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Painting by numbers: Indonesians find peace on the canvas
Paint by numbers is an old-school hobby. It had its day in the sun, but interest in it gradually declined in the following decades. The pandemic, however, has led to a resurgence, and the 1950s pastime has returned.
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Escape: Painting has been a popular form of escapism during the pandemic. (Unsplash/Courtesy of Alice Dietrich) (Unsplash/Courtesy of Alice Dietrich)
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aint by numbers is an old-school hobby. It had its day in the sun, but interest in it gradually declined in the following decades. The pandemic, however, has led to a resurgence, and the 1950s pastime has returned. Newfound aficionados, even ones not particularly into artsy endeavors, now proudly flaunt their canvas and brush on social media.
For those not in the know, paint by numbers is a painting system where outlines of a painting are already drawn onto the canvas, and each shape is marked by a number that corresponds with a paint color. It is as simple as following the given numbers and matching them with a preselected color palette that comes with the canvas.
Paint by numbers can be found in most children's coloring books. Consequently, some might see it as merely a children's activity by association, but by no means is the activity limited to kids. Adult paint by numbers kits can be far more elaborate and harder to do, and aspiring artists use them to practice their brush techniques.
Although it is only recently that adult paint by numbers kits have seen a revival in interest, this does not mean that Indonesians weren't interested in them before. Before the pandemic, there was already a relatively small but established number of paint-by-number enthusiasts in the country, catered to by enterprises like Bartega Studio.
"Bartega was founded in 2017. We currently employ two to four artists and several freelancers. Excluding the tutors, our team has 15 people," said cofounder Benson Putra, 29, who established the studio with Jazz Pratama and Nadia Daniella. He and the other cofounders have seen some degree of success. They were included on the Forbes 2020 30 Under 30 list.
"Initially, we were B2B [business-to-business]. We decided to make events with a more casual theme for a more social atmosphere because we want people to feel more creative than they think they are."
