One of our Balinese emerging artists, I Wayan Januariawan (known by his artist name, I Wayan Donal), was born in Ubud, January 18^th 1986. He has hobbies in painting since his childhood, and he likes to paint en plein air (or ‘on the spot painting’ as he likes to call it) capturing everyday life in his hometown of Ubud by painting the people, animals, food and landscapes. Graduating from Indonesian Institute of Art, Denpasar, his energetic and artistic impressions have been commended and displayed at various national and international art exhibitions, museums mostly in Bali.

The works of Donal takes inspiration of real nature or moves the view of an object onto the canvas. It’s just like a photograph having been printed. Model of this kind of painting is very rarely done by the artists. “Painting like this is a basic for beginners when learning to paint, and it is a requirement for the artists to learn when they are in campus. They must know how to paint as what I do here. There are things to be recalled and I want to memorize this kind of painting style and enjoy it”, said Donal.

Donal’s impressionist paintings are appealing to many eyes and his artworks have been displayed many times in various international exhibitions, art spaces, and museums in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Belarus, and other countries.

Based on Donal’s view of his creative process as serious and intense, painting on the spot with impasto techniques, we can read this as Donal’s effort to celebrate and give meaning to painting as a way of presenting beauty and peace of mind through the elements of art—especially colors, which all support light. Donal puts painting as mainstream in his creative process. His struggle and his trust in the power of painting is an inseparable part of a human being’s sense of beauty.

See more information about Donal, including his fascinating artworks here.