Thao’s oil painting, Binh Yen (Peaceful).

The melodious sounds of a guitar resonate throughout the spacious house of painter Pham Viet Hong Lam. The house is nestled in an alley down Giap Nhat Street, 9km from Ha Noi’s centre. Everyday when Lam begins to paint, he turns on CDs to listen to the melodies that bring the colourful images of the peaceful villages in northern Viet Nam to his mind. Gradually, the countryside landscapes in his mind appear on the canvas with the work of his skilful hand.

Family’s tradition

Lam loved paintings since his childhood and learned to paint at a young age from his father, Pham Viet Song, who was also a well-known painter and art teacher in the country.

Song graduated from the Indochina Fine Arts College in 1939, and spent his 50-year career training new generations. He died four years ago but left a legacy with his students, his paintings and a textbook on the art.

Despite his interest in painting and his father’s influence, Lam did not continue to follow his passion as a young man. Saddened by the war ravaging his country, Lam left high school to fight in the American war.

Along with the clothes he packed in his luggage to the front, he brought tubes of paint and brushes. His unit was based in Thua Thien Hue city Province where he became a truck mechanic. Bombs and bullets couldn’t prevent the young man from painting.

When he could he painted, especially battlefield scenes. He refused the suggestion of the commander that he should transfer positions to be in the unit’s group of painters.

“I wanted to stay with the job that would allow me to contribute more to the country’s struggle in the war,” Lam said.

The war raged on. But one morning in 1970, everything changed for Lam. He was repairing a truck when a B52 bomber bombarded his unit. He lost consciousness after being buried by the debris. When he came to, he was in intense pain and found he was being treated at a relief centre for injured soldiers. He had suffered a serious brain injury that left him mostly deaf in both ears, and which made him no longer fit for the battlefield.

He had been injured twice previously and both times was recommended he go home. But he refused. This time the injury was severe enough that he couldn’t avoid being sent home.

Ta Phuong Thao’s oil painting, Phien Cho Cuoi Nam (Market day At the End of the Year).

“All I felt at that time was lot of pain and regret. I decided I wanted to learn how to draw at that moment.”

In those dark times, it was art that Lam turned his thoughts to.

After returning home in 1971, he applied and was accepted to start his studies at the Ha Noi Fine Arts College. Being a deaf student was challenging, and he was fortunate when he finally got a hearing aid about three years after being injured.

Despite the challenges, Lam graduated after five years of studies in 1976, and went on to become a teacher at the National University of Art Education. He continues painting in addition to his teaching.

Green artist

Starting in 1987, Lam was featured as part of several exhibitions in Viet Nam and in Prague, Berlin, Sofia, Moscow and Singapore. Among other prizes, he won the Silver Medal in 1985 and the Bronze Medal in 1990 at the National Fine Arts Exhibition.

Singapore press once called him a “green artist” for his endless inspiration from nature.

Born in the province of Nam Dinh, Lam has always been drawn to the beauty of the rural landscapes of northern Viet Nam.

Even though he has lived through really hard times and challenges, Lam seems to have maintained an optimistic outlook on the world. This is evidenced by the beauty and peace portrayed in his works.

Lively and colourful landscapes of rural Viet Nam during all four seasons and every time of day have been central to the artist’s paintings. He chooses not to highlight the poverty and desolation of rural life and instead plays with colours to create vibrant and lively scenes.

Pham Viet Hong Lam starts painting early everyday.

In Chieu Que (Countryside Afternoon), Lam recreates a village pond with the residents going about their daily lives beside it. Browns are mixed in with the red of the sunset, the yellow of straw piles, and girls washing clothes by the pond.

“In my paintings, landscapes of rural Viet Nam are, for me, something that I can rely on to express my feelings,” Lam said.

While his main source of inspiration is the countryside landscape, his painting also features the war. He does not focus on the blood and violence, but only the peaceful moments in the lives of the soldiers he chooses to portray. Through his works, the public can, for example, take part in the wedding of two soldiers or share in the emotional reunion between a soldier and his mother.

For many years, Lam only used gouache (water-colours mixed with gum) in his paintings, which became his trademark. This was not just a stylistic choice; the young artist didn’t have much money to use oil and lacquer for his creations and needed to choose the cheaper materials. However, because of his skill and the way he has used gouache, it has become a more popular material among painters. In recent years, he branched out and created many silk and lacquer paintings, as well.

Recently, Lam has taken to portray features that were continuous throughout ancient rural life, highlighting in his works the 4000 year-long culture of the country through the daily life of its inhabitants with folk games such as cock and buffalo fighting or the image of the stork.

“His paintings have become attractive thanks to his creative style, in combination with the fine drawing lines and strong emotion. I appreciate many of his works including Tu Trong Nha Ra Ngoai San (From the House to the Yard) and Binh Yen (Peaceful),” said Bang Lam, vice president of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association.

Life reason

Lam’s watercolour painting, Summer Afternoon.

Lam credits painting with saving his life once.

In 1987, when he was 40 years old, he learned he had cancer of the upper jaw.

“The news pained me, because it was at a time when I felt healthy and was filled with the most inspiration,” he said.

“I was afraid to die and of not being able to paint anymore.”

Besides using medication to treat his disease, he believed painting was the most important way to preserve his life spirit and helped keep him alive.

“My only aspiration at that time was to paint.”

In the eyes of this artist, who was racked by constant pain for several years, the images of life were still expressed in sunshine and colour. He painted non-stop, trying to release the intense emotions running through him. The paintings continued to be full of vibrant life with the joyful colours of sunshine peeking through the branches of trees, clumps of flowers, straw piles and ponds in villages. His heart stayed open to welcome the animated sounds from a countryside market, or to the bloom of the hibiscus flower.

Twenty years after his recovery from the disease, he maintains his habit of painting daily from 8am.

Pham Viet Minh Tri continues a family tradition by painting landcapes, flowers and portraits.

“We are still attached to our jobs as teachers. We love young people and we wish to continue to train many other artists,” Ta Phuong Thao, Lam’s wife, said.

Thao has also been a successful artist, focusing on painting women and still life. Her paintings have been collected by the prestigious Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum, and in many countries such as France, USA, Japan, Canada and Australia.

Lam’s son, Pham Viet Minh Tri, now 32 years old, has also become a painter and teacher at the National University of Art Education to continue the family tradition. He specialises in oil paintings and focuses on drawing flowers, landscapes and women’s portraits.

His first solo exhibition was held in Ha Noi in 2005, five years after his graduation.

In May last year an exhibition displaying Tri and his parent’s works of art was organised in Ha Noi to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday.

“We have had three generations follow a career of painting and teaching. My father and my wife’s father, Ta Thuc Binh, were also great painters and teachers, who trained many generations of talented artists.” Lam said, his eyes expressing joy at this statistic.

For him and his family, to be able to paint and to hand down the paintings skills to others is true happiness.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News