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Any concerns or questions, just contact me at any time.
You are welcome to get me online by:
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vietnam_leafpaintings
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leafpaintings@giahoco.com
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The beauty of nature glued on a canvas |
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With a talent for making art
with leaves, one student has
founded an arts company hoping
to popularise the method. Do
Minh Thu reports
by Viet Nam News, Vietnam News
Agency. |
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Le Dac Trung is a third
year student at Ha Noi
Architecture University,
but his passion is
leaves. When not in
school, Trung spends his
time creating elaborate
collages of fallen
leaves, composites of
his forays down Ha Noi’s
city streets and into
the wooded areas of its
surrounding provinces.
Hoping to popularise the
method, Trung and his
friends founded Viet
Leaf-Painting Company on
a small lane on Truong
Chinh Street in Ha Noi
(No. 20, lane 361
Truong Chinh Street)
, home to around 21
painters aged 20-28. |
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Artistic hunts
On his hunts,
Trung looks for
a variety of
shapes and
colours in his
leaves and takes
care to make
sure they are
not damaged in
transit. Even
so, he says
there are only
two suitable
kinds to be
found in Ha Noi.
The rest must be
gathered in
neighbouring
provinces.
All leaves
subsequently
undergo a
treatment
process where
they are boiled
for a week or
more.
"During the
process, I
realise that
leaves can
change colours
depending on
boiling time,
and some may
contain
different
colours,"
Trung says.
"That makes the
work freer, as
the colours in
art have nearly
infinite
combinations."
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Leafing
through images:
At the Viet Leaf
Painting
Company,
collages of
people and
townscapes are
all made from
leaves.
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The picture
takes form with
nothing more
than a pencil
sketch, and only
then are the
colours
selected. The
most important
step, according
to Trung, comes
next in the
grafting of
thousands of
leaf-pieces to
the sketch.
Leaves are cut
into tiny
sections for a
more harmonious
colour blend.
Artists must
exercise extreme
patience and
precision when
pasting the
leaves, as the
glue used in
process is
heated with an
electric
current, which
Trung says can
easily lead to a
shock.
Sometimes leaves
are even dyed
and ironed to
enhance colour
or flatten
texture.
"It takes
three
uninterrupted
days of work to
complete the
simplest of
pieces,"
says Trung.
"More
complicated work
takes me several
months to
finish."
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Art in the
making:
Young artists
from the Viet
Leaf Painting
Company glue
different pieces
of leaves to
make colourful
collages. — VNS
Photos Doan Tung
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Once complete, the piece is
covered with a protective
coating to prevent moisture and
dirt from ruining it.
"The
work can be stored for over 30
years, for certain,"
says Nguyen Nhu Vuong, who is in
charge of business at Viet
Leaf-Painting Company.
"The collages attract many
foreigners, and we sell each one
for US$30 or more."
Trung says the mood of the
pieces is usually cheerful and
that subject matter focuses
around landscapes, people and
images of Buddha
Sharing
a vision
Viet Leaf-Painting Company’s
more novice artists use only
leaves in their collages, but
for independent veteran artist
Ta Ngoc Hai, the options are
limitless, and he’s had more
than a few years to develop a
collection.
He uses many materials in
addition to leaves, some of
which include corn silk, onion
skins, insect cocoons and flower
petals. Over time, he has
created nearly 300 leaf
collages.
Hai was born in 1944, grew up in
Ha Noi, and in 1962, joined the
resistance. While on leave from
the front in 1965, he was
walking down Ha Noi’s streets
when he was struck by the beauty
of a Malabar almond tree in
autumn.
"I was stunned by the complexity
of colour on that almond tree,"
he says. "I wanted to preserve
its natural beauty for all
eternity."
Then he began creating his own
images, starting with a
depiction of Ha Long Bay, made
only of dried banana leaves.
The process begins with drying
the leaves and gluing them to a
board. Once set, he covers the
picture with glass, to preserve
the dried leaves’ colours. Hai
emphasises that he never uses
chemicals or dyes. And he’s
proud to say his first work is
still in fine condition.
But for Hai, art is more than a
process or a passion; it’s a
philosophy. "Leaves start as
buds, grow up, then fall down,
repeating the circle of life and
death," says Hai. "But death
isn’t the end. Nature is there
to make sure that when one leaf
falls, another bud appears."
"No one can mix the colours as
beautifully as nature," he says.
"My leaf collages are like love
letters to the natural world. I
respect each leaf’s inherent
state and never attempt to alter
its natural beauty."
Hai’s pictures are warm and
subtle and he never names them,
preferring instead for viewers
to form their own impressions.
"I’m happy when people come to
look over my work and take an
interest and connect with the
familiar leaves I use," he says.
As no two leaves are exactly
alike, Hai feels he has an
endless palette with which to
work. "They are everywhere. They
make me think, look and remember
to be sensitive. Any time I find
a new colour in nature, it opens
a new wonderful world before
me."
Now, either online or through
the Viet-Painting Leaf Company,
a whole new world of leaves is
open to everyone. — VNS
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