Canadian artist Jean-Maurice Gelinas has gifted his portrait of the late President Ho Chi Minh to Vietnamese Ambassador to Ottawa To Anh Dung on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2).

The drawing captures not only the artist’s sentiments of admiration for the great Father of Vietnam - “Uncle Ho” - and the Vietnamese people, but also the friendship between Vietnam and Canada , Dung told Gelinas at a reception on September 4.

Gelinas looked back over his visit to Vietnam in 2010 that provided him with the opportunity to explore the country’s history, culture and people. He said he admired the revolutionary career and life of President Ho Chi Minh.

He confided that when he found out about the friendship between Uncle Ho and Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, he decided to draw a portrait of the President, inspired by Picasso’s “Joie de Vivre” (The Joy of Life).

It took him two months to complete the piece, Gelinas said. The hardest part was illustrating the beautiful and noble soul of the President.

Gelinas lives in Montreal , the largest city in the east-central province of Quebec . He is a member of the pastel artists association in eastern Canada and graduated from Quebec theatre academy.-VNA