Essex artist’s strokes capture beauty of cricket in Dharamsala

Raghav Guleria

Dharamsala, March 8

Andy Brown, a British artist hailing from Essex, has been travelling the world over, capturing sports history and culture of various places.

Passion-driven Andy has sketched many stadiums of the world. Talking to The Tribune, he said, “I am enjoying nature at its best and am impressed by the scenic beauty of Dharamsala.”

According to him, the stadium is, undoubtedly, the most beautiful in the world, and he is enjoying making paintings in such a pristine atmosphere.

In the entire Test series between India and England, Andy has been at the stadiums, capturing interesting happenings at the venues in his paintings. He has become a major attraction during the matches, where high-power cameras zoom in on him, making him the subject of discussion for spectators.

The painter likes to capture not just the field but the entirety of the experience, which lies in exploring the culture, cuisine and local people and illustrating the cheering crowds.

Painting professional sports for the past five years, Brown has been commissioned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to illustrate the stadiums for every Test of the series when he requested the BCCI to allow him to draw the live spectacles.

The 43-year-old Brown has painted all 30 Major league baseball stadiums across the USA and has captured live sport events on canvas such as FIFA, Formula 1 and the NFL.

In the picturesque stadium of Dharamshala, set amidst the mighty Himalayas, each stroke of the field painter reflects the beauty and passion of the game, making it an enduring symbol of his creativity on the pitch.

Brown’s skills have transformed the blank canvas into a kalaeidoscope of colours, with the grand pavillion, lush-green fields and the backdrop ranges detailed meticulously.

Set against the snowcapped Dhauladhar ranges, the stadium is currently playing host to the fifth Test match. Crowds, which come from different parts of the world and the country here, have always been mesmerised by the charm of the HPCA stadium.

IPL chairman Arun Dhumal shared a light moment with Andy who has also painted baseball, NFL, football, polo and many live events in over 20 countries. His artwork has been collected by players, teams and fans from across the world and recognised by ESPN, FOX, BBCand Buckingham Palace.

In 2022, his book “El Arte Del Beisbol” was published by Indicia. Both his books have been about baseball.