Storefronts

Posted: May 2, 2026 | Author: Shari Blaukopf | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Hoi An, ink sketch, sketchbook, travel sketch, travel sketchbook, Vietnam, watercolour sketch | 6 Comments

One of the most welcoming places we visited in Hoi An was An Nhàn, a beautiful traditional home on stilts that now houses a cafe and gallery that showcases art from Vietnam’s ethnic minorities. The owners, Kiet and Giang gave us a tour of the gallery and then provided big tables for us to draw on. There was plenty to draw because the cafe is filled with handicrafts too, but I loved the multiple views out into the surrounding gardens. And I wish I could have brought home a suitcase full of the traditional black pottery they sell there.

We also had a chance to draw the shophouses in Hoi An’s Ancient Town. This is something that’s only really possible in the early morning before the intense heat of the day, and before the crowds arrive to stroll through the lantern-lined streets. If you’ve been there you know how crowded it can get with tourists AND with influencers posing for selfies in front of the yellow walls. In the afternoons, it’s a pedestrian-only zone but in the morning, if you’re lucky, a few motorbikes will be parked on the street and I have to admit that I became a fan of adding them in.

Plaid and flowers

Posted: April 29, 2026 | Author: Shari Blaukopf | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Hoi An, ink sketch, Market sketch, travel sketch, Vietnam, watercolour sketch | 15 Comments

I have such great memories of this quiet morning in Hoi An, sitting at my favourite café with some of the sketchers in my group.We had an ideal view of a spot in the central market where the vendors were just beginning to set up. I loved the interesting mix of patterns that many of the women were wearing: plaid shirts with flowered pants.

To paint the section of the sketch that’s under the awning, I laid in a wash of pale lavender. The purpose of that is to take away all the white bits in that dark area. The lavender is light enough that I can paint over it with brighter or darker colours, and it works to push back that whole section into the shadows.

When I was almost done sketching, I was surprised to look up and see that I was surrounded by police. I think that our very hospitable café lady had moved her tables a little too far out onto the sidewalk, and the police were doing a market sweep. Fortunately they let me grab my sketching gear before they pitched a few of her tables and chairs into a flatbed truck.

Scooters

Posted: April 23, 2026 | Author: Shari Blaukopf | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Hoi An, sketchbook, travel sketch, urban sketch, Vietnam, watercolour sketch | 17 Comments

There’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.