For Immediate Release: Waimea's Artist Thu Nguyen was chosen as Finalist for Art Muse Contest

November 26, 2018 Art Muse ContestKamuela' s artist Thu Nguyen's painting "Her Story" was chosen as a finalist for the Emerging Artist 2017 Art Muse Contest. The judge has included a brief statement about Thu's painting:"The face is well rendered, and I absolutely love the mish-mash of colors and textures in the clothing. It all goes very well with the gold leaf." Carol Marine"Her Story", oil and gold leaf on panel, 16 x 20 inches. This painting belongs to Sapa Series.Sapa Vietnam Series This body of work inspired by my trips back to Vietnam. I fell in love with this particular location because of its beautiful rice terraces and the Hmong people. Sapa is located in a very mountainous region of North Vietnam which gives it breath taking scenery and a harsh climate, it sometimes snows there. My mother was born and raised on a farm in this area. Like most people in the area, she grew up very poor and never attended school or learned to read. Everyone (including children) were expected to work on the farm to support the family . In 1954, when Vietnam split in half, my mother left her family behind at age 16 and traveled south to Saigon. She did not see her family again until Vietnam became united after the war in 1975. Thu Nguyen