Indonesian Countryside Impressionist Watercolor Painting, "Kedungmiri Landscape"

"'Be a useful human being for others.' My parents have repeated this to me since I was a child. I love it and now can understand the deep meaning of the sentence. Today, that is how I try to live my life.

"I was born in the Central Java Province in 1968. I spent my childhood in the shady countryside, playing in the rice field with my brother and sisters. Those were great times! I remember going to school barefoot, walking through the rice field, wading across a small river, then coming back home along the same route.

"I've loved to paint since I was a child. I painted everything in my village — every time I passed the scenery on my way home, I'd stop and paint. I never went to a formal school to learn how. I learned by myself and from my painter friends.

"I chose watercolor painting because I think it has very unique characteristics. It also requires a painter's sensitivity, the ability to 'feel' it on the paper because, as it dries, the colors change. Everything about watercolors is challenging.

"Besides painting, I also like to listen to music and I love sports. I do martial arts, play badminton and ping pong. I like to jog but once I woke up at 1:00 a.m. and started my morning jogging. Oops! I thought it was 5:00 a.m.

"I'm married and we have two daughters. With them, life feels so blessed and full. My wife is a civil servant, so we live in good conditions and are happy. It's especially rewarding to live in Indonesia where the people are so friendly and the family bonds are so tight.

"My two daughters make me feel more responsibility. I always want to give them the best in this life."