Scooters
Posted: April 23, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Hoi An, sketchbook, travel sketch, urban sketch, Vietnam, watercolour sketch 8 CommentsThere’s a very welcoming café facing the east side of the central market in Hoi An. You can sit there for hours, undisturbed, drawing and enjoying a Vietnamese coffee or fresh coconut water. It was one of my favourite spots in the city. From there I watched the vendors selling yellow flowers and the ladies shredding fresh coconuts.
I realized quite quickly that there was a constant stream of shoppers parking their scooters in front of me. Instead of ignoring them, I added the scooters in as foreground shapes. In a scene like this where the middle section is full of colour and detail, I decided that it would be best to leave the scooters as near-silhouetted shapes. They are not the focus here. I drew them quickly, knowing that they would be gone very soon, and added a few simple washes of shadow colour on them. Like the yellow walls and the silk lanterns, they are everywhere in Hoi An and a street scene would not be complete without them.
I also did a quick sketch of the coconut ladies on another visit.
What a clever idea for the scooters and it works perfectly too!
Thanks Tony!
Beautiful colours. Really nice energy 🙂
Thanks so much Chris.
Shari, I love how you left the scooters sparky white. It makes the composition so interesting! Can look at this picture for hours and discover new details. Thank you for sharing!
Natalia, as I was scanning this I was thinking about your market scene and how exciting it was! I’ll never forget that crazy morning.
I love the colours of this place and the lanterns! We need lanterns in our lives. The scooter treatment is brilliant. I also love that you could sit and sketch for hours at that cafe. What an amazing experience, thank you for sharing it.
It really was a memorable experience. My husband discovered this cafe when I was sketching on the other side of the market, and he was the one who brought us there to sketch. And yes, we all need lanterns in our lives!!