VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: Painting is a beautiful medium of expression of deep human imagination and creativity. For artists, the process of creating art is a challenging but fulfilling journey. Behind every beautiful painting are secrets and tips that help each artist create the magic of their artwork. According to the Ministry of Education and Culture's Vocational website, here are five ways to produce beautiful paintings by Eko Haryono, a Fine Arts teacher at Bantul Fine Arts High School, Yogyakarta.

Firstly, find inspiration. This inspiration can come from anywhere, from nature, music, emotions, or personal experiences. The beauty around you can influence the artwork you are creating. It is therefore important to keep notes, take photos, or sketches to record the ideas that arise.

Secondly, choose an appropriate medium. There are various mediums to choose from such as oil paints, watercolours, acrylics and pastels. The use of the medium reflects the painter's style and preferences. Each medium has its own unique characteristics such as texture, drying time, and application method that can affect the final result of the painting.

Thirdly, explore techniques and styles. Don't be afraid to experiment with different painting techniques and styles. A number of techniques can be tried such as impasto, glazing, or wet on wet. Besides techniques, it is also important to explore different painting styles such as realism, impressionism, or abstract. This exploration can help the artist find what best suits his or her creative expression.

Fourthly, learn the basics of colour composition. Composition is the key to creating visually appealing paintings. Learn about the basic rules of composition such as the rule of thirds, balance, and rhythm. Understand how to utilise negative and positive space in a work. By understanding the basics of composition, painters can direct the viewer's eye to the desired focal point and create a strong visual impression.

Fifthly, be consistent in your practice. As with many things in life, the skill of creating beautiful paintings requires practice and patience. Make time to paint regularly and don't be too hard on yourself if the results are not satisfactory. Every painting is a lesson and the more one practices, the more the painting skills will be honed.

These are five tips to create beautiful paintings. Painting is a liberating and fulfilling process where one can express oneself through shapes and colours. So don't hesitate to pick up a brush, open a colour palette, and start expressing the world through the medium of painting.

VOInews, Jakarta: Climate change and air pollution are serious challenges to environmental sustainability. One contributor to air pollution is motorised vehicles. These vehicles are the mode of transport used for mobility by most Indonesians. Its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution is significant. SMK Teknologi Balung Jember offers a solution through the development of a water-fuelled motorbike.

Quoting the Vokasi Kemdikbud website, SMK Teknologi Balung has made a bold move by creating a water-fuelled motorbike. The concept is simple yet revolutionary by replacing conventional fuels with water as an energy source. "To make this innovation, the students utilised unused second-hand goods. This water-fuelled motorbike is a development of the LPG gas-fuelled motorbike that has been done before,’ wrote Kemdikbud.

Motorcycle Engineering teacher at SMK Teknologi Balung, Danang Wahyudi Hidayat, said that the students used used materials to assemble the motorcycle, such as pieces of paralon pipes that function as water storage generator tubes, aluminium used antennas, used bottles, cables, stenlis, and batteries.

Danang explained that water mixed with caustic soda is put into the generator tube. Then, 12-volt electricity is applied until it boils and produces steam and then filtered with water. From the steam, the carburettor components can be driven. Not all water can be used for the modification. Only water that has a low acid content can be applied. From temporary trials, the motorbike can travel up to a speed of 40 kilometres per hour to increase battery power. Half a litre of water that serves as fuel can last up to eight hours.

"The development of this student-made water-fuelled motorbike took about two months, from research to modification. The assembly cost is no more than Rp400,000. So far, the water-fuelled motorbike technology has only been applied to four-stroke motorbikes,’ said Danang.

The head of SMK Teknologi Balung, Abu Hasan, said that this product will continue to be refined as a renewable energy product. Hasan hopes that this product can be patented. "If this is successfully perfected, we no longer need to worry about running out of fuel oil because we already have alternative energy. With the right support, technology can be the main driver towards a more sustainable and green future,’ said Hasan.

VOInews, Jakarta: Argentina's image cannot be separated from its success in football. Throughout history, the Argentine national team has collected 22 gold medals, starting from the World Cup, Panamerican, Confederation Cup to the Copa America. Sulaiman Syarif, Indonesian Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, shared four interesting facts about football in Argentina.

Firstly, the Argentine people who are fanatical about football are the club's capital to grow. "I have watched the BOCA Junior twice at the Bombonera Stadium here. I saw with my own eyes how firstly, grandparents, grandchildren, all watched (football match). Some brought babies, some brought children, how in one family for generations they are very fanatic about the football club, so we can say that fanaticism is very, very strong, and it is also an asset to support the club. Because they are already fanatics in one club, so they become members, there are dues and various kinds,’ said Ambassador Sulaiman Syarif.

Secondly, football facilities, especially the existence of stadiums in Argentina are very abundant. "Argentina is also one of the countries with the most stadiums.
I think in Buenos Aires there are very many football stadiums everywhere,’ Ambassador Sulaiman Syarif continued. It is known, there are at least 25 stadiums in Buenos Aires and 76 stadiums with various levels of capacity throughout Argentina.

Thirdly, Argentina has a series of football legends who are an inspiration for young seeds who are actively playing football from various corners of the country. ‘They (football players) are very supported by their people, from the community, the interest in football is very high so that the young seeds I can see for myself in the provinces that people like to play football to achieve their goal of becoming Maradona, becoming Messi, becoming Mario Kempes,’ said Sulaiman Syarif.

Fourthly, not many people know that one of the Argentine football legends Mario Kempes palyed and even became a coach at the Pelita Jaya club. ‘Mario Kempes has played in Indonesia, and has been the coach of one of our teams, Pelita (Pelita Jaya, ed.) if I'm not mistaken, and many people here don't know, so I also convey how Argentina's contribution is quite large in Indonesia and we hope that in the future this can still be the case,’ hoped Ambassador Sulaiman Syarif.

VOInews, Jakarta: The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Buenos Aires seeks to reduce the Indonesia-Argentina trade deficit through diversification of Indonesian exports to Argentina. This was conveyed by Sulaiman Syarif, Indonesian Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in an interview with the Ranah Diplomasi programme aired on Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday (11/6/2024). ‘We are currently trying to reduce the trade deficit by diversifying the entry of export opportunities from Indonesia into the Argentine market,’ Ambassador Sulaiman Syarif said.

It is known that the trade volume between Indonesia and Argentina reached USD 2.57 billion. The surplus on the Argentine side amounted to USD 1.6 billion. Indonesia is the second largest export destination from Argentina to Asia after China, while Argentina is the second largest importer of Indonesian products in South America after Brazil. (OEC 2022 data). This, according to Sulaiman Syarif, illustrates Argentina's position as a world food producer and Indonesia's domestic food needs. "Argentina is a country rich in natural resources and rich in agricultural products. People always say Argentina would provide the food to the world. Argentina is the largest producer of wheat and corn in the world. So indeed they export a lot, including to Indonesia. On the other hand, for Indonesia, it is a necessity that we need agricultural products related to food security,’ said the Indonesian diplomat who graduated from the University of North Sumatra.

Ambassador Sulaiman Syarif identified opportunities for a number of Indonesian commodities in the Argentine market. "We see the market for furniture products, it has great potential here, we have met in the last 6 months with our economic working team, working on approximately 10 importers who annually import 50 to 60 containers, we will continue to work on this, this is one of the opportunities," Ambassador Sulaiman explained.

In addition to furniture products, Indonesian products that are very potential in the Argentine market include palm oil, rubber products and fertilisers. "Palm oil is also one of the opportunities from sustainable palm oil, we are also working on this.
In addition, Indonesian exports to Argentina include rubber products, footwear, spare parts, and electronic devices, as well as fertilisers," Ambassador Sulaiman Syarif told Voice of Indonesia.