Artist Lorette Roberts finds inspiration aplenty in the East-meets-West culture of Hong Kong
Sights and Secrets captures the spirit of Hong Kong in its paintings and sketches and turns the mundane into the magical

British-born artist Lorette Roberts has captured the spirit of Hong Kong - her home for the past seven years - from almost every angle, from international sports events such as the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, to panoramic vistas, Chinese New Year, the markets, villages and sweeping vistas of the famous Victoria Harbour.

"To reach the locations where I wanted to paint I travelled everywhere by Hong Kong's fantastic system of buses boats, trains, taxis and trams," said Ms Roberts, whose paintings are hung internationally from the US and Europe to Saudi Arabia and the Far East.

"You meet so many fascinating people when you travel by public transport. Every journey is a mini adventure."

Ms Roberts has sipped tea with elderly village ladies who look after their grandchildren while their parents work, and watched young couples and businessmen seek guidance in ancient temples. On another occasion. she was invited to put down her camera and brushes and join in a village festival that only takes place every 20 years.

Icons and memories

Her work even turns the mundane into the magical. From temple dragons to chickens, post boxes to junks, hydrofoils, calligraphy, signs, villages, fishing boats and doors on village houses festooned with lucky symbols are all portrayed through the artist's light-hearted perspective 

Antique fans and gear mechanisms of the 115-year-old Peak Tram also take their place as Hong Kong icons.  The paintings are all accompanied by handwritten notes giving details of the event or a personal observation.

Sometimes focusing on artifacts and objects, sometimes on people, ancient culture or simply curious juxtapositions, Ms Roberts says her love and fascination for Hong Kong began just hours after she arrived.

"It was almost instantaneous. Hong Kong's unique blend of East-meets-West is a rich source of interest for someone like me who appreciates the many ways that the two cultures comfortably merge." An example of this is a painting of tourists throwing red and gold incense papers and other offerings into the famous banyan wishing tree at Lam Tsuen, a village in the New Territories during Chinese New year.

The book is available from major book stores in Hong Kong or online at www.loretteroberts.com