Artists paint fine portrait of city

Artists paint fine portrait of city

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Dabbing his paintbrush back and forth, Warso Sugriwo gives a life
of color to a pencil sketch of a couple on a new canvas -- all
the while glancing at his guide, a photograph clipped on the top-
left side of the frame.

The photograph comes from a married couple about to
commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary. They have ordered an
oil painting from the streetside portrait painter, who offers his
craft on the sidewalk of Jl. Melawai Raya, South Jakarta.

"I never went to a formal painting school," the 32-year-old
from Cilacap, Central Java said. "By the time I knew (I could
draw), I was already earning money by painting congratulation
cards for my friends and relatives."

Finishing high school, Warso set off for Yogyakarta -- the
country's capital of the arts -- to try his luck, broadening his
skills by learning from the local artists in the city's popular
tourist street of Jl. Malioboro.

"I spent some four years there, offering portrait paintings
and body tattoos for Rp 15,000 (US$1.6) to passersby, before I
finally decided to take a chance in Jakarta," he said.

In the capital, Warso first painted the city's faces near his
home in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. He then sought better
opportunities by joining the well-known portrait painting
community in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, for two years, before
finally joining Melawai's community of 10 streetside portrait
painters in 1996.

Melawai painters offer their paintings between Rp 250,000
($27.7) and Rp 400,000, depending on the materials of charcoal
pencil, pastel crayons, or oil paint used. Besides Melawai and
Pasar Baru, several portrait painters can also be found along Jl.
Pintu Besar Selatan, near the Kota railway station, in West
Jakarta.

Of the hundreds of portraits he has painted, Warso
particularly remembers that of Indonesian movie star HM Damsyik,
among a list of other celebrities he has worked for.

"He used to come by himself to order his paintings from me,"
Warso proudly said.

Warso says the portrait painters in Melawai have noticed that
their customers, particularly Japanese and Korean tourists, have
been in decline since the May 1998 riots, while the prices of
their materials, which the painters usually buy in the Jatinegara
market in East Jakarta, have been slowly rising.

Yansarudin, Warso's colleague from Yogyakarta, hoped the city
administration would do its best in improving security in the
area and providing the painters with kiosks.

"I'm sure the kiosks would help revive the 'art of tourism' in
the area," he said. "It will also help improve the community's
image, as many customers suspect we are scam artists ready to rip
them off."

Yansarudin was also sure the art of portrait painting would
not be diminished by the recent technological advancements in
photography and printing.

"Portrait painting adds an artistic touch to a photographic
snapshot of a memorable moment," he said, as he made some final
touches to a charcoal painting of an adorable, smiling baby.