Young artist Lai Thanh Dung, whose lotus paintings were displayed during last week’s celebrations of the Buddha’s birth in central Hue city, has dedicated all his time to his great passion: depicting the beauty of lotuses.

Graduating from the Hue Arts University in 2006, Dung, 31, from northern-central Quang Binh province, works as a freelance artist in Hue, one of the country’s fine arts hubs.

Not drawn to contemporary art forms such as installation or video art, he has single-mindedly pursued his sole subject matter - lotuses. He earned his nickname ‘Lotus Dung’ after his first exhibit featuring a whole world of lotuses, which stand for loftiness and purity in Vietnamese culture.

Dung is most known for his use of thin, overlapped layers of colors which ingeniously merge but still accentuate the objects, and warm colors.

His early works, which feature different parts of lotuses in classic backgrounds and with familiar proportions, typically give viewers nostalgic, melancholic feelings.

Later on, lotuses become the background for him to highlight other objects such as palaces, sacred animals in Vietnamese culture, and beauties in traditional costumes and also convey Buddhist themes.

Dung’s lotus paintings have been displayed and critically acclaimed at several exhibits in other countries.