For about two years now, the small 20 -square-meter room in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, belonging to 29-year-old Nguyen Dinh Thang has become increasingly cramped. This is because, in addition to composing music and teaching guitar, Thang has developed a new passion: "tapping" paintings.
The small room served as both a resting place and a space for Mr. Thang to create his art.
"I accidentally came across a video on social media where an artist in Switzerland used a hammer to tap on glass, and the cracks formed a picture. That's when my mind started racing, and I became interested in this type of art," Thang said.
Holding two hammers in his hands, the artist introduced them as his special paintbrushes. Initially, he bought many hammers to experiment with. Starting with the original hammer, Mr. Thang further refined the head to create the most suitable and satisfactory striking head.
While typing, he constantly compared his work with the original painting to avoid mistakes. According to Mr. Thang, this type of painting is not yet common in Vietnam, so he faced many difficulties in creating a satisfactory work in the beginning.
"Laminated glass is most suitable for this type of painting. Depending on the requirements of the painting, I choose the appropriate glass thickness. The smaller the painting, the more difficult it is to tap, especially details like the eyes and eyelids… If the tapping force isn't controlled properly, a long crack will ruin the painting," Thang explained.
Mr. Thang often converts the images he needs to draw to black and white to highlight the details on the face, making the typing process easier.
Mr. Thang explained that good hammering technique significantly increases the value of the painting. Although the hammer is used to directly strike the top layer of glass, most of the cracks are formed in the underlying glass layer. Therefore, the surface of the painting is almost perfectly smooth.
Young artists take 2-7 days to complete a piece, with prices ranging from a few million to tens of millions of VND (depending on the artistic quality of the painting). Many of their glass paintings have been exported.
Most of Thang's paintings are portraits.
Portrait of Venerable Thich Minh Tue
Previously, Thang had tried his hand at many different types of painting, such as painting with brushes and splash painting. The artist said that each method of painting has its own unique appeal.
With glass paintings, the minimalist use of black and white requires the artist to be meticulous and careful. Depending on the light shining on the painting, it will have different depths.
"The 'tapping' of paintings is a bit noisy, so I usually do it in the morning or early afternoon. The rest of the time I teach music and compose songs. Although I work continuously, I don't feel tired or stressed; it's simply my passion and hobby," Thang said with a bright smile.
For Thang, painting and music are two endless passions. He can spend the whole day in his room creating art.
Currently, Thang is researching and learning about types of paint that can adhere to glass surfaces. With his creativity and passion for unconventional art, he plans to combine glass painting and painted artwork.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/doc-dao-dung-bua-ve-tranh-tren-kinh-196241003224357882.htm
