The Quang Trieu Dragon
This morning I am sitting at my table beside an open window in my studio and that, in itself, is a minor miracle. Let me tell you why.
Five days ago our wonderful girl Friday, Miss Phuong, delivered the drawing board I commissioned last week. It is solid hardwood and is designed to carry the largest sheet of handmade watercolour paper. Since I started concentrating on Watercolour painting, most pieces have been, kind-of, A4 - A3 sized and many are no bigger than a postcard. To progress my work, I bought some A1 sheets of watercolour paper while in Singapore and I have been bursting to start work on them ever since I returned.
Four days ago I prepared the first sheet; first wetting under the shower and, once soaked, laying it down on the virgin board. Next I took a sponge to wet lengths of brown gummed tape with which to fix it to the wood. After that I waited about 6 hours for it to dry, shrink and become taut on the board. I knew exactly what my first large work would be so I brought it straight to the studio and started work.
The subject is the writhing dragon and his companion carp framed in a shallow pool in the forecourt of the Quang Trieu (pronounced Wong Chuh) Cantonese Assembly Hall on Tran Phu Street in Hoi An.
This piece of sculpture is full of colour and vigour which reflects the dragons mythical powers to control flow of water, floods and typhoons. The carp is endowed with the traits of Endeavour, Courage and Accomplishment because of its struggles to leap waterfalls. It's Cantonese name also means Abundance and Affluence. These two creatures come from the same mythical clan and the Chinese say that if a carp can leap through the falls known as the Dragon Gate on the Yi River it can be transformed into a dragon and will fly up into the heavens.
It's rainy season here in Central Vietnam and this year it is accompanied by a parade of typhoons that form in the western pacific, swing through the Philippines and make landfall in Vietnam before dying out over Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. A recent one put the power out for 60 hours and closed all the resorts along the beautiful, 15 mile China Beach that runs south from Da Nang.
Three days ago, we noticed, on the weather chart, a Super Typhoon approaching the Philippines that was already being labelled the biggest typhoon to hit the Philippines since records began. Whilst not wanting to panic, we were watching its track closely and started to make plans to survive the storm of the century.
Meanwhile, I was making progress with my painting and was completely absorbed in my work. The dragon was taking shape and even though it is only two dimensional, I felt with each brush stroke I was almost sculpting this creature on the page. I have visited the dragon many times and always marvel at the artistry and craftsmanship that brought the dragon to life out of concrete and broken china pieces. Some think the dragon is a bit kitch - to me it is a work of genius.
Two days ago I have to take some time out to help my housemate to get in food supplies, beer, rice, an extra torch, bread for the freezer and more.......and make a plan to survive the storm. Robert was here , alone, during the last storm and spent a miserable three days without electricity, proper food supplies and any companion. So, with his experience we feel sure we have covered all our needs and can face whatever the weather may bring.
Since the last storm we have also acquired a puppy who wandered into our lives off the street three weeks ago. While we are waiting for her new family to pick her up, we are trying to keep up with her voracious appetite and although she is not normally allowed in the house, we can't leave her out in a Super typhoon to fend for herself. So Robert's patent, DIY kennel made from two cardboard boxes, 12" black duct tape and a green bin liner was brought in to the garage so that puppy would be safe and dry.
back in the studio, my painting was progressing and I was beginning to feel that I had almost breathed life into this dragon and his carp companion and was now concentrating on the decorative and symbolic details of the temple roof.
Yesterday the storm has driven through the Philippines leaving a trail of destruction and was now approaching across the South China Sea. It was originally forecast to hit Vietnam just north of Da Nang but now they are saying it has swung south and will head straight for Hoi An !!!!!!!!! The little town leaps into action. There were queues outside every hardwear shack, shop and stall. The air was filled with the sound of hammering, stapling, sawing and occasional public announcements on mobile tannoys. The local army reserves were called in to deliver sandbags and advise people on the best ways to secure their properties.
The Vietnamese system of neighbourhood guardians, local People's Party reps and family connections swings into action and is working at peak efficiency. We couldn't find any white baguettes anywhere yesterday and were struggling to find out which bakery would have them today and at what time. By chance, we popped in to see the lady who runs our scooter hire / beauty parlour and she was just about to go to collect baguettes herself. We chatted for a while, I booked a pedicure for next week, Robert accepted her fond advances for a few moments and the next thing we were following her across town to her favourite (family?) bakery and were presented with a little bag of 5 warm baguettes for free! That's how Vietnam works!
My painting was nearly finished. I spent a few hours working on the reflections in the little pond, putting some extra typhoon-style swirls into the dragon's chariot of bubbling clouds. To finish, I shared a few thoughts and stories either side of the temple then signed and stamped my chops in red in at the bottom right hand corner.
It suddenly occurred to me that it was a strange coincidence that I should have worked on a painting of the master of water, flood and typhoon at the same time as a super typhoon was brewing in the Pacific and then travelling towards us.
We went out for a few beers and met some travelers from Kent who feared they may be stuck in Hoi An for the duration of the typhoon. We offered some advice about getting in beers, baguettes and pate and eventually came home to begin the long confinement that was surely imminent.
When we came home, I took the painting off the board made a cup of green tea and contemplated my endeavours for a while. I then prepared another piece of paper and taped it to the board ready to start a new piece during the storm.
Last night We waited and we waited. I prepared a dinner of prawns in a yellow curry and coconut cream sauce with aubergine slices and fresh noodles from the market. We watched 'Life of Brian, in our studio/cinema and drank some wine.
Robert checked the track of the typhoon (scheduled to strike after midnight) to see that it had suddenly changed track and veered north. It was now due to land closer to Hanoi up in the north but might even die out over the sea before it gets there
This morning soft rain is falling outside my open window and the people of Hoi An are going about their business in a normal, Sunday kind-of way. By some chance, the storm has passed us by. Instead of the devastation and huge loss of life that the Philippines have suffered in the swirling tentacles of Super typhoon Haiyan, we will live to love and laugh another day; our homes intact.
There are no new typhoons on the tropical storm tracker yet, but Haiyan is unlikely this will be our last
There is more to this life than bread, blood and clay and I wonder if my little homage to the Imperial, Cantonese, five clawed dragon of Quang Trieu had anything to do with our delivery from the typhoon and the miracle of this bright, rainy Sunday morning?
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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.
