Works displayed include oil and acrylic paintings in realistic and romantic style, featuring the natural scenery and daily activities of ethnic minorities in many northern border provinces. Prominent among them are pictures entitled ‘Mua Hoa So’ (Camellia blooming season), ‘Nang Am’ (Warm sunshine), and ‘Bat Com Mua Moi’ (New rice season).

Painter Do Quyen Hoa, whose real name is Phan Thi Hoa, was born in 1967 in Thanh Hoa province. She is currently living and working in Hanoi. Having a deep passion for the land and people of the Northwest and Northeast regions, Hoa has produced thousands of paintings on the theme.

Hoa started practising painting quite later than her colleagues, after having gained certain success in photography and fashion design. Within only two years of working with brushes, Hoa created nearly 40 works which have received many compliments and encouragement from experts.

Despite being a newbie in the circle of arts, the female artist is not afraid to challenge herself with difficult drawing techniques and different colour schemes. In Do Quyen Hoa’s paintings, people live in harmony with nature. Small roads, cosy houses, and rice fields are bursting with strong and beautiful vitality.

Hoa shared that she has travelled to the mountainous areas many times for many years. However, she has never gotten bored as every trip is filled with emotions just like the first time.

Hoa said that previously, she used to use a camera to capture beautiful landscapes, life and the unique culture of ethnic minorities. From her love of photography, she decided to engage in painting, which helps her to better express her extreme passion for the colours of life.

Selected paintings by Do Quyen Hoa on display at the exhibition.

According to Hoa, the way of expression in paintings is very different from photography, and each painter has his or her perception of the composition and lighting of a subject.

Most of the paintings at Hoa’s exhibition are presented in warm colours, such as brown, yellow-brown, ochre, vermilion, and pink, which are used to capture the most typical features of the mountainous region, such as the images of earthen houses, mossy stone fences, mountain ranges, brilliant wild sunflowers, and buckwheat flower fields.

The paintings focus on simple life in the mountainous region, like a baby with rosy red cheeks during winter in Ha Giang province, a small stream full of blooming wildflowers in Yen Bai province, a ripe fruit season in Lang Son province, and a red fire stove of the Dao ethnic people in Lao Cai province.

Each painting portrays a story about mountain life. Notably, the characters in the picture are mostly women and children.

Sharing his thoughts about the exhibition, journalist Ho Quang Loi hailed that Do Quyen Hoa found simple but lovely characters in her paintings, making her succeed in leaving deep impressions on visitors.

Within the framework of the exhibition, Hoa announced to fund 5,000 free meals to ethnic minority students in mountainous areas through the Rice with meat fund to contribute to improving the nutritional status of local children.

The exhibition will run until July 17 at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi.