Netherlands sketchbook (five pages), 2015

James Brown

Five sketchbook pages from a trip exploring the Netherlands:

“Haarlem 1”, “2” and “3”, 2015

“Amsterdam”, 2015

“Delft”, 2015

Pencil and watercolour on pale yellow wove paper (sketchbook pages)

Size of each page: 21 x 13 cm

While my sketchbook pages might suggest that Isabelle and I spent our entire trip in the Netherlands merely appreciating the architecture, the reality was quite different. Isabelle took on the role of our meticulous tour planner, and our main objective was to explore as many galleries as possible during our stay. Although we focused on art, we often took breaks from the galleries to enjoy the outside world, and it was during these moments that I found time to draw.

I truly felt spoiled during this trip. There were even times when wonderful Isabelle would bring me sandwiches and literally feed me so that I wouldn’t have to interrupt my drawing sessions!

Haarlem served as our home base, allowing us to take day-trips to the major centres like Amsterdam and beyond via buses and trains. For anyone contemplating a journey to the Netherlands, I highly recommend using Haarlem as a base. It’s such a picturesque and tranquil place, making it a perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle of larger cities like busy Amsterdam. 

“Ross River Screen”, 2015

James Brown

“Ross River Screen”, 2015

Oil on Canvas

Size: 60 x 60 cm

What I find interesting when looking at paintings executed a decade or more ago is how the fundamental structures of my paintings are repeated. I can even speak with confidence in looking back that I like a clear vertical line in the centre of a composition. The reason why I lean to this central placement of a vertical, whether this might be a tree or a line created by the abutment of two forms, must have some deeply rooted significance buzzing around in my head. Mindful that many quirks have an origin, there is likely to be a very good reason why I shouldn’t try to find an explanation or I might end up trying to disguise this disposition if the answer is too weird to accept. Certainly, in this painting there is also a fascination with gaps between trees—the “negative” spaces—and these naturally framed gaps have always been a pictorial device that I enjoy playing with, in terms of a visual play between the reality of tangible forms of trees and the “other” world of intangible voids.

In looking back to the time when I made this painting, I recall wanting to explore the idea of “exploding” negative space (the voids) between trees with the vibrant colours of leaves and a tangle of spindly branches set against the suggestion of a river in the background.