When pho, broken rice, vermicelli with tofu and shrimp paste... become fairies.

A fairy wearing an ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress) and a headpiece, carrying a plate of rice with pork ribs, pork skin, and meatballs, has netizens drooling - Photo: Provided.

The series of illustrations, inspired by Vietnamese food, was created by Nguyen Hoang Son (born in 1995, currently a freelance artist in Ho Chi Minh City).

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Son said he had long wanted to explore and use Vietnamese food as inspiration for his creative work because it is very familiar and easy to find information about…

"It wasn't until recently, when I had a job designing characters based on food, that I suddenly remembered that Vietnamese dishes hadn't been recreated by anyone yet, so I wanted to give it a try," he said.

On average, it takes Son 2-3 weeks to paint a picture. He says he doesn't use any special techniques, just tries to depict the food accurately. Regarding the costumes, he usually chooses colors based largely on his feelings. Each subsequent dish will use a different color palette than the previous ones.

A visually appealing platter of vermicelli with tofu and shrimp paste served in a traditional conical hat - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

For example, the "fairy" pho has a light, soft feel and a cool green tone. Meanwhile, the "fairy" broken rice dish is beautifully shaped and features added details to help people easily relate to it.

The painting of broken rice was the most challenging for him to paint. The artist wanted to depict the attire representing Southern Vietnamese broken rice, but the traditional Vietnamese blouse (áo bà ba) and conical hat (nón lá) had been painted before and didn't seem suitable to represent broken rice.

"I thought about it a lot and decided to use the traditional Vietnamese dress (áo dài). I also had the character wear a headpiece that resembled a plate of rice. Drawing the grains of rice wasn't too difficult. I took the time to draw each leaf. I think the hardest part was creating a delicious, visually appealing effect so that viewers would feel hungry when they looked at the painting," he said.

The artist behind this unique series of paintings - Photo: Provided by the artist.

The more I draw Vietnamese food, the more I crave it.

Son revealed that when he first started drawing food, the process of finding reference images made him very hungry. Sometimes he had to force himself to wait until the weekend to go out to eat.

When painting pho, the artist decided to buy pho as inspiration and then eat it. After eating, he forgot something, so he had to buy another bowl to eat the next day to get more ideas. Pho is also his favorite painting, because it was painted naturally and comfortably. The process hardly required much thought.

The lovely pho fairy is depicted very naturally by the artist - Photo: Provided by the artist.

According to him, to create a vivid picture of food, the artist needs to first evoke a feeling of craving, then add "dynamic" elements like "flying" vegetables and onions to make the picture more lively.

His secret is to always stick to the theme, to what he wants, and then emphasize and develop it further. For example, when drawing broken rice, he only needs to associate it with the headpiece and the outfit so that it matches, instead of drawing each part differently and trying to force everything to connect.

"When things happen naturally, it's more pleasing to the eye, and it's easier to recognize the food and the characters," Sơn said.

Vietnamese bread is featured in the paintings of a 9X generation artist - Photo: Provided by the artist.

When he posted the photo series on social media, netizens not only praised the unique paintings but also provided additional information on how to enjoy food in different regions. For example, pho in Hanoi doesn't have bean sprouts, while in other places, bun dau is eaten with fish sauce... which broadened his horizons.

Chili peppers singing rock music - Photo: Provided by the subject

Many people even "challenged" the artist to draw famous dishes from other places. "I really love Vietnamese cuisine . Wherever I go, I always miss the warm and familiar meals at home. I plan to draw Hue beef noodle soup because I'm a big fan of this dish," he said.

Son doesn't intend to paint all Vietnamese dishes, but he will try to paint as many as possible. He is also developing ideas for a series of paintings that personify Vietnamese architecture and landmarks, and to explore more culinary inspiration from other countries around the world .

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khi-pho-com-tam-bun-dau-mam-tom-tro-thanh-nhung-nang-tien-20240703162920734.htm