New art classes for 2015.

After a year of wandering around Vietnam and letting all the whispers of Hoi An, the shadows of Hanoi and the hearts of Sapa wash over and through me, I am back in this city I love so much. I love its energy, I laugh at its relentless noise and it laughs at me as a totter around on my electric bike looking for adventure! We are well suited I think.

I am based in Thao Dien and am busy trying to publish two new books  about Sapa and Saigon. The artwork for Sapa is almost finished and I have started to write down my thoughts and experiences to tell the story of my four months in the mountains.

The artwork for the Saigon book is also, nearly finished but it has been in that state for over a year now!!!  The problem is that the city keeps shape shifting. They are building an underground train network and roads have now started to disappear, buildings too and now, there is a massive, landmark statue on the move. It makes a writers job very difficult! Ha ha! 

I am happy to be giving art lessons again and I am taking on some new challenges for 2015. the first is a series of lessons about portraits. We will be experiencing that journey in Watercolour but the lessons apply to oils and acrylics just the same.

Well, nearly the same. Oils are far more obedient than watercolours. Watercolour is a a greater intellectual challenge; it simply isn't forgiving and you have to learn to 'let go' in the Buddhist way.


The Watercolour Portrait Classes run every Tuesday afternoon 2-4 at Vin Space art studios and in each lesson we will tackle a new portrait and a new style until the last two when you will work on your own subjects. details will appear on the web site soon.




The Short Drawing Course will run in Phu My Hung, Ditrict 7 from 22nd January for 8 weeks, taking a 2 week break for Tet. I am still looking for somewhere to deliver these classes so bear with me. This has always been a popular course and has successfully helped lots of students to draw even when they had believed, for many years, they had no ability. 

I believe if you can write, you can draw

The Basic Watercolour Course will run in An Phu, District 2 from January 21st - every Wednesday morning 9.30- 11.30 am. There will be a 2 week break for Tet. The price of this course includes all you materials so it is very good value.

Adult Painting classes which have been running in District 2 for a number of years, are being extended to Phu My hung which is good news. I don't know when these will start because we haven't found the ideal premises yet. Again, if you know of anywhere, let me know.

Drop me an email for prices, the curricula and more details. I will be delighted to hear from you.

Creative inspiration

People often ask where artists get their inspiration from, how and why do they start a piece of work and why do they choose to draw or paint the things that they do.  

When it is asked of me, I am always struck dumb (temporarily)because the answer is so complex. When people stop to look at my work while I am drawing in the landscape they sometimes as - "how long did it take you to do that?"  Should my answer be "three hours" or should my answer be "fifty years"? As to the 'why' - well that is much more difficult. Every one of us has unique experience of life. Each artist has a unique perspective on the people, places and events they encountered or experienced in a lifetime. Here are my thoughts about how the artist develops from childhood.


When a child starts to draw at the age of two or three, every single mark made on the paper is of equal importance. 

By five they see that people look different and so give them different features like long or short hair but houses are still all the same. By seven or eight they will include landscape and weather to give context to their characters but the houses are still the same.

By nine the young artist is drawing on their own observations and start to create recognisable compositions of places and things that they know, have seen or, maybe, in response to recent events. 

Now that the young mind is taking in everything that is going on, they are gathering image and sensory memories . They are interested in the creations of others and become fans, or followers of different styles. These influences are also stored in the memory banks of the mind.

With every drawing, a path is being carved between the eye, the creative corridors of the mind and the hand. They start a conversation that is sometimes led by the hand and sometimes by the mind. 

Sometimes the hand makes a mistake or 'does its own thing' and the mind quite likes the result. other times, the hand is a slave to the mind's intent. 

As the young artist experiences more emotions. the heart also become part of the conversation.  




When we mature we seek the input of others and they too become part of the conversation.  All the while, the artists is storing away images and sensations that can be drawn on at any time.  The memory banks are growing in size every year. 

As the artist ages, the memories of images become more detailed and the banks grow every hour and minute. It can become overwhelming.

So how do artists draw on these memories and inspirations?  Memory banks are not like a library; you cannot  do a search by subject because the categories are infinite and the languages used to store them are those of the hand, the eye, the heart and all 19 senses. The only tool that can sort them out is the subconscious and this seldom works on command.

I access my subconscious every morning in that precious time between waking and rising.  As I become conscious, I lay on my back and stretch my spine and limbs as if on the rack. I use a small pillow of seeds and perfumed oils to support my neck. Sometimes I am naked, sometimes my sheet has to be perfectly smoothed over me. I don't decide - something inside decides.

Now I start to think about the task for the day ahead and soon my imagination, directed by my subconscious, takes over. They talk for about an hour and then it is time to start work while the inspiration is fresh. Breakfast can wait.

Alexndra waking by Laura Lacambra Shubert

Look out Saigon; I'm back!

Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon

This week has been one of those landmark weeks when a number of projects have 'matured' , come together, taken flight or been completed

My little book about Hoi An has been taking all of my time and energy for the past two months but we are nearly there now. The ISBN number arrived from London a week ago, the government license from Hanoi arrived yesterday so my wonderful Bulgarian designer, Ani, and I are filled with anticipation. She will see the first proof on Tuesday and will hopefully decide it is good enough to go ahead and print the first 500.

Last week we held Saigon's first Art Market at the VinGallery in District 2. We had twelve artists and designer-makers and over a hundred people came to look, buy and watch demonstrations and enjoy childrens' activities. I designed a banner to head up all our communications and Shyevin, the gallery owner, blew it up to make a 2mtr wide banner for the entrance on opening day. She even managed to find some bunting to match the bunting in my drawing! It looked fabulous!

The event was very good for the gallery that is working hard to raise its profile and very good for yours truly who sold lots of mini watercolours and some limited edition prints of work I did in Hoi An.

In Vietnam it is 'end of year' for schools and for thousands of expats form around the globe. This is the time when families start packing to go on to their next international posting or simply to go back home to visit families.   As a result,I have very few students for my drawing and watercolour classes so I decided to organise some informal drawing sessions for anyone who might be in town and fancies and couple of hour's sketching. 

For our first event, we met at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf cafe in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. This is guaranteed to be a busy spot so it is good for people watching, traffic spotting and the 'basilica' makes for good architecture practice. 

I have drawn here before.  In fact, apart from a potted Frangipani in Jo's home, the sketch of the cathedral was my first in Vietnam. here it is - drawn 17/09/2012

Back then I spent many days wandering the streets of different districts of Saigon. With pencil and pen in hand I was searching the city to find what makes it tick, what people do and discover some of its history. My trip to Hoi An in December and the prospect of publishing a book of work about that amazing little town switched my focus and  I feel I have been neglecting the, so called  'Eclectic, Erotic, Exotic Saigon' 

But............. I am back! 

A few weeks ago I went out with some friends who operate street food tours of Saigon 
on their tour of some of the streets in District 3. This put me straight back in the mood for my Saigon Adventure II: Street Life; The Sequel. Saigon Street Eats is run by an Australian girl and her Vietnamese husband so they mix the inimitable Australian sense of fun and 'getting stuck in' with the Vietnamese  obsession for great food and Vu's local knowledge. It is an unbeatable way to get under the skin of this city.

After that tour I rushed home to do these little paintings. This is the beginnings of my next little book in which will be all about my first 12 months in Ho Chi Minh City. I need a title ............ err..... 'A year in Saigon'............. 'Cycling over lychees' .............. 'A wide beam to Ho Chi Minh City' ........... 'Weeds in my soup' ..... ideas on a postcard please.