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Meet British artist who draws diary of Vietnam

Meet British artist who draws diary of Vietnam

Monday, March 07, 2016, 21:05 GMT+7

It was early one morning when British artist Bridget March guided two students from the UK and Mexico to paint watercolors of Ha Long Bay.

Not only was she teaching the students how to mix colors and analyze the color palette, the 61-year-old painter from Leeds also passionately talked about the art of painting in Vietnam, which she has painstakingly studied, along with the trend toward watercolors and the history of oil painting.

"The more I learn about Vietnam, the more I appreciate the difference in the identity of Vietnam compared to other countries in Asia," the artist shared with Tuoi Tre News.

According to Bridget, students often come to her painting and drawing classes because they would like to create a drawn memory of their time in Vietnam.

"They are amazed at how much more they notice when they take the time to draw,” she added. “It enriches their experience of this wonderful country.”

Carla Rosales from Mexico, who has taken Bridget’s class for more than a year, said she was very interested in exploring Vietnam and hoped to be able to use the knowledge that she learned to capture the places she goes.

Meanwhile, British Lynne McDonnell said that Bridget has been a great inspiration for her to learn about Vietnam during her three years studying with her.

"Every day I see paintings by Bridget on Facebook, and I really enjoy the works, as well as the stories behind them," Carla said.

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Artist Bridget March. Photo: Dong Nguyen/Tuoi Tre News

Painting as journal

Bridget paints and draws like people write in their diary.

On average, she finishes one work a day and so far has had more than 1,000 paintings and drawings from her three years here, among them are around 750 works about Vietnam.

Her cozy apartment in District 2 is full of Vietnamese colors, from the green terraced fields of Sa Pa, ancient village gates in Hanoi, the majestic temple in Cho Lon in District 5, the city’s post office, the bustling ‘bun’ (Vietnamese white rice noodle) shop at Ben Thanh Market, to the ubiquitous street walls of the city.

Choosing watercolors and sketching as her style to present Vietnam, besides easels and color boxes, Bridget usually carries a small notebook with her, in order to sketch places she visits, cool things she sees, and interesting people she meets.

So far, she has filled more than ten ‘diaries’ this way.

To her, a picture is not only about showing what the artist sees, but also about carrying the breath and the movement of life in it, as well as reflecting the relation between the object and the artist.

This April, Bridget is expected to release her third book on Vietnam, named after the country.

The book, expected to be 150 pages, which she has called her big project, will present Vietnam across the subjects of mountains, water, heaven, wind, trees, fire, thunder and land according to the bagua, which is a set of fundamental principles of reality, and seen as a range of all eight interrelated concepts.

Previously Bridget has had two books on Vietnam published, 'A Week in Hoi An' and 'A Summer in Sa Pa.'

In her books, not only did she showcase her works, but she also provided the stories behind them, as well as the local history, culture and the people she had met.

Bridget said more than 3,000 copies of her two books were sold at bookstores in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well as on her website at www.bridgetmarch.co.uk.

‘No plan to leave Vietnam’

Bridget, who said she had no plan to leave Vietnam, asserted that she does not feel lonely living alone in Vietnam because she has good friends and neighbors.

“The life of an artist is a quiet one,” she added. “I don't look for a busy social life, creative people need a lot of quiet time to themselves. “

“My plan is to continue to travel and paint,” she said.

First coming to Vietnam in 2011 to visit a friend, Bridget immediately fell in love with the tropical country, and so 10 months later, she moved here.

Previously, she had worked for 18 years in the furniture industry, then nine years teaching at the Leeds College of Art.

“The cost of living is too high in England so artists have to have full time jobs and work on their art in their spare time,” she said, admitting that it is too hard to choose between earning a living and making art.

In Vietnam, with a lower cost of living, Bridget is able to work full time on her passion for painting, and is able to sell her works to make a living.

“People generally buy my paintings because they are a memory of a much loved place or because they evoke the atmosphere of a place,” she said.

The artist has had more than five solo and group exhibitions in Vietnam and has participated in a number of international art fairs.

Below are a series of paintings by Bridget March about Vietnam:

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Hoi An

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Hanoi's old town

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Sa Pa

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The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee headquaters

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Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City

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Tan Dinh Market in Ho Chi Minh City

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A corner in Ho Chi Minh City

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Turtle Lake in Ho Chi Minh City

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A fruit seller

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A noodle stall

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DONG NGUYEN/TUOI TRE NEWS

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