Hanoi in watercolor

An art exhibition of paintings and photographs of Hanoi, held in Thailand, reveals a gracious city and its warm people.

Somboon Phoungdorkmai’s watercolors are on display at an exhibition called “Letter from Hanoi,” until August 16 at the Akko Art Gallery in Bangkok.

Somboon’s French husband Andre Lurde is displaying photographs of Vietnam’s capital city.

Somboon vividly recreates Hanoi’s picturesque landscapes like Ho Guom (Sword Lake) and The Huc Bridge with fine brush strokes.

She captures everyday scenes such as the bread and vegetable street stalls, the colorful shops on Hang Ma and Hang Vai streets, and people eating bun cha (vermicelli with grilled pork), a local specialty.

Her paintings, like “Shop in Hang Ma Street,” “Chat in the Market,” and “Flowers on a Bicycle,” also offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives of local working people, who she says “are very nice, hospitable and hard working.”

The couple has come to Vietnam many times over the past 10 years and began to create paintings and take photos three years ago.

They focused their artwork on the city’s famed ancient quarter.

Somboon has now produced more than 20 watercolors and acrylics of the city.

The couple say they spent long hours sitting on sidewalks, watching people pass by and their artwork.

“Several of them offered me a cup of tea when I drew in front of their houses,” said Somboon.

The 49-year-old artist also made a point of getting to know her subjects.

“The old woman selling bread in the street was really nice. I bought two loaves of bread every day. We just smiled at each other but I felt warm inside,” she said.

The humid, sometimes chilly weather in Hanoi, however, posed much difficulty to Somboon as she did most of her painting outdoors.

It takes longer for watercolors to dry, she said.

Her hands usually went numb from the cold when she painted outdoors in winter or spring.

However, the biting cold was a great source of inspiration for her.

In one of her favorite paintings, she depicted the tranquil surface of Ho Guom and the lush willow leaves overhanging over it with white to represent coldness, giving the painting a distinct icy feeling.

Somboon said she arranged her stays in Hanoi so that she could fully experience the four seasons in the city, capturing the coolness of Hanoi’s winter and its radiant sunshine in the summer.

Somboon’s paintings, which also include several of Europe, the famed Angkor towers in Cambodia and Laos’ Luang Prabang city, have been compiled in several different books.