Courtesy of Fira Basuki

Good writers never stop writing and learning. Neither does Fira Basuki.

Unlike her previous books, for her 29th book, entitled Catching Star, Fira was inspired by her passion for painting.

Catching Star centers on the story of a singer, named Wangi, who travels the world performing and decides to spend her final days in Indonesia.

When she dies, her two children, Mawar and Jati, find that their mother kept many secrets from them. Following this realization, the rest of the story is about uncovering these secrets.

For Fira, the book, which she completed in three months, is special as its front and back covers features her own paintings.

'€œThe front cover bears a picture of a woman in a very long red robe, representing her life journey,'€ she said.

The book was released together with the opening of an exhibition of the same name that will run until April 16 at Artotel Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

Meanwhile, through the exhibition, Fira said she wanted to show people another passion of hers that she had loved since she had been a child.

'€œI didn'€™t start painting all of a sudden, it has been with me since I was a kid, in line with my writing hobby,'€ Fira, whose full name is Dwifira Maharani Wulandari Basuki, said.

Although she wanted to do both, her mother told her to concentrate on writing before developing her skills as a painter.

'€œI'€™m easily distracted, not focused. So when my mother knew my hobbies, she asked me to prioritize writing over painting, telling me that when I already had a name in it, I could start pursuing my other passion,'€ the 42-year-old said.

Just like writing, painting also came naturally for Fira. She never attended writing or painting courses, but always topped many competitions during her younger years.

Fira is known for bestselling novels such as Jendela-Jendela (Windows), Pintu (Door) and Atap (Roof). In 2013, she released an autobiography, Fira and Hafez, which she wrote after the death of her husband, Hafez Agung Baskoro, who died of an aneurysm.

The autobiography will be adapted into a movie, Cinta Selamanya (Forever Love), and is her second book to be adapted to the big screen after Brownies.

In between her busy schedule as a writer, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine Indonesia, and mother of two, Fira somehow found time to draw in her sketch books.

JP/Novia D. Rulistia

She never took her drawing hobby seriously, until 2011, when she met painter Jeihan Sukmantoro, from whom she learned about painting.

'€œJeihan lives in Bandung, so I went back and forth from Jakarta to study. He always encouraged me to exhibit my works,'€ she said.

'€œAnd I did it.'€

A total of 26 paintings, which she created in the past year, are exhibited at the hotel, and most are dominated by red, white and black.

'€œThe colors came instantly from within me, believing that those colors are me,'€ she said, adding that Jeihan told her that the colors represented her Javanese blood.

Some paintings are related to one another, while others stand independently. She painted a lot of animals, since she loves animals.

Fira said that in her paintings she also demonstrated her love for fashion by putting feathers and materials from her gowns into the paintings.

'€œThe ideas for these paintings came mostly from my dreams, so I couldn'€™t tell you exactly why I painted this or that, because I just painted what was in my head,'€ she said.

Although painting and writing are different mediums of expression, Fira has found similar pleasure in both, saying that she usually goes through the same process while working with the different artistic media.

She said when she wrote and painted she could be drawn into her work, oblivious to her surroundings.

'€œI feel like I'€™m in a trance when I write and paint. I write fast, and I also like to paint fast, usually completing a work in one night,'€ she said.

'€œBut when I'€™m writing, I'€™ve become more romantic with those sweet words, while when I'€™m painting, I feel like I can let my wild side out, being messy with the paints all over my body.'€

Fira will hold several other painting exhibitions in the next few months. However, she said painting would not be her sole focus.

'€œI will keep writing, but now, I will also spread my wings wider by painting.'€