The feat of making embossed cement reliefs

Cement relief paintings with details raised higher than the background bring a realistic, vivid feeling to the viewer.

Meticulous in every detail and stage

Relief painting is a form of artistic sculpture in which images or motifs are created on a flat surface, with details raised, higher than the background, giving a realistic and vivid feeling to the viewer.

According to Mr. Hoang Hung in Hai Duong City, who graduated from the Central University of Art Education and the Vietnam University of Fine Arts and has been involved in the work of relief sculpture for 20 years, reliefs are created from different materials with realistic, stylized, abstract styles... in many themes such as history, landscapes... For each theme, the artist must spend time and research before starting to sketch the idea. For historical themes, the artist must spend time researching documents and films to be able to depict people and appropriate contexts in different historical periods.

Anh Hung shared: “For the creation of images in the context of war, the artist must depict the human figure in that historical period. Even though they are thin, their demeanor exudes wishes and desires for peace and independence… As for the theme of landscape, it is necessary to grasp at each time, which trends people like or favor."

In addition, artists must always improve their knowledge and have creative ideas instead of doing things in a stereotyped way. A craftsman with good creative thinking will have a sophisticated, beautiful and lifelike product. A relief painting goes through many stages from coming up with ideas about the layout and content to the process of sculpting and finishing. Artists need to be careful, meticulous and skillful in every small detail when sculpting, carving... to create a complete relief.

The steps in making cement reliefs require meticulousness from the artist (photo provided by the character)

Graduated from Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, Mr. Phung Phuong in Lien Hong Commune (Hai Duong City) has been involved in teaching drawing, designing and painting murals, and making reliefs for more than 10 years. Mr. Phuong shared that different from simple painting, reliefs are a combination of painting and sculpture.

“By embossing or hollowing out to create vivid details, the reliefs with multi-layered compositions according to shapes and angles create a realistic and vivid feeling for the viewer,” said Mr. Phuong.

There are many materials to create relief paintings such as plaster, wood, stone, metal, etc., but cement is currently chosen by many people because of its high applicability and reasonable price. Mr. Phuong analyzed: "Cement has high durability, low cost and its artistic value is not inferior to other materials".

Depending on the level of complexity, cement reliefs have different construction times.

Mr. Phuong shared that to create cement relief art works, the craftsman must perform many steps such as making the core, skin, details, sanding, lining and coloring.

In the core making stage, there are many steps such as bending iron to form the frame to shape the work, to mixing the ratio of mortar, water, cement, and sand to create a beautiful work of art. Every stage requires meticulousness and carefulness. For complex paintings, creating steel reinforcement to fix the model and support the weight of the embossed cement is very important.

After the stage of making the core and skin, the trimming of details must also be carried out meticulously to highlight the nuances and lines. In addition to tools such as trowels and iron pens, the relief artist can create other tools such as toothpicks and shells to create shapes and "walk" complex lines. The stage of color coordination, creating light and shadow from small details creates harmony. Each relief work will bear the mark of its creator. The compositional requirements of the relief are considered one of the important factors because of the harmony of lines, the diversity of shapes, the division of main and secondary panels, and the clear solid and empty panels so that the relief has a balanced shape.

Vivid

Cement reliefs are currently chosen by many people because of their high applicability and reasonable price.

Every time he completes a relief painting, Mr. Hung feels proud because his work has created works of art, marked memorable milestones, and beautified life... These things make him love and be more attached to his profession.

The large yard of Mr. Pham Van Quan's family in Dong Lai village, Lien Hong commune (Hai Duong city) makes a strong impression with 6 vivid reliefs. What makes everyone admire when looking at them is the life-sized images of peacocks, carps, pine trees, bamboo trees... with depth and meticulousness down to the smallest detail. Mr. Quan said that because he likes to decorate the space of his house, he chose to make relief murals, which are different from ordinary murals.

Not only decorating the living space of the family, each relief painting is also considered by many to have a meaning in terms of feng shui. Mr. Quan introduced that the peacock relief is a strong symbol of luck, prosperity and fortune. The peacock with its graceful beauty and brilliant feathers symbolizes nobility, elegance and happiness. Or the painting of smooth sailing means luck and convenience. "The surface of the cement relief is smooth when finished, so cleaning is also easy," Mr. Quan shared.

With soft, vivid lines, cement reliefs have "breathed life" into the dry wall.

HA NGA - HUYEN TRANG

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/ky-cong-lam-phu-dieu-xi-mang-dap-noi-407604.html