HONG KONG , China ( CNN ) -- In the 6-1/2 years Htein Lin spent in Myanmar prisons between 1998 and 2004 , he produced an estimated 250 paintings . He credits prison guards with helping to save most of his work . Htein Lin stands beside `` Red September Memory , '' which alludes to last year 's Myanmar protests and Buddhism . They became his audience during his time in prison . In what Htein Lin called `` the smuggling painting project , '' he said eight to 10 guards provided him with house paint , acrylics , or colored powder from the prison factory where inmates made items . They were too scared to provide a brush , however ; so , Htein Lin improvised by resorting to his fingers , hands , soap , sometimes his face . His canvases were his dinner plate and white cotton prison uniforms . It was while working on the cotton uniforms , the absorbency of which made controlling lines difficult , that Htein Lin discovered monoprinting as a useful technique . He would take his dinner plate , apply glue and color to its backside , use his finger as a brush , and then press the finished image against the cotton . Htein Lin would show the prison guards his paintings , explain their meaning and solicit their opinions : `` How do you feel ? '' he 'd ask . `` One year later , they appreciate my art , '' he said . The more paints they brought , the more he painted , and this was how he was able to prove he was an artist , not a politician , Htein Lin said . Eventually , the guards would want to share the secret with their friends , other guards . And this is how the `` network '' grew , Htein Lin said . These men took a big risk , facing demotion or possible imprisonment themselves , but their jobs were for a living , not for any particular belief , Htein Lin explained . Moreover , there was some relish for the secrecy of `` the game . '' Today , most of those cloth paintings are housed in Amsterdam , Netherlands , at the International Institute of Social History , a repository for documents concerning the Myanmar opposition movements . In the past year , Htein Lin , now 41 , has rendered those same images onto canvas , a dozen of which have been the focus of an exhibition at the Karin Weber Gallery in Hong Kong , China . His work next heads to exhibition at the Quest Gallery in Bath , England , from mid-May to early July . His `` The Cell '' series shows the use of plate bottoms , his hands and blocks -- the same tools he used while in prison . In `` The Cell 6 , '' a single white line is used to trace the body of the prisoner as well as the walls of his prison , while smaller blocks of prisoners surround it . Further inscribed is a window with bars . The original cloth `` prison paintings '' are not for sale , however . Htein Lin was imprisoned for a month in Rangoon , two years at Mandalay Prison , and 4-1/2 years at Myaungmya Prison in the south . He was sentenced after being charged on the basis of a letter by a `` former comrade '' listing him as a potential recruit for Burmese opposition events in 1998 , the 10-year anniversary of landmark democracy protests , according to Htein Lin . Although he was involved in the 1988 democracy protests as a young law student , his arrest occurred when he was not involved in politics , he said in a follow-up e-mail . `` I was making a living as an artist and an actor . '' `` You are very nice . Why are you in prison ? '' he recalled the prisoner guards as asking . They tended to be uneducated and had little knowledge of politics much less art , Htein Lin said . Some prison guards would ask , `` Could you write a very lovely poem to my girlfriend ? '' or `` Can you do a design for my tattoo ? '' Htein Lin said . `` So I draw for them . '' Htein Lin , who performed in the streets in Yangon before his arrest , would also keep an eye out for prisoners about to be released ; he wanted their prison uniforms . Many uniforms were used for portraits of other political prisoners , of Aung San Suu Kyi , and of Htein Lin 's father , who died while the son was still in prison . Eventually , Htein Lin had to get rid of the paintings he was accumulating to avoid attracting attention from the prison superiors . The most he had in his cell were 10 . As he befriended his guards , beseeching them to safeguard his paintings until his release , they would haul away the works in bags that carried prisoners ' scraps for the pets at home , Htein Lin said . The cloth would be folded so as not to be dirtied . In one instance , however , a sergeant who 'd agreed to smuggle paintings out of prison got very confused while looking at them and thought they included a map of a prison , Htein Lin said . `` He destroyed 20 of my paintings . '' In 2005 , a year after Htein Lin 's release from Myaungmya , one guard came to Htein Lin 's solo exhibition in Yangon featuring the cotton paintings he did during his prison years . The guard felt pride , Htein Lin said . The exhibition was called `` 00235 , '' the prisoner number Htein Lin was assigned by the International Committee of the Red Cross during its visits . Just weeks ago , Htein Lin painted `` Twenty Years On , '' which unites the history of the 1988 pro-democracy movement and the pro-democracy protests in August and September of last year . Rimming three borders of the paintings are feathers of the `` fighting peacock , '' the longtime symbol for Burmese students later adopted for the flag of the National League for Democracy , the party of Aung San Suu Kyi . The painting took him a couple days . Gallery owner Karin Weber said she offered him a solo exhibition right after hearing him give a talk last year . `` Clearly , his art is formed by his prison experience . But what I like about him is his realization that he needs to move away from this ... in order to develop as an artist , '' she said . Since moving to London , where he lives with his wife , former British Ambassador to Myanmar Vicky Bowman , he 's painted a series of three `` How do you find London '' paintings in response to questions about his new city . The series `` How do you find Venice '' was painted for the Venice Biennial in which he participated last year . Other cities he 's traveled to and roads he 's traveled on since he left Myanmar have been rendered in paint , an activity he enjoys while his wife is driving , Htein Lin said .
Eight to ten guards provided paints to Hui Lin , taking his paintings out of prison . Htein Lin said he was able to use art to demonstrate he is an artist , not a politician . Original cloth ##s not for sale ; were rendered onto canvas now on exhibition . One guard destroyed 20 paintings , thinking one showed a prison cell , Htein Lin said .