Jack Clayton - Printmaker + illustrator
Jack Clayton - illustration
Jack has been a passionate drawer since childhood and with a life time of practice that early childhood instinct to create has become a fully realised artistic language.
Every illustration begins the same way - pen and pencil on paper, worked entirely by hand before being refined through digital techniques to achieve the final composition.
The subject matter in recent years has drawn from two deep wells of inspiration. The first is Vietnam's history, its ancient cultures, layered architecture, colonial past and the visual richness of a country that has been shaped by millennia of movement, trade and conflict. The second is its present, the street food vendors, the motorbikes, the narrow hẻm and the ordinary moments of daily life that most visitors pass through without stopping to really look.
Together these influences produce work that is both rigorously researched and viscerally alive. Each piece is a document as much as it is an artwork, a way of seeing Vietnam that bypasses language and speaks directly through image.
Hand drawn
Every design, hand drawn in pen + pencil from the artist's own photography
'The more you look the more you see'
Creative illustrations that unravel and reveal more as you let your eyes explore the intricate details
Commissions Available
Contact us to enquire about commission availability...
Ho Chi Minh City Riverside View 2026 Commissioned illustration
Thu Thiem, Empire Building viewpoint
This panoramic illustration is one of the most ambitious and detailed pieces in the Jack Clayton catalogue. Commissioned in 2026 by a resident of the Empire Building in Thu Thiem, the brief was straightforward: recreate the view from their window. What followed was anything but simple.
Working from his own photographic reference taken across the city, Jack adjusted angles and perspectives to capture the full sweep of the Saigon River from the Khánh Hội waterfront and the historic Elisa floating restaurant on the far left, all the way east to Landmark 81 on the right. Every major building, hotel and landmark along the riverside has been meticulously rendered in pen and pencil at 60 x 150cm — a format that allows the piece to be printed at up to 3 metres wide without any loss of detail.
Prices
Small size - 30cm x 75cm 'image print size not including border' - 3.25m VND / 125 USD
Full size - 60cm x 150cm 'image print size not including border' - 10m VND / 385 USD
Archival giclee, signed prints on acid free cotton rag from a Canson accredited printer.
Dong Son Drum Triptych
A set of drum faces that travel the country
The ancient Dong Son drums of Vietnam depicted scenes of daily life and war, animals , birds and boats. They were used as musical instruments as well as cult items and were cast out of bronze between 600 BC – 300 AD. They symbolized wealth and prosperity and were treasured items in local villages. Using landmarks, everyday patterns, other influences from living here and travelling up and down the country I have designed my own personal drum faces to represent each region of Vietnam. This triptych project travels the country and is a detailed map of my own discovery and research as I try to find out about the country, I have chosen to make home. Each drum has the same basic structure, with an illustrated timeline narrative that travels the outside perimeter. On the inside, miniature illustrations that catalogue important landmarks and also an eclectic mix of modern and traditional culture.
Prices
Small size - 40cm x 40cm - 3m VND / 115 USD
Full size - 60cm x 60cm - 5m VND / 190 USD
Limited edition, archival giclee, signed + numbered prints on acid free cotton rag from a Canson accredited printer.
Saigon Compass 2025
‘Entering a new era of growth + development’
This digital edit of a pen and pencil illustration was inspired by a previous design, originally released in 2015 which visually catalogued my personal explorations and discoveries living in a completely new city. Now, 10 years later I have returned to this theme, re-creating a map of the new HCMC as it explodes into the next chapter!
In the outside ring of this compass design, you can see an illustrated, chronological narrative of the progression of time in the region now known as Ho Chi Minh City, from centuries past to the present day.
‘Prey Nokor’ which roughly translates to ‘Forest City’ 🏡 is the earliest known name and shows the Khmer influence on the area around the times of Funan. Look closely, and you will make out the tale of ‘Huntian’s Bow’ in the details.
‘Gia Dinh’ was the name given to the city when the Vietnamese ‘marched south’, inhabiting the area, bringing their own culture, rice farming and historically set up the first tax collections and palace to establish the start of a new city.
‘Saigon’ was the name adopted by the French and this part of the circle shows the influence with regards to the iconic architecture such as the ‘Saigon Opera house’, ‘Ben Thanh Market’ and the ‘Notre Dam Cathedral’. Also, find the iconic culinary ‘banh mi’ 🥖seller cycling past with her microphone speaker advertising fresh daily bread. 🥖
‘Ho Chi Minh City’ name was given to the city after 1976 and in the background, celebrated sites such as the ‘Reunification Palace, ‘Turtle Lake’ and the ‘HCMC Fine Arts Museum’ can be seen.
Weaving through the centre of the design is the ‘Saigon River’, which I feel captures the shape of a human face. This form manipulation is a common theme in my previous map designs, and I like to use these forms to help illustrate the idea behind my art. Life in HCMC can be a bit of a sensory overload especially to visitors and the expression of amazement on the face of the river helps me to capture this idea.
Inside the circle, you can find the ‘old districts’ of HCMC being carved, separated and rebuilt, piece by piece, forming new areas and locations to explore. The sites and scenes match up accurately to their mapped location. Delve in deeper and you will discover daily life scenes that have appeared in my own art portfolio as well as common expressions and sayings that have inspired me up to this day.
Prices
Small size - 40cm x 40cm - 3m VND / 115 USD
Full size - 60cm x 60cm - 5m VND / 190 USD
Archival giclee, signed + numbered prints on acid free cotton rag from a Canson accredited printer.
This design is also available as an affordable offset reproduction in our online shop.
Hoi An Illustration
This custom map design has been created to tell the story of Hoi An ancient town.
The motives behind creating this piece was learn about the history of Hoi An whilst mixing modern day scenes and culture into the composition. The goal was to create a cohesive image, inspired by the map of the ancient town to remember and celebrate it is iconic rich and historical past. Studying the map, I noticed the streets made the shape of a boat similar to that of the ones that still line the riverside today. The foundation of Hoi An’s history is based on the fact it was a major port town and attracted visitors from Japan, Europe, China, and India. Around this shape I saw a large fish or whale, as if protecting or guiding the boat. Whales, known as ‘Ca Ong’ or ‘Lord Fish’ have a deep history in Vietnamese culture. They appear in legends and stories passed down of stranded fishermen being rescued by the sea creature, guiding them to safety. In this image I am using the illusion of a whale and a boat to symbolize protection around the ancient town with its beautiful temples and architecture. In the surrounding areas the collaged illustrations pay homage to the outside influences from the Japanese to the left and the Chinese to the right. In the center you can see the multi-cultural melting pot that is modern Hoi An. Dotted on the whale almost like old barnacles on a ship are buildings and temples that particularly took my eye whilst walking around. Keeping in the theme of the map they are placed geographically where they are in real life so if you took this illustration to each part of the town you should find the pictured building.
Prices
Small size - Limited edition of 75 - 30cm x 40cm - 2m VND / 75 USD
Medium Size - Limited edition of 25 - 35cm x 50cm - 3,25m VND / 125 USD
Full size -Limited edition of only 10 - 50cm x 70cm - 12m VND / 450 USD
Limited edition, archival giclee, signed + numbered prints on acid free cotton rag from a Canson accredited printer.
Saigon Cityscape, view from district 10
Below are two designs created from a single illustration that I drew by hand from a given photograph. The photo was from a friend's apartment building in Saigon and I was instantly attracted to the composition which is why I had to create this piece.
Color + black and white prints of this design are available through our gallery.
Prices
Small size - Limited edition of 75 - 26cm x 55cm - 3m VND / 115 USD
Full size --Limited edition of 25 - 40cm x 85cm - 5m VND / 190 USD
Limited edition, archival giclee, signed + numbered prints on acid free cotton rag from a Canson accredited printer.
