ClockFriday, 11/08/2017 15:39

Mirror paintings turned into unique souvenirs

TTH.VN - With the passion and desire to restore the traditional mirror paintings of Hue, young artist Duong Van Kinh has explored the techniques of mirror painting and created unique decorative mirror paintings.

Visitors are choosing their favorite mirror paintings

“Mirror painting is in the second group (producing decorative materials) among 6 groups of craft villages. As I am working at the Culture and Information Office of Hue city, the permanent office of Hue Traditional Craft Festival Organizing Committee, I have learned about mirror paintings with the initial intention to look for some mirror painting products to be introduced in Hue Traditional Craft Festival. I went to many places but there were no mirror painting artisans in Hue. Actually, this traditional craft has gradually been declining. Thus, since 2013, I have cherished the idea to do something to restore this unique style of painting,” artist Duong Van Kinh said.

It was a long process from the idea to its realization since almost none of mirror painting artisans continued with the craft, and mirror painting techniques were lost also. “I went to find them in Kim Long, Bao Vinh ancient town, Gia Hoi,… but there were no artisans making mirror paintings. In the past, the materials used for mirror paintings had been color powder mixed with glue, the paint layer had been drawn or inlaid with nacre on the back of the mirror in the technique of negative drawing so that the positive image can be viewed from the front. Negative drawing or reverse drawing requires the end to be drawn first. This is a difficult technique that not everyone can do,” artist Duong Van Kinh added.

After two years of learning about mirror painting techniques, artist Duong Van Kinh has been now able to create decorative mirror paintings with the themes of landscapes, folk paintings of Sinh village, Dong Ho paintings and Hue lotus. They are aimed to promote tourism and create a new kind of souvenir for visitors to Hue.The main difference in Duong Van Kinh’s mirror paintings is the usage of French specialized colors for mirror paintings, this kind of colors allows the two sides of the painting to be seen almost as the same, not just one side as the previous mirror paintings.

At the International Trade Fair of Hue Festival 2016, the unique mirror paintings of artist Duong Van Kinh attracted many visitors and Hue citizens.

“In the near future, I will focus on the type of small sized decorative mirror paintings of Hue’s monuments and landscapes. Then, I intend to learn more about mirror painting techniques to create unique portrait mirror paintings. Hopefully, mirror paintings are welcome and become the interesting souvenirs for visitors to Hue. I also hope these products will be the starting point to arouse the interest in the traditional paintings of families who used to work in this craft before. Accordingly, Hue traditional mirror painting craft will be restored," artist Duong Van Kinh shared.

Story and photo: Ngoc Ha

RATING
Be the first to review this post!
  Comment

YOU MAY CARE ABOUT

Unique dragon and phoenix wedding gate

Only with familiar flowers, leaves, and fruits, has Phan Van Dong, a talented guy in Vy Da Ward, Hue City, created the painstaking eye-catching dragon and phoenix wedding gates.

Unique dragon and phoenix wedding gate
Decor from old items

Life is getting more and more modern and bustling; many people tend to collect old and unique items to decorate their housing, and since then the decor trend has found its way into life.

Decor from old items
Unique mausoleum architecture

After having gone through 13 king reigns, the Nguyen Dynasty left to Hue heritage a huge volume of mausoleums and royal tombs, many of which bring unique historical, architectural, and cultural values such as Gia Long, Minh Mang, Tu Duc, and Khai Dinh royal tombs, etc. This is one of the factors helping Hue to be always attractive to tourists.

Unique mausoleum architecture
Unique costume of the Nguyen dynasty

Watching the exhibition “Costume of the Nguyen Dynasty” at Le Ba Dang Art Center belonging to Hue Museum of Fine Arts, the public will have an overview about the costumes for different ranks in the Nguyen dynasty. It also reveals the hierarchy and uniqueness of the fine art in the Nguyen’s era.

Unique costume of the Nguyen dynasty
Return to top