British stadium artist nurtures a field of dreams as he sets off to paint the next IPL 2025 match
Andy Brown’s quest for stadium art took him to Japan, Taiwan, America, Mexico and Cuba, where he painted polo, sumo wrestling, Formula 1, football, and more
MUMBAI: On Monday, as Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru played at Wankhede Stadium, artist Andy Brown, 44, stood on the sidelines and brought the on-ground action on canvas.
A day after, seated at a café in south Mumbai, Brown holds up the canvas to reveal strong and vivid brushstrokes in acrylic, reflecting the energy within the stadium when Virat Kohli was on the pitch. With an eye for detail, he has captured the spectators in various moments of excitement, the multiple shades of the grass, colours of the sponsors’ ads along the boundary and the flashlights illuminating the sky. “I’ve tried to get the whole impression of the noise and the experience of being there,” said Brown.
Brown has been commissioned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to visit the stadiums where IPL 2025 matches are being held to paint them live. (HT could not independently confirm this from BCCI.) “I look at the colours, flags, the heroes of the game, the architecture of the stadium, the little motifs on the players’ uniforms; I want to capture the whole feel of being there and watching the game,” said Brown.
Brown has had similar assignments over 10 years in which time he has accomplished over 200 canvases -- sometimes focusing on the vibe of the place, and other times, with longer games, on big moments, “James Anderson’s 700th wicket at Dharamshala being one”. Brown recalled the English cricketer’s pivotal moment when he became the first seam bowler to notch 700 Test wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in 2024. A similar iconic moment was when he painted the India win at the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup final in Barbados.
A perk of his job is the opportunity to catch up with the players and share his work – when he was in India last year painting the India England Test series, he remembers Kuldeep Yadav walking up to him for a small chat and watch him work briefly. Over the course of the series, he also met Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. “I think these guys love seeing themselves in the paintings, because they have many, many photographs, but to be captured on canvas is unique,” he said.
Essex born, Brown studied fine arts at Loughborough University, and started painting stadiums over a decade ago – his first was painting a game of baseball while he lived in South Korea as an art teacher. “I wanted to learn about Korean culture, and in a stadium, you learn everything about the place’s culture. The food, history, music, politics, economics, the way people celebrate and interact with each other, you learn everything,” he said.
Subsequently, his quest for stadium art took him to Japan, Taiwan, America, Mexico and Cuba, where he painted polo, sumo wrestling, Formula 1, football, and more. “Each stadium and each sport has its own unique personality,” he said. Often, though not always, he adds himself as one of the figures to the canvas, as a way of recording his presence through his art.
He has been a full-time artist for the past six years and has sold his works to the BCCI, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, New York, Jimmy Anderson and more, he said. “My love for sport stems from the intense work the players put in. Their talent, handwork, determination and commitment resonates with the artist in me,”
“I admire anyone who has the dedication and passion to keep going. It’s got ups and downs, it’s easy and it’s hard. And it’s the same with painting,” said Brown, who first put paint to paper at six. “One of my first paintings, which my mother still treasures, is a drawing of a baseball player. I have no idea why I drew it, because I’m from England, where baseball is not as popular as cricket,” he recalled.
Today the Rugby-based artist drapes a Rugby Town Football Club scarf on his easel each time he starts a fresh work.
His love for sport and art has taken him across the globe and given him the opportunity to explore different cultures. He calls himself a traveller who is up for meeting new people, trying new cuisine traditions, and understanding how people live. “And sport is a great way to do that because it brings a disparate group together,” he said.
His next stop is at Bengaluru where he will paint the Royal Challengers Bengaluru versus Delhi Capitals. He has made a portrait of Kohli which he is looking forward to gift him. “I would love to meet him; he is an icon because he transcends cricket,” he said. In the near future, Brown aspires to be appointed as the team artist for an IPL team. “I’ve done that for a baseball team in Mexico, the Great Britain national baseball team, and now I want to document an IPL team,” he said.
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