In his modest 10 sqm shop, “Hoa Binh Portrait Studio,” located along National Highway 10 on Phat Diem Tay street, Phat Diem Town, Kim Son District (formerly Ninh Binh), Tran Hoa Binh, born 1955, tirelessly works with pencils, brushes, and paper to fulfill his burning passion for creating thousands of portray artworks over decades.

Binh was born into a Catholic family, and from a young age, he was exposed to brushes, paper, pencils, and paints through his father, the late artist Nam Phong. His father was a renowned portrait painter, famous for his work “Duc me Viet Nam” (Our Lady of Vietnam) standing on a globe, displayed at the Vatican since late 1953.

“I never went to any art school. From childhood, my father inspired me, taught me, and guided my first strokes. To me, he was the extraordinary teacher who led me to painting throughout my life’s journey,” Binh said.

Binh completed his first portrait of Ho Chi Minh at 16. “I learned many portrait painting techniques from my father—style, lines, and how to give the painting soul. He was strict, and I was not allowed to paint Ho Chi Minh until my skills got better. In 1971, at 16, I finished my first portrait of Ho Chi Minh and gifted it to the PhatDiem Town People’s Committee to hang in their office,” Binh said.

The milestone fueled his dedication to painting, leading him to create portraits of Ho Chi Minh for over 50 years. Binh, who has painted over 1,000 portraits of Ho Chi Minh, is the artist with the most portraits of the Vietnamese leader.

Binh said painting Ho Chi Minh’s portrait requires careful attention to angles, distinctive features, and meticulous details, emphasizing elements like the eyes, mouth, and beard. 

“This makes the painting vivid and captures the outstanding but also very warm leader,” he said.

Most of Binh’s portraits are done in oil paint, typically on 70x90cm canvases. Each portrait of Ho Chi Minh takes him 3–6 days to complete, depending on the size. Among his over 1,000 works, he often depicts Ho Chi Minh in a grey khaki outfit, seated on a sofa, with white hair and beard, showing a calm and carefree demeanor. The sample photo was taken by a Russian reporter on the occasion of the leader's visit and work there. 

Binh noted that while he paints various types of portraits, those of Ho Chi Minh are the most cherished and widely commissioned, finding their way across Vietnam and abroad.

Tran Nghi