Art - wanderlust

Wanderlust and watercolours

Award-winning Suffolk author, illustrator and artist, James Mayhew, investigates inspiring art in the region

James Mayhew

Eye, in Suffolk, might seem an unlikely destination for an artist who loves to travel the world, but for designer, illustrator and author Dorien Brouwers, rural Suffolk has provided its own adventures.

Hailing from the Netherlands, as a child she always drew. Unsure of which direction to take her talent, she eventually chose Graphic Design as her area of study, initially in Holland. However, she longed to travel, and after exciting excursions around the world she embarked on a successful career for a graphic design company in London where she met her husband, Stephen – her boss at the time.

When their son was born, they realised London life in a small flat wasn’t going to work. Visiting friends in Eye, they discovered the house opposite – an old bank – was up for sale, and so made the move to Suffolk. The house is beautiful, full of Scandinavian-style painted wood and period features, with a labyrinth of rooms and stairs. “Difficult to heat,” admits Stephen, but it’s been home for seven years now, and has the space for chickens outside and calm, clean studio space inside. In the music room I discover the graceful shape of a harp; Dorien is also an accomplished harpist.

Motherhood gave Dorien a break from work, and the time to play around with ideas for children’s books. It’s a common scenario – aren’t we all supposed to have a book in us?! But Dorien proves it’s not an empty dream. With hard work, dedication, and, of course, a talent, she has realised her ambition in a spectacular fashion, with publishers now bidding against each other for future projects. She developed her first book ‘The Remarkable Pigeon’ in 2018 (published by Salariya Publishing). This was followed by ‘Sail' (Little, Brown in 2021), a beautiful, sweeping book with dazzling illustrations in shades of teal and turquoise, leading us through a lyrical tale of a young boy finding his own courage. Her latest book ‘Wild Beings’ was published this Spring by Little Brown, and similarly explores the links between the animal and human world. She is currently developing an exciting new project for Penguin Random House.

What strikes me is the beautiful painterly quality of Dorien’s work. It disguises the fact that there is huge control and skill involved in the way she assembles her images. As a child, watercolour was always her preferred medium, a passion she has carried through to adulthood. Dorien first paints

intricate sheets of creatures – assorted sea life for ‘Sail’, for example. All these exquisite little paintings – on their own they are beautiful – are scanned into a computer and then placed on a very free, almost impressionistic background, created either in watercolour or gorgeous, one-off monoprints. Compiling the final image is painstaking, careful work, using Photoshop to place each component.

In today’s world of book illustration, working digitally is commonplace. It’s rare, however, to find work that retains the integrity of the hand-made. Dorien somehow achieves that with her vibrant, immersive images. The natural world is a strong unifying theme, from sea creatures to beasts to birds in the air. Environmental considerations sit alongside human emotions. It’s clear Dorien is an unusually thoughtful, reflective creator and as I prepare to leave the conversation shifts. I ask Dorien how she feels about creating art in such a volatile, troubled world. “I have questioned it.” she replies. “All we can do is spread some hope and love and beauty in whatever way we can.”

Hope, love and beauty abound in Dorien’s work which will, I’m sure, touch and enrich many young lives.

Dorien Brouwers

Web: dorienillustrator.com Insta: @dorienillustrator

Web: jamesmayhew.co.uk Insta & Twitter: @mrjamesmayhew

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