James Drinkwater | Postage Paid Berlin

Details, memories and maps. Dedicated to Warren Drinkwater.

I am an observer of the details of life and I paint maps from my experience. Memories of growing up by the sea, the shades and shapes that existed there; the hues used by the impressionists and the way colours sit next to or on top of one another.

The details of my life here and now in Berlin continue to inspire me. The grit and soul of the city push my perspective. The subway stations that are adorned with big, beautiful ceramic tiles provide a vibrant backdrop for the ragged people that gather there to scheme and seek refuge from the snow covered streets above.

I’m sure they think I’m from another time with my top hat and stick. Sometimes I dance for them to confirm their fascination.

Berlin is the street art and graffiti capital of the world and the marks that these individuals or crews make, sometimes beautiful, sometimes crude, create the most incredible foundations for my work. I am completely overwhelmed by the lines, layers and patterns.

I drink in and devour every little piece of the hard, romantic beast that is Berlin. I have become very attached to the bare winter trees and the way the branches sit starkly against the sky creating an infinite array of negative shapes, like paper cuts outs stuck to the sky.

I love the details I see in my domestic life – in cooking, drinking, sleeping, talking, loving. I lose myself in these shapes and put them in my work. They form a patchwork – a quilt of sentimentality that I wrap myself in like a cocoon.

Like details of life cut up into pieces and put on the canvas. These are my maps.

Read them well.