DISTRICT 10 FLOWER MARKET, HCMC
District 10 is one of my favourite areas to explore in HCMC, because of the colourful walls, sellers, bike loads, wires, daily life and stunning flowers.
I began by painting the flowers loosely, and quickly with the idea of spraying and dripping the paint. I was then planning to add a detailed figure in the back, which was actually in the photo that I was working from. However when the colours merged I loved the play of light and decided it didn’t need anything else.
Many of the flowers are sold in very colourful plastic buckets. I was trying to keep some white space like my previous seller. I love the drips, even though they are hard to control. You also have to be careful not to create mud when the colours run so I needed to paint in stages. The last step was to loosely bring back some of the details and tones of the flowers.
I adore the way the roses are sorted and stacked in D10. The running of colours was trickier this time because of the yellow and purple. I wanted to paint in more detail but made myself stop because otherwise you loose the dripping effect.
For this piece I decided to bring back some watercolour techniques such as salt, splattering and cling wrap, plus the dripping. I love the spontaneity of the spraying. I also tried mixing acrylic with water and tipping it on with a spoon.
These two paintings both had sellers in them but once again, I loved them the way they were. The pieces are becoming more abstract but you can still tell what they are. The one above is a vegetable cart in Hoi An and the other is a tulip seller in Hoi An. Hence, the yellow backgrounds. Hoi An has many yellow walls which adds to its warmth and character.
The balloon seller was one I featured in the post before but the stark white was bothering me, and now that I was exploring the drip and spray techniques I decided to add to it. I love how the drips look like a road map.
This was a total experiment as I wanted to see if I could combine the intricate details of the fabrics with the dripping. Since it was cool and wet I figured it would suit it perfectly. The most challenging part was having the skirt disappear as I visualized, and knowing when to stop with the details. I used yellow in the background to lift the piece, despite the cool. The yellow represents the warmth and friendliness of the people even on a cool day. The SaPa market is beautiful in rain or shine.
These two paintings were small canvases and were the last two completed before the art show last year. Both of them sold straight away. The paints were sprayed and poured again. I still love the white so brought that back over the top in some areas.
I had an informal art show at a friend’s place, which was a great success. I filled the room with easels, carpets and cushions. I loved the setting, the only downside was setting up and packing up in one day. However, this was definitely the best and most supported exhibit I have had yet! Over two thirds of my art was sold.
EXHIBIT MAY 2018
Since the exhibit, and after the summer break, it took time for me to paint again. In my next post I will show you how my work has changed significantly, based on what I have been doing in class with my students, and because of my new iPad and apple pen!
Rebecca Jardin's ART 