Abstract realism: Oil on canvas painting Ganh Ganh Gong Gong by Hoang Nguyen Khanh Linh is on display at her exhibition.

HA NOI (VNS) — While most teenagers follow Hollywood films, games, rock music and fashion, 17-year-old Hoang Nguyen Khanh Linh prefers drawing in her quiet corner at home.

She will make her debut in Viet Nam's fine arts scene in downtown Ha Noi with a display of 20 oil canvas paintings and 10 photographs. The Puzzle of Life exhibition will be displayed at Exhibition House, 29 Hang Bai Street, between November 21 and 30.

Linh likes to depict countryside landscapes with idyllic sceneries, hard-working people, countryside markets and street hawkers.

"I like Monet's style," Linh said. "I follow realism mingling with impressionism."

Linh's father, painter Hoang Dinh, has been her only teacher since she was small.

"At a very small age, Linh has been a girl with strong characters," he said. "She always acts as she wants, which has strongly been expressed in her paintings. She sees natural and social space in her own way. She quickly understood drawing techniques I taught her and has drawn in her own style including the choices of colours, cubes, lines and light space."

Dinh said Linh's art career has just begun, and he hoped she would try other materials.

Linh confessed that her idol is Claude Monet with romantic natural landscapes, especially his paintings titled Sunset and the series of water lilies paintings.

"I have also been influenced much by my dad, who has inspired me at a very young age with his paintings," said Linh.

Linh has found much inspiration from photography to painting. That's why she introduces a part of her photo collection here.

"I try to tell a story behind an image," she said. "That's why, to me, taking photos is not as simple as a way to relax, but a way to create."

Critic Ngo Quang Nam, former head of the Fine Arts Department of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry, noted that Linh inherited a natural drawing talent from her father.

"I really like some of her paintings like Nha Ngoai O (A Countryside House), Song Que Huong (My Motherland's River) and Hoang So (Wildness)," he said. "In those paintings, she blends realism with abstract styles. I think with these paintings, she can be compared with many famed painters in Viet Nam, though in some other paintings, she reveals her weakness in layout and drawing. She really needs proper training to enhance her capability."

A part of the proceeds from works sold at the exhibition will be used to set up a children's bookshelf at a primary school in the northern province of Lang Son. — VNS