Week 1: Introduction and Project Brief

• Quang Tri Citadel

My inspiration came from Quang Tri Citadel, which was a witness to many historical events, especially the 81-day battle in 1972 (anti-American resistance war to) during the Vietnam War. The war demonstrated a resilient fighting spirit, contributing significantly to changing the situation of the war and paving the way for the Paris Agreement in 1973. What reminded me of this architecture was through the movie “Mưa Đỏ” (August 22, 2025), which recreated the historical context, heroic sacrifices and patriotism of the youth. The movie really made a strong impression on me, so I decided to redraw a part of the Citadel. Throughout the process, I chose to draw with only pencils to easily illustrate antiquity and longevity.

Through this drawing, I learned more about Vietnam’s history and the meaning of peace. It made me feel proud of the courage of those who fought for our country. This project reminded me that art can connect emotion, memory, and history in a powerful way.

• Phu Quoc island

The second drawing is about Phu Quoc island, because  it is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in Vietnam. I was inspired by the island’s clear blue sea, golden sand, and the way sunlight reflects on the water. Every summer, my family chose this island to rest and enjoy the vacation. During the process, I experimented with color blending to create a realistic sea and sky. I used soft pastels to draw the large part and colored pencils to draw the detail. The most challenging part was making everything look natural, show the beauty of the island.

Through this artwork, I learned how to combine color harmony and composition to create balance in a landscape drawing. I also realized how art can express my personal feelings and memories about a place. Overall, this drawing made me appreciate more the natural beauty of Vietnam and the importance of preserving it.

• St Paul’s Square

For this drawing, I chose St Paul’s Square because I have always been fascinated by classical architecture, especially old churches with historical and elegant designs. The church in the middle of the square inspired me with its calm atmosphere and detailed structure. I wanted to capture the beauty of the building and the peaceful feeling it creates. This time I worked only with coloured pencils and I applied horizontal and cross-hatching lines to build up tones.

• Beetham tower

For this drawing, I chose Beetham Tower because I wanted to capture the elegance of modern architecture using only simple tools. I decided to simplify the surroundings and focus on the main building to make it stand out as the central feature of the composition. I used coloured pencils only and applied horizontal and cross-hatching lines to build tone and texture instead of blending.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10