"I have visited many mountainous regions ... but nothing attracts me like Sa Pa"

VietNamNet Bridge – The dreamlike and charming Sa Pa is wonderfully represented in an exhibition entitled Thien Duong Sa Pa (Sa Pa Paradise) by painter To Ngoc Thanh.

Ethnic women on the way to the market in Sa Pa. Oil and canvas by To Ngoc Thanh.

With 46 works of art selected from 500 painted in the course of five years, Thanh’s collection seems to be divided into two parts: a collection of Sa Pa’s landscape with Mua Xuan (Spring), Phong Canh (Landscape) and Cat Cat (name of one village in Sa Pa) and a collection of the area’s ethnic people featuring images of markets, traditional handicrafts and portraits of local girls.

In his landscape’s paintings, Thanh has used a lot of indigo-blue and green to portray the mountains and forests in Sa Pa.

"I have been strangely attracted to the wild and mountainous Sa Pa," said Thanh. "I have been going to Sa Pa to create works since 2003 in all its four seasons to feel its beauty. Moreover, since childhood, I have been inspired by and followed my father, the late painter To Ngoc Van to Sa Pa, which impressed me then."

While paintings like Ban Ho (Ho Village), Duong Vao Ban Ta Phin (The Way to Ta Phin Village) are predominantly green in colour, in paintings like Mua Xuan and Phong Canh the artist has used an interesting palette of white mixed with pink from peaches, plums and apricots. The 68-year-old painter is clearly inspired by all things associated with spring, especially as the season approaches.

"I have visited many mountainous regions such as Cao Bang and Tam Dao but nothing attracts me like Sa Pa," Thanh shared. "I don’t like crowded tourist areas; I prefer the fanciful and neglected sights in Sa Pa, so I painted Nha Tho Da Trong Suong, (Stone Church in Fog)."

Cho tinh (love market) and cho phien (kermis) are images typical of the picturesque Sa Pa. Thanh captures the beauty of the crowded markets in colourful paintings like Cho Phien and Nguoi Mong Nho Tuoi Xuong Cho (Mong Children Heading to the Market).

"Mong ethnic women wear the most beautiful dresses. It’s a clever way of selling their wares as buyers are attracted by the unique brocades they wear" Thanh said when introducing his works. "I love Mong children following their mothers to the market."

Thanh used various materials in his collection, like acrylics, oil, lacquer and watercolours. During his trips to Sa Pa, the old painter faced many challenges given that painting in this mountainous region is not easy. "I came to Sa Pa by train, car and even xe om (motorbike taxi) but it was only when I walked and climbed that I was able to absorb nature’s true beauty," said Thanh. "But as Picasso said, I just paint what I love; I paint when stirred."

Visitors attending the exhibition were also moved by the artist’s work. Hoang Oanh, who bought a painting as a gift for her foreign friend, said: "Through his canvas, Thanh has captured Sa Pa’s natural beauty. These paintings are also a good vehicle to promote Sa Pa to foreign tourists."

The painter, who has won many prizes at home and abroad, has also had his work exhibited at fine art collections in Japan, Norway, US, France and Sweden. He hopes that everyone will derive some pleasure from this collection.

The exhibition is open until next Monday at Viet Nam Fine Arts Association, 16 Ngo Quyen Street, Hanoi.

(Source: Viet Nam News)