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Meet Bruce Granquist: Artist, Mapmaker, Writer, Bookseller


Meet Bruce Granquist: Artist, Mapmaker, Writer, Bookseller
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