My painting of Ho Chi Minh came about from the reading of the Russian people and folk songs being oppressed. I wanted to paint someone who inspired me - and although it is controversial for me to say, Ho Chi Minh or Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen the Patriot) is one of those men. I came to know Ho Chi Minh because my friends in Orange County were Vietnamese. Most of their parents absolutely hated him without much reason. I researched who he actually was, and I concluded that he has got to be one of the most courageous and honorable man.
