"When I was little I loved to draw, but my father never liked it… But that didn't stop my painting diversion… I learned from several senior painters in my village."

"I was born as the first son in my family on February 16, 1977 in Surabaya, East Java. Surabaya is renowned as Kota Pahlawan ['The City of Heroes'] ever since Indonesia declared its independence as a country many years ago.

"When I was little I loved to draw, but my father never liked it. He said that being a painter wasn't a good profession and he didn't want to see me dreaming all day just to find inspiration for my paintings. But that didn't stop my painting diversion; without my father's support I learned from several senior painters in my village.

"In order to improve my ability, I moved to Bali in the year 2000. There is a Balinese friend of mine who introduced me to his culture. Impressed by the richness of Balinese culture, my recent works represent Balinese people in their everyday life."