Buying paintings in Laos

Hello all

I am hoping someone can help with my question. I plan to travel through Laos (Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane) and would like to pick up some local paintings (big canvas paintings) from the area. So are paintings easy to pick up, are they expensive and does anyone recommend any places to look out for them?

Any help is appreciated as always

thanks

uktraveller0

ps. I%26#39;ll also be in Siem reap and Phenon penh just in case anyone knows if those are good place for buying in Cambodia

Buying paintings in Laos

Hi - yes they are easy to pick up in Vientiane and Luang Prabang. In vientiane there are a couple pf galleries and they are also often sold outside by the river. In LP there are also galleries and many sold at the night market.

Buying paintings in Laos

I am assuming you want something of slightly higher quality. The paintings sold near the river and opposite Kob Jai der are mass produced, cheap and relatively poor quality. As the previous poster has mentioned, there are now a number of galleries selling works by better known Lao artists. You can find galleries in Vientiane and LP.

Also you can go to the Art school of the national university and purchase paintings from exhibitions there.

Thanks for your replies. Rufuscat, yes you are right I%26#39;m after something that is of good quality. Purchasing from galleries and exhibitions sounds promising. Are the paintings expensive there?

thanks

uktraveller0

Hi, how are you planning to get the paintings back to the UK. Often thought about sending things back by post but not sure if things like that would get damaged, actually get back to the UK and what the import duties are (or similar). I know i was in chatuchak market in bangkok one year and they had a DHL booth where you could send a big box back (via ship i think). Obviously it took weeks to get back to the UK (which i wasnt bothered about) but wondered if it would cost me a small fortune at our customs?

Hi phiphi

My plan is to buy paintings on canvas, roll them up and take them on the plane as carry on. However the DHL booth is an interesting option in case there turns out to be a lot to purchase.

cheers

uktraveller0

No not that expensive, especially if compared to works from known artists in say Ubud, Singapore or Thailand. There are some up and coming artists whose works you can buy for very reasonable prices. depending on the size of the canvas, anywhere from $100US to $400US.

Hi! I just got back recently, and my husband and myself bought a great pic at the night markets in siem reap. It is good quality painting, the only problem is that we have to get a mat made for it as no frame here or a frame with a mat is the right size, so we have to pay $20 to get one cut for us, in saying that we are more than happy to because you could not even try to get a pic for that price or quality here and it is stunning. we bought it for US$20. one place said $38 and we obviously knew it was too much, it is a painting place on the right hand side of the markets rather than the left :)

hope you get something you love!!!

In Siem Reap, you can go to ARTISANS d%26#39;ANGKOR to buy carvings from skilled artisans. No bargaining.

Outside of Siem Reap, you can go to LITTLE ANGELS School near the Roulous Group of temples.

The children carve leather skins into beautiful, traditional bas-relief... they are for sale %26amp; the $ goes directly to the student to feed her family.

We bought a 16'; x 20'; of a dancing Apsara for $10.

DO NOT bargain. The biggest ones are about $20.

This is a school for orphans %26amp; very poor kids. It%26#39;s an open-air pavilion %26amp; they sit on straw mats %26amp; their %26#39;desks%26#39; are log slices.

Bring a sack of rice as a donation to help feed them. A local supermarket will take credit cards %26amp; you can buy a 10 kilo or larger sack of rice.

Children%26#39;s books in ENGLISH (alphabet, colors, counting) are also appreciated.