Painter, maker, father, collector of moments—James Drinkwater brings to the canvas not only paint, but the tender, textured residue of a life deeply lived. In ANCHORED BY THE SUN, Drinkwater's artistic practice transforms into a lived philosophy: one that honours the domestic, the poetic, the imperfect, and the perishable. This is an act of reverence—an ode to the everyday, where quiet gestures of care and intimacy are translated into form, colour, and light.

These tonalities and textures have made their way into his paintings. More than just describing a place, Drinkwater evokes a feeling—of being present, of bearing witness, of collecting and reframing the modest rhythms that shape our lives. Each canvas holds the trace of lived experience: the laughter that lingers after rich conversation, the warmth of morning light that falls across the kitchen table, the residue of a long night that stretches into an early morning. His compositions are not constructed, so much as felt into being.

Drinkwater collapses the space between life and art. From gestures that permeate through a love of food, to studio rituals, to the found objects he collects, he draws from the ephemera of the everyday—transforming them into works of emotional resonance and lyrical abstraction. The paint becomes a vessel for sentiment, a means of grounding fleeting sensations into something tangible. His process is tactile and intuitive, guided by touch as much as sight; where each layer of pigment carries with it a fragment of his story and a trace of time well spent.

In a world that often celebrates spectacle, Drinkwater’s practice is a reminder of the sacredness in the ordinary. His work is not simply about what we see, but how we feel. ANCHORED BY THE SUN encourages us to slow down, to reflect on the weight of our own domestic gestures, and to see art not only as an object, but as an offering. Through his paintings, Drinkwater extends an invitation: to look closely, to inhabit the quiet spaces, and to rediscover the beauty in what we might often overlook. Ultimately, he provides us with a powerful opportunity for reflection—on practice, on memory, and on the fleeting beauty of the everyday.

To live attentively is an art form. Meaning can be found, not in grandeur, but in the tender accumulation of small moments that make up a life.

Anthea Mentzalis
November, 2025