21^st January 2024 Beena

Hello everyone. I posted the painting of the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. Many didn’t recognise this building or were unaware of it. Terry had sent me a few photos of this palace she took while there. I needed a lot of courage to paint this building😨😨. I painted it with watercolours with lots of layering for the building. The trees and garden were challenging😣. In the process, I missed the staircase that comes down into the garden🤣🤣. Nevertheless, I was happy with my attempt, as perspective is a humongous task.

Let’s discuss this Yellow building. It is the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, built by Charles Lichtenfelder (1900-1906); hence, it has a European influence. I wonder why many thought it was a building in Malaysia🤔🤔. However, Ho Chi Minh refused to stay there but received guests for official reasons. He built a traditional Vietnamese house on stilts with a carp pond.

Some of you thought it was a government building or hospital. Hmm, what a fancy hospital that must be🤔😂. Some felt the palace looked eerie. I agree that when the occupancy is infrequent, it would appear eerie😱😱.

However, I loved what Susan Benjamin commented, ” Our mind is our palace, and we are the monarch over it. The question is, are we despotic or lion-hearted?” I leave you to your explorations on this musing🤗🙏. (I realised that the one I had posted on Friday was not my latest version as it didn’t have my signature).