Mulyadi W is a painter and illustrator of children’s magazines who is considered one of the masters of Indonesian portraiture. I discovered - and purchased - his work (above) in a gallery in Ubud, Bali in the early 2000s.

Born in 1938 in Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia, Mulyadi graduated from the Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts. He is known in Indonesia and exhibited in Australia, Korea, and Japan but is less broadly known in the West.

There is not much literature that I could find about him from an English-language search, but Mulyadi's artworks focus on tenderness and affection. There is a softness to the textile-like texture and intricate background ornamentation. The faces of his characters are intimate, their gaze turned inward and unguarded.

Mulyadi conveys love in its purest form, where one feels safe and embraced.

In 2014, the National Portrait Gallery of Australia in collaboration with the National Gallery of Indonesia included his painting, Kakak and Adik (Brother and Sister), below, in its “Masters of Indonesian Portraiture” exhibition.

It is interesting to see how Mulyadi’s style has changed at the beginning of the 21st century, as seen in the Happy Family (below).

You can spot Mulyadi’s artworks from the many stages of his long-spanning career at online auction platforms, including Artsy, Artnet, Invaluable, and MutualArt.