Painting with love for homeland
Born and raised in a countryside rich in scenery with overlapping mountain ranges, caves, streams and historical relics associated with the legendary Truong Son road, Mr. Cao Thanh Nam - head of Liem Hoa village, Kim Phu commune, Quang Tri province - soon revealed his artistic talent.
His childhood was associated with notebooks, pencils and innocent drawings of the countryside and people where he lived. During classes, the rural student often took the opportunity to record familiar images around him, from simple houses, streams to familiar mountains.
Those simple, emotional strokes soon attracted attention from the homeroom teacher and friends. Recognizing his son's talent, his father found a teacher and created conditions for Mr. Nam to attend formal drawing classes.
In 2008, he passed the entrance exam to Quang Binh University, studying at the fine arts college system. After graduating, Nam became a fine arts teacher at some schools, bringing the dream of conveying his love for painting to students in the countryside. However, for many reasons, he was forced to leave the podium, leaving behind no small regrets.
After quitting teaching, Mr. Nam left his hometown to work hard to earn a living. However, the longing for his homeland was still constant, urging him to return to start a career. In 2015, he returned to his hometown to start a family with his wife who worked as a teacher and participated in work in the locality. Life gradually stabilized and it was also when his passion for painting was awakened again.
In 2022, Mr. Cao Thanh Nam was trusted by the people to be elected village chief of Liem Hoa. During the day, he took care of village affairs, and in the evening, when the village was at peace, he quietly lit lamps by the canvas. Paintings depicting the beauty of nature, recreating the simple and prosperous life of the village, were successively born.
His paintings were once displayed at the 150th anniversary of the formation of the old Minh Hoa district, attracting the attention of a large number of viewers and gradually becoming known to many people.
Enthusiastic about village work
In the small spacious house located near the center of Kim Phu commune, where his wife and he live, many landscape paintings of the homeland are hung solemnly, making the space like a miniature painting room. Outside the porch, paintings of mountains, forests, caves, streams with the main green color scheme bring a feeling of relaxation for viewers.
When asked about his current work, Mr. Nam said he is quite busy because he is a bridge between the commune government and the people. In his position as village head, he regularly propagates and mobilizes people to develop the economy, build a cultural life, and join hands to build new rural areas.
If you want people to trust you, you must be exemplary, work meticulously. I was born and raised here, so I understand people, do what, say what is easy to share" - Mr. Nam shared.
According to villagers, Mr. Nam is a young, enthusiastic, and responsible village head. From mobilizing household economic development, protecting forests, maintaining environmental sanitation to cultural and social activities, he is always close and diligent.
Saying goodbye to village head Cao Thanh Nam, when the afternoon sun gradually shone on the other side of the mountain, although his work was quite busy, he still arranged everything smoothly and did not forget to spend time on his passion for painting.
“I usually paint at night, when my wife, children and villagers fall asleep. At that time, I set up painting shelves, mix colors to record my feelings about the scenery of my hometown on the journeys to inspect production or visit people” - Mr. Nam said with a smile.
It's a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit.
