Fri, Sep 01, 2023 page2

• Artist captures ‘essence of Taiwan’

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  During her four-year stay in Taiwan, French artist Charlotte Got created watercolor paintings that perfectly captured the essence of the nation’s streets and temples, whose vibrancy and energy made her fall in love with the nation, she said in an interview.

  Got, a Web site and user interface designer who was living in Canada at the time, visited Taiwan in 2018.

  At the time, a childhood friend ran a dessert shop in Taipei, so she planned a 15-day trip, she said.

  

  French artist Charlotte Got, center, paints as people look on in Taipei in an undated photograph

  .Photo courtesy of Charlotte Got via CNA

  The trip, originally meant to last two weeks, ultimately lasted four years after she quickly fell in love with Taiwan, she said.

  “No matter whether I was walking down the street or looking out the window, there were always things I had never seen before, so I started drawing and sharing my creations on social media,” Got said.

  She even joined a sketching club in Taipei, allowing her to explore the city alongside retirees, she said.

  Got laughed while discussing the experience, saying she used her basic Chinese-language skills and gestures to communicate with her new friends and understand their feedback on her art.

  She captured temples, street corners and vendors in Taipei with her brush.

  “This is why I like Taiwan the most — it’s so colorful and lively, and the streets were always buzzing with people,” she said.

  She also said that Taiwanese are very friendly.

  “Sometimes when I was drawing in front of a shop or a vendor, people would hand me snacks or drinks. I even got a baozi [包子, filled bun] when I was illustrating a baozi shop,” Got said.

  “People also chatted with me,” she said. “Once I was drawing a portrait of an old man and he shared his life stories with me.”

  “These are some of my most unforgettable memories,” she added.

  Got spent most of her time in Taipei.

  “The markets and the shops were so lively, and I would visit Keelung and Tamsui [District, 淡水] very often to watch people on boats fishing,” she said. “Lots of Taiwanese people wondered why I enjoyed these views — they thought these are not pleasant things to look at — but when they looked at my painting, they enjoyed my take on the scenery.”

  Although there are beautiful villages in France, they are often quite empty, she said.

  “I know they are beautiful, but I found it quite boring,” she said of the scenes in her home nation.

  “I enjoy the ‘art of living’ in Taiwan, for example how people would often spend time outside,” Got said. “I like the rhythm, there were often so many things happening on the streets, but sometimes it was also quiet. People exercise at 6am in the park, or dine outdoors. I saw how a range of people live their lives.”

  Got has visited Japan and Vietnam, but said it was Taiwan that struck the perfect balance between peaceful nature and buzzing cities.

  “We could travel to the mountains easily by taking the MRT, it’s amazing,” she said, adding that Taiwan is not too strict or stressful, but at the same time clean and orderly.

  “The four years were an important experience for me and I made so many great memories,” Got said.

  She worked on a painting every two days in Taiwan, which boosted her painting skills, she said.

  Although she returned to France last year for personal reasons, she wants people to see the culture and scenery of Taiwan and other Asian countries.

  In the middle of April, Got held a solo exhibition in Aubenas, a historical city in southeastern France. “Croquis de Voyage,” or “Journey of Urban Sketches,” included pieces she had painted during her four years in Taiwan.

  Got said she received lots of feedback on her paintings from the exhibition.

  Those who had been to Taiwan said that looking at her art brought back memories, while those who had never been appreciated the colors and energy in the paintings, she said.

  Got has also published a book, Regards sur Taiwan (Insights into Taiwan), which includes hundreds of her watercolor paintings.

  “Taiwan can now be seen by French people through my eyes,” she said.

  The book is split into sections, each one focusing on a topic, including street vendors, temples, markets and pharmacies.

  Got wrote the introduction and added some of her personal reflections.

  She said she wanted to keep a record of her time in Taiwan and also keep track of her progress in painting skill.
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