A Vietnamese artist creates awesome portraits using crushed lotus leaves.

Le Van Nghia said he was inspired to make art using materials available in his surroundings and his home town in Dong Thap province was abundant with Asian lotus.

Footage shows Le Van's finished products made from the sun-dried brown finely crushed foliage before it was formed with glue into an image like a mosaic.

He started using the technique with the bark of melaleuca but he said the Lam Vo district had more lotuses so he switched media.

Le Van said: ‘One time it rained and my melaleuca barks hadn't dried yet. I thought my home town had a lot of lotuses so I had the idea of using them instead of the barks which I could only harvest with limits.'

The artist added the lotus was also a part of his identity being born in an area where they naturally grew.

He said: ‘I am Vietnamese, and Vietnam is the land of pink lotus. It is our national flower. It is a very beautiful flower and its leaves can be turned into art.'

Le Van said that the colours he gets from crushing the dried leaves are always a ‘surprise.'

He added: ‘I enjoy the process. When you crush one leaf it is always a surprise. You never know what colours you will get because I let them dry naturally. I don't use any kind of dye.'

From doing dozens of portraits with it, the Vietnamese artist said he has now learned how to calculate the drying time if he needs a specific shade.

He said: ‘It is like being a politician, a military man, and looking at the leaf deeper than the surface. They have unique souls and personalities, and that's how you find the right colours.'