"Realistic" shrimp paintings by Vietnamese artist

The author is originally from Sai Son commune, Quoc Oai district, old Ha Tay (now Hanoi). He said: "People from my hometown are colloquially called Sai Tep people, because they specialize in fishing and catching shrimp. Since I was a child, I often went out with my friends, and soon developed a hobby of observing and remembering images of animals, especially those underwater. When I entered the profession, I thought that these creatures were very beautiful but few people drew them, so I focused on creating."

The painting "Five Palaces"

Nguyen Loc memorized the images of shrimp, crab, fish, and frogs, and could draw them from his imagination without a model. At home, he also kept a fish tank for further observation. It took him about a week to complete the Ngu Cung painting of five shrimps. When some friends posted Nguyen Loc's page on social media, many commented that each detail he described was realistic, evoking childhood memories in the countryside of the North.

In addition to animal paintings, Nguyen Loc paints many themes such as portraits, landscapes, and still life. However, he said his animal paintings are "the easiest to sell". "About seven or eight years ago, I started selling my works. Many of them, I left to dealers for about 20-30 million VND. However, they can sell them to buyers for more".

Painter Nguyen Loc currently lives in Thai Nguyen.

Previously, Nguyen Loc often painted watercolors on silk. However, he realized that traditional silk paintings were easily damaged and moldy due to the structural characteristics of natural ingredients. The artist created a way to paint with diluted acrylic paint. The compounds in acrylic paint help silk paintings to be less moldy and damaged. The disadvantage of this material is that it dries quickly and is more difficult to repair and clean than watercolors.

A 65x85cm painting by Nguyen Loc, untitled

Writer Suong Nguyet Minh commented that Nguyen Loc's shrimp paintings are "strangely vivid", making viewers want to lightly touch the shell and whiskers, and confirm whether they are real shrimp or painted shrimp.

Dr. Nguyen Phuong - Lecturer at Hanoi National University of Education (currently working as a cultural research expert at Busan University of Foreign Studies - Korea) commented that Nguyen Loc has a keen observation when drawing animals. According to the doctor, many people who see Nguyen Loc's shrimp paintings immediately compare them with Qi Baishi - a famous Chinese painter, but the two are different in terms of schools. Qi Baishi paints in the classical ink-wash style, while Nguyen Loc paints in the hyper-realistic style of modernism.

Nguyen Loc was born in 1969 and currently lives in Thai Nguyen. He has been passionate about drawing since he was a child and graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts. The artist said that before selling his paintings, he did many jobs such as opening an advertising shop, painting murals at restaurants and kindergartens. Currently, in addition to composing, he is a lecturer at the Viet Bac College of Culture and Arts.

According to VnExpress