The journey of pursuing art
Artist Bui Van Ben, 38, was born in the northern port city of Hai Phong. At the age of 18, Ben joined his friend in a trip to Bat Trang to explore the craft of pottery making. At that time, he planned to become a student of the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts.
While he tried his hands at pottery making during the trip, a number of veteran artisans in Bat Trang Village immediately recognised Ben’s talent and offered to teach him the traditional craft. Despite his family’s disapproval, Ben decided to set aside his university dream and stay in the village as an apprentice.
During his practicing process, Ben learnt that the lifespan of artworks made of paper or fabric is often only 5-7 years at most, not to mention that the climate of Vietnam, especially in the northern region, often exposes the works to heat, humidity, and heavy rain, causing the paper or canvas paintings to quickly become damaged and degraded. This motivated him to conduct deeper research into porcelain paintings with the aim to find ways to make them last almost eternally.
Thanks to his innate talent in painting, hardworking, and instructions from master artisans in Bat Trang Village, Ben has become a craftsman specialising in portrait paintings on porcelain.
To date, he has 20 years of experience in this field. Through his discovery of the job, he realised that a perfect portrait painting must vividly capture the aura of the human object, from the eyes to the smile and emotion, which require the careful observation and skill of the artist.
Artist Bui Van Ben shared that each year, art schools can train more than 1,000 students, who common work on typical materials of fabric and paper, mainly sketching on black and white backgrounds. Meanwhile, it requires many years to create a painting on porcelain.
A complete painting not only requires drawing technique but it is also tested many times during the drying process and fired in a special kiln, Ben revealed.
Bringing soul to porcelain paintings
To create a porcelain painting, artist Bui Van Ben must carefully prepare the main materials to make porcelain which are clay and kaolin. The two materials must be tempered evenly and then poured into moulds to dry, then they can draw on them with colours.
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A porcelain painting of Uncle Ho measuring 1.2m high and 2m wide by artist Bui Van Ben |
Ben said he often use metallic colours imported from Europe, mainly the UK and Germany, to create harmonious and delicate lines in the work.
Ben paints directly on the porcelain surface, then sprays enamel on the painting when finished. The porcelain paintings are then placed in a thick tray and fired continuously for about 20 hours in an electric furnace at a temperature of 1,200 degrees Celsius.
After firing, the painting must let cool for 2-3 days, sometimes even up to 10 days, before being packaged and delivered to the customers.
Ben’s paintings on the porcelain can stand against sun, rain, and temperature, and can reach almost eternal durability.
Ben said that the colour mixing process and the colour sensory ability are extremely important to create a high-quality porcelain painting.
In the step of sketching a painting on a porcelain background, if the artist does not master the techniques, the fired product will be dull or discoloured compared to the original version, thus failing to meet the requirements.
It took Ben a lot of time practicing very hard to find the right way to mix colours.
Artist Bui Van Ben now works in many styles: portrait painting, oil painting, and landscape painting. A small-sized porcelain painting takes him about two to three weeks to complete, while a more complicated painting can cost him up to two or three months.
For large-sized paintings, Ben draws details on each piece of porcelain and assembles them at a 1:10 scale. After they are fired, each piece shrinks by about 10%, so the larger the project, the higher the difficulty.
Ben’s talent and experience are recognised by artisans in Bat Trang Village. He is the author of many large-scale porcelain paintings at schools, cultural houses in the locality.
He has also received many orders from people outside the village.
Every time he holds a paintbrush, Bui Van Ben not only focuses on the details of the painting, but also strives to make it as vivid and durable as possible. The artist puts all his heart and mind into each stroke, breathing soul into the porcelain paintings and imbuing them full of life and energy.
