Hello, my name is Luu Chau Minh, a Chinese watercolour artist from Vinh Long. I started watercolour painting since I was a child. It is a family tradition.
Chinese watercolour is one of the oldest painting media in the world. I love painting flowers and nature. Because, where I grew up, our house was in the countryside. Surrounded by beautiful countryside sceneries. I majored in lacquer at the University of Fine Art of Ho Chi Minh. Yet, I spend most of my time painting in watercolour.
What I love about watercolour is the way it bleeds on rice paper. Rice paper is a traditionally made paper. It is used in all Chinese watercolour painting and calligraphy.
Once your brush touches the delicate and super-absorbent paper, the ink bleeds like magic.
Once your brush touches the delicate and super-absorbent paper, the ink bleeds like magic. That also makes it difficult to fix a mistake, but once you love something, you have to love the ugly part too.
I get my inspiration from observing. By studying nature very carefully, plants or animals. If I paint a lotus, I would study the way the lotus grows in nature from blossoming to withering. And it’s a very interesting, and a fun part for me.
In Chinese watercolour, there is an element of white space in every painting. We usually follow a 35/65 or 65/35 ratio between the ink and the white space area. Chinese watercolour is often described as an old medium. Thus, few young artists choose this art.
I’m hoping through my workshops, I could introduce this art to more people in Saigon. I want to show them that Chinese watercolour is a very beautiful art.