Using humble grains of rice, Nguyen Thi Van in Soc Son Commune, Hanoi, has created distinctive art imbued with the spirit of rural Vietnam and its culture. For Van, more than a handcraft, each rice painting tells a story about Vietnam and its people through her art.

Using humble grains of rice, Nguyen Thi Van in Soc Son Commune, Hanoi, has created distinctive art imbued with the spirit of rural Vietnam and its culture. For Van, more than a handcraft, each rice painting tells a story about Vietnam and its people through her art.

 

Van created her first rice painting in 2015, a calligraphy featuring the word Tam (Heart), which she donated to Phu Lo Kindergarten, where she was working at the time, for a charity auction. The warm reception of the piece inspired her to pursue this special art form. She began making other works as gifts for relatives and friends.

Rice is roasted to achieve the desired shades for creating rice paintings. Photo: Khanh Long/VNP

 

Encouraged by those loving her creative artworks, Van and her husband opened a small workshop in 2016, officially introducing rice paintings to the market.

According to Van, fragrant jasmine rice, with long, slender and firm grains, is the most suitable material. Through experiments, she discovered the techniques for roasting the rice to produce a range of natural shades without using artificial dyes. Depending on the roasting time, the grains can take on colors from pale yellow and honey brown to deep brown and nearly black. Achieving a light golden hue takes about 30 minutes, while darker shades require five to six hours of continuous roasting.

After spreading the rice evenly over the wooden board, artisan Van uses an acrylic sheet to tap and press the grains, creating a smooth, even surface for the artwork. Photo: Khanh Long/VNP

To create a painting, Van first sketches the image on a wooden board before carefully placing each grain of rice according to the composition. Every painting requires a separate color palette and careful arrangement to convey depth and emotion in the painting. Once completed, the paintings are sun-dried, coated with a glossy varnish, and treated against termites. Depending on the size and complexity, each painting takes between one and three days to complete.

Van’s workshop currently produces between 170 and 200 paintings each month. Most of the pieces portray the Vietnamese countryside with familiar images such as rice fields, banyan trees, and village wells. The artworks also feature Hanoi’s landmarks, including Sword Lake, the Temple of Literature, and the One Pillar Pagoda. They also include calligraphy paintings of meaningful words like Phuc (Blessing), Loc (Prosperity), Tho (Longevity), Tai (Talent), Tam (Heart), and Duc (Virtue).

 

“I hope to help introduce Vietnam and its culture to more people,” Van said. “I am truly happy that many visitors choose rice paintings as gifts that carry the spirit of Vietnam”. 

Story: Ngan Ha Photos: Khanh Long/VNP