“8pm, Comfort Hotel, Paris”, 2006

James Brown

“8pm, Comfort Hotel, Paris”, 2006

Oil on Canvas

Size: 80 x 100 cm

At night the Eiffel Tower (at times) shimmers in light like a jewel and this painting is all about that special moment when the earth seems to stop and the sparkling begins. For me, the tower personifies the heart of Paris. My interest at the time I made the painting was to create a tunnel-like view showing the tower nestled in darkness. For those interested in raw beginnings, I’ve included within this cluster of details the quick sketch of what I saw at the time.

“The Common”, 2006

James Brown

“The Common”, 2006

Oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm

I made this painting over the course of two weekend painting trips with my painting companion and best friend, Hilary, in a nature reserve called The Townsville Common Conservation Park located in the eastern part of Australia's north. The park is known for its diversity of birds, but, of course, there are many other critters like snakes (aka “danger noodles”) and wallabies. I love the area. The terrain is reasonably flat and spotted with what I'm told is monsoon thorn thicket scrub. Heading towards the sea, there is a low mountain range known as ‘Many Peaks' with somewhat bleached looking tidal salt flats at its base.

The site of this painting was a semi-shaded area nestled among pandanus and long grass with a curlew keeping watch on what we were doing. I remember clearly that we each laid a ring of insect repellent around where we worked to stop the ants from making a meal of our legs. What I was hoping to capture in the painting was the broken light, the heat, the marks of bush fire charring and the presence of thorny vegetation.