Ten years ago at the age of 30, Trinh Long, a lecturer at the Interior Decoration Department of the Hanoi Industrial Fine Arts University, injured his spine while partaking in exercising, leaving totally paralyzed. The accident crushed his dream of becoming an artist, but after two years of intense therapy, in 2001 he again picked up a brush in his particularly handicapped hand to restart his journey. Over the last eight years he produced nearly 40 astonishing and emotional paintings. Although Trinh Long can only slightly move his arm he tries to create emotional paintings. Apart from his own efforts, Trinh Long receives great support from his family, friends and colleagues to obtain today’s success. His exhibition attracts a lot of viewers. A self-portrait and the wheelchair of painter Trinh Long.   Trinh Long confided: “I am an unlucky mountain-climber. Although I lost grip of the rope I tried to keep from falling into the abyss. Thanks to support from my relatives, friends and acquaintances I am climbing back up, little by little. Perhaps, I am unable to reach the top of the mountain but I still have to climb up and make great effort everyday. For me, a little progress is a great success.” To be able to compose, Long had to try hard. He said: “I could not hold the brush in my hand and could only move a part of my arm. So I asked a friend of mine to make a device from stainless steel pipes with a brush holder and tied it to my arm, with which I could paint. I used to meet with difficulties in expressing my ideas on the paintings so I had to select other techniques suitable to my ability, for instance I did not paint with a trowel, rarely making small, thin and equal lines or straight lines. Returning to art, Trinh Long forgets his misery and sadness from inactivity and loneliness. He is interested in painting portraits. His paintings featuring portraits of his relatives and friends, such as “Younger Sister Hue”, “Little Ngoc Tram” and “Elder Sister Nina”, are simple but affecting. Contrary to the portraits, his surrealist paintings are of a vigorous style. The works “Life” and “Eternal Season” show the wretchedness and tough struggle in life. It took him six years to complete the painting “Life”, which shows his fierce struggle against his poor fate and his extraordinary strength in life. Long’s paintings show the mingling between the human body and nature, and aspiration for integrating into the outside world. Self-portrait (oil on canvas). “Portrait of Quynh Trang” (oil on canvas). “Little Ngoc Tram’s Portrait” (oil on canvas). “Memory” (oil on canvas). “Bathing” (oil on canvas). “The Landscape of Cat Ba”. “Eternal Season” (Oil on canvas).   For Trinh Long, each painting is a difficult undertaking, but he feels happy for participating in this trip to experience and enrich his life. He has sowed in us a trust and love for life via his paintings in which each line reflects an enduring vitality. Story by Nguyen Ha Anh Photos by An Thanh Dat – Files