Abundance

(INA + ENG)

Halo! Selamat datang di artwork terbaruku. Artwork hari ini sedikit berbeda daripada yang biasanya aku buat. Ada unsur biologi lagi, dan aku udah siap untuk ceritain back story nya. Here we go!

Hello! Welcome to another artwork. Today's artwork is different from my usual. There is a little biology again, and I am ready to tell the back story of it. Here we go!

Ide untuk bikin artwork ini sudah ada sejak September 2024 lalu. Sebagai makhluk bivalvia kerang hijau punya cangkang yang sangat cantik saat direntangkan. Menyerupai kupu-kupu. Mereka juga bergeraknya menyerupai kupu-kupu kan ketika di dalam laut? Mengepak-ngepakkan cangkang mereka. Waktu itu aku memutuskan untuk bikin lukisan sederhana dengan warna laut dan menggunakan cangkang kerang hijau sebagai wujud kelimpahan dari laut yang bisa dinikmati di darat. Tentunya kelimpahan ini bisa dinikmati selama laut masih sehat.

The idea to make this artwork has been there since the last September 2024. As a bivalvia creature, green mussels have a pair of stunning shells when spread. They resemble butterflies. They also move like so under the ocean, don't they? Fluttering their shells. At that moment I decided to make a simple painting with colors of the ocean and use green mussel shells to represent the abundance from the sea that becomes a delicacy on the land. Of course the abundance becomes a delicacy as long as the sea is healthy.

my late dad's last artwork

Aku pakai easel atau kuda-kuda lawas yang dulu dipakai mendiang ayahku. Di video terlihat ada karya terakhir ayahku yang belum selesai. Ada banyak kanvas yang belum digunakan di galerinya. Mungkin lebih tepat disebut atelier atau studio ya. Sebagian besar kanvas sudah dilapisi cat dasar tapi belum ada sketsa. Catnya aku kurang yakin, antara cat minyak atau akrilik. Untuk artwork ini aku butuh kanvas kecil, jadi aku pilih kanvas ukuran 30 x 30 cm. Kebetulan kanvas ini juga sudah dilapisi cat dasar oleh ayahku, jadi aku tinggal bikin lukisanku aja. Dan untuk pertama kalinya, aku pakai cat gouache!!!! 💖 Sudah dari lama pingin pakai gouache tapi aku ga pede karena pakai cat air aja masih belum luwes wqwqw.

I used an old easel that my late dad used to work with. In the video you can see his last artwork that has not been finished yet. There were many canvases that have not used yet in his gallery. Perhaps it's more suitable to call it an atelier or a studio. Many of the canvases are already coated with a base paint with no sketch on them. I'm not really sure what the paint is, either oil paint or acrylic. For my artwork I needed a small canvas, so I took one in 30 x 30 cm. This canvas was also coated by my dad, so I just needed to paint my artwork. And for the first time ever, I used gouache!!!! 💖 I had been wanting to paint with gouache but I never had the confidence because I thought I still wasn't flexible enough in using watercolor lol.

Pakai gouache ternyata beda dengan pakai cat air. Aku sudah beberapa kali baca review orang-orang soal ini sih, tapi mengalaminya sendiri tentu berbeda dari baca review. Yang paling kentara itu tekstur cat yang pekat mirip cat akrilik. Bahkan mengaplikasikannya juga mirip akrilik, jadi lebih mulus transisinya kalau ngecat dari warna gelap ke terang. Kurasa aku masih perlu adaptasi dengan gouache tapi sejauh ini aku sudah bisa menandai kapan harus ngapain.

Using gouache is apparently different from using watercolor. I've already read reviews about this, but of course there is a huge difference between experiencing and reading reviews. The most noticeable one is the texture which resembles acrylic. Even the application resembles acrylic, which has a smoother transition when you paint from dark to light. I think I still need to adapt to gouache but so far I can mark when to do what.

Sebelum melukis, beberapa hari sebelumnya aku mencuci dan merendam cangkang kerang hijau dengan air dan sabun cuci piring. Proses ini aku lakukan sampai tiga kali sampai aroma amisnya hilang. Aku pilih sabun cuci piring karena food-grade jadi harapannya ga akan keras terhadap cangkang. Sebetulnya aku pingin mengeluarkan warna iridescent/ warnawarni kalo kata Google Translate, yang ada di bagian dalam cangkang yang menyerupai warna pelangi. Aku merasa belum menemukan hasil optimal tapi mau sampai kapan stuck di progres yang sama? Jadi setelah proses pencucian aku lanjut ke tahap melukis.

Before I start to paint this, a few days prior I washed and soaked the green mussel shells in water and dish soap. I repeated the process three times until the fishy odor dissipated. I used dish soap because it's food-grade so that my intention was it wasn't going too harsh to the shells. I actually want to emit more iridescent colors from the inner side of the shells. I felt I have not found the most optimal result yet but how long should I kept being stuck in the same progress? So after the washing was done I went to the painting process.

Lukisan ini banyak pakai warna biru untuk laut dan kuning untuk pantai. Kerangnya aku rekatkan dengan lem. Aku pilih lem yang ga terlalu cepat kering dan mudah diaplikasikan. Proses melukis relatif singkat sih, cukup aku diamkan satu malam untuk pengeringan catnya. Proses penempelan cangkang kerang juga satu hari. Di luar sedang hujan waktu aku menempelkan cangkang kerang. Vibenya jadi cozy wqwqw. 🌧

This painting mostly used blue for the sea and yellow for the beach. I glued the shells with glue. I chose a glue that isn't too quick to dry and easy to apply. The painting process was relatively short, I only need to let it dry in one night. The gluing process was also done in one day. It was raining outside when I was gluing. Cozy vibe lol. 🌧

Dan inilah lukisan perdanaku dengan gouache: Abundance. Cangkang kerang hijau dan gouache di atas kanvas. Aku puas bisa mewujudkan ide artwork yang sudah terkonsep beberapa bulan sebelumnya. Selamat menikmati artwork ini ya. Jaga laut tetap sehat sehingga kita bisa menikmati kelezatan ini sedikit lebih lama lagi. Sampai jumpa di artwork selanjutnya!

And here is my first painting with gouache: Abundance. Green mussel shells and gouache on canvas. I am satisfied because I have fulfilled my willing to create this idea that has been concepted a few months prior. Keep the sea healthy so that we can savor this delicacy for a little more. See you on the next artwork!