Dong ho painting village

DongHo folk painting is very famous because Dong ho is the only village where peopleknow to make the "Dzo" painting with completely natural materials. Theprinting paper is made of bark of a tree called "Dzo." The backgroundpaper is originally white. People use natural materials to change the colors ofthe papers which are usually orange, pink, yellow, purple,.. Colors of thepainting are refined from various kinds of tree leaves, that people can easilyfind in Vietnam. Particular, the red color is taken from earth of hills andmountains; the black color is from coal of burned bamboo's leaves; the glitterwhite color is made of sea shells; The original point of Dong Ho folk paintingis the durability of colors. The painting is covered by a layer of sticky ricepaste (called "ho nep") to protect the painting and their colors. Theyare so long lasting, so that it is very difficult to make them dimmer even timeor daylight.

These paintings are bought in Dong ho village, and are made by Mr. Nguyen HuuSam and Mr. Nguyen Dang Che, two famous masters of Dong Ho folk painting, whoare still living in Dong Ho village. Each painting is completely hand printed onDzo paper following the ancient style and tradition. The provocative color ismade by natural material. Especially the glitters are made by sea shells.