HCM CITY — Statue painting has traditionally been a common activity for kids, but in recent years, it has become a trend attracting more and more youths.

One can find many coffee shops that feature statue painting around HCM City, allowing customers to express their creativity as well as enjoy their drinks.

Stepping into The Cake Corner cafe in Gò Vấp District, there are groups of friends, families or couples gathering around tables talking while painting statues, which creates a cosy, friendly feeling.

Statue painting starts from 3pm everyday in an outdoor space outside the cafe, where customers can spend a relaxing afternoon or evening with friends or families.

Warm colourful lights illuminate the space as day turns to evening, which makes people feel at ease as they immerse themselves in the light wind and background sound of vehicles.

After ordering drinks, guests can choose a sculpture from a shelf, then choose watercolours and return to their tables to start painting.

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Young adults in HCM City love spending time at statue painting cafes. — VNS Photo Việt Dũng

​Everyone focuses on their statues, slowly painting every detail, bit by bit, with great care to make sure every inch of their work is as pretty as possible.

Phan Thủy Tiên, a customer, told Việt Nam News that she usually visits here twice a week due to its wide space and various statuettes and colours. She said she prefers large-sized statues because she can easily paint and draw on them.

A statue being carefully coloured at The Cake Corner cafe. — VNS Photo Việt Dũng

One of the main motivations for developing the statue painting model was the trend's popularity, said Nguyễn Ngọc Nương, a staffer of The Cake Corner.

Nương added that children who visit the shop to paint can reduce the time they use phones and stimulate their brains with creativity.

The staff support customers in choosing their favourite sculptures and colours. There is acrylic colours, paint brushes, palettes and tissues. The price for a statue will range from VNĐ40,000 (US$1.6) to VNĐ70,000 ($2) depending on the size of the statue.

Meanwhile, at Cherry Coffee & Tea cafe, the bustling atmosphere may be the first thing a customer can experience when they come to paint.

Looking inside the shop, many colourful statuettes are displayed on both sides of the shop to create a friendly view for everyone visiting here.

Statues are displayed on shelves on a corner of Cherry Coffee & Tea. — VNS Photo Việt Dũng

​Hoàng Hồ Nhật Anh Thư, the manager of Cherry Coffee & Tea, said she has succeeded in attracting more guests with statue painting along with the main business of the coffee shop.

“We have a facility for making statuettes, and the guests who paint here say the price is affordable and the designs are good,” Thư said to Việt Nam News.

At present, many customers are fond of this activity, and kids, adults and even the elderly come for painting.

Nguyễn Trần Gia Đại, a young customer, said that he usually comes after hard-working school days. “I like painting medium-sized cartoon sculptures which have a few small details," he added.

Young people deal with many stressful situations in daily life, so the weekend is a chance for them to relax. Statue painting is an interesting activity suitable for most people to create a meaningful time gathering with family and friends on the weekend. — VNS