The meeting of two painter friends

HNN - I once promised painter Nguyen Van Tuyen that I would pay an unscheduled visit to his old friend, painter Tran Van Mang. They lived on the same bank of the Huong River, though one lived at the head of the river and the other at the end. Painter Nguyen Van Tuyen had a small house in Huong Ho area (now Long Ho ward, Phu Xuan district).

Artist Friends

The winding silk river flows down to the capital and then down to Bao Vinh ancient town. When reaching Dia Linh village, a stream overflows and reflects the image. Painter Tran Van Mang lives here. This year, he is over 80 years old. Painter Mang was happy to see us driving up to Huong Ho to fulfill our promise to go down to Bao Vinh ancient town. For more than ten years, he missed his friend but could not come back to visit. He happily said:

- I still draw every day. When I open my eyes and see the river, I want to draw, and each time I draw, the colors are different. The mountains, rivers, land and sky here are an endless source of inspiration. Nowadays, many collectors and museums come to see and choose my paintings.

He has a new line of paintings with fresh colors. The colors of sunshine, of mist, of present and emotional nostalgia. The gloom of Hue rains, the old streets also awaken in color like the warm, passionate summer that is coming.

The meeting of two painters (in the middle) who decided to "paint until they had no more strength to mix colors"

The car went down the Huong River, the afternoon sun was gentle. The car passed Bao Vinh ancient town. The ferry crossing Tien Non was deserted in the afternoon. Dia Linh is a charming village on the banks of the Huong River. The artist Tran Van Mang and his wife have a lovely house in an alley just a few dozen steps from the river wharf. The gravel path and the garden are planted with many flowers, with both installations and statues displayed very impressively.

The two artists happily hugged each other after a tight handshake. They still talked about old and new things like two schoolboys, even though their hair was gray and they often had to use hand signals because they could no longer hear clearly.

Artist Tran Van Mang was once famous for his 50m long canvas painting in Hue Festival 2006. He continues to work on the sequel to Cho Que with the intention of creating a painting more than 400m long that can span Truong Tien Bridge.

- We are getting old. But it's okay, just hold the brush and stand in front of the canvas and paint. Hue is a beautiful land that brings us endless inspiration.

The stories of the past brought them back to the cheerful smiles of the romantics of the past. They mentioned Buu Chi, Hoang Dang Nhuan, Dang Mau Tuu... friends who had painted the same picture together, had late night drinks listening to the sound of the waves of the Huong River lapping against the boat. Some were still alive, some were gone, but their painting stories were still told in the hearts of the viewers.

- We used to study and paint together. At that time, selling a painting was not enough to buy ten kilos of rice to feed our children. Where did we get the money to buy canvas, paint and brushes? We must thank our wives for taking good care of us and loving our husbands so that we can paint until today.

Painter Tran Van Mang lifted the teacup from his wife's hand:

- The Hue painting market is slow. But we paint because we are passionate and in love. Hue is so beautiful. We will paint until the color of Hue is gone! Sometimes, standing in front of the canvas, my emotions lead me to fidget as if I have to be very fast and precise to put what I want into the painting in time.

He showed off hundreds of abstract paintings that were professionally preserved in wooden crates. We looked at the paintings he hung throughout the hallway, stairs, and living room. The old and new streets appeared with impressive or abstract brushwork, all of which were a flow of emotions.

In front of the painter Mang’s house there is a trellis of strange flowers with pale yellow flowers, very fragrant. I was touched when painter Nguyen Van Tuyen wanted us to have a souvenir photo together because “who knows what will happen tomorrow, it will be difficult to meet each other”.

Afternoon has come to the river. Saying goodbye, the two old friends still insisted, “We will paint until we have no more strength to mix colors!”

White Leaf

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/cuoc-gap-cua-doi-ban-hoa-si-154394.html