Australian Art Series: Peter Bainbridge

Sydney-based Peter Bainbridge is a true creative, having started as a fashion designer in the mid-1980s before moving into fashion design, print and online publishing. He's now spending all his time on illustrations inspired by his daily walks, which are painstakingly transferred onto hand-made French paper. 

Tell us a little about your creative journey, from fashion design to photography and now screen printing?

I've done a few things, but throughout all my past endeavours, it's Illustrating that has lingered. I was a fashion photographer for 15 years – I mixed all my own chemical formulas for film and printed everything myself. I also published my own broadsheet fashion magazine titled Superfoto.

Now my illustration practice is full time, and I'm genuinely loving it. There's no-one looking over my shoulder, as it were. My influences have been Aboriginal art and that of New Guinea as well as western influences like Toulouse Lautrec, Andy Warhol, Saul Bass, Japanese manga. So, imagine you mix these into a pot, add a dash of abstract expressionism and voilà!

Mandarin - Peter Bainbridge

What does a typical day involve for you?

My ideas are cooked up while I'm asleep, and refined while on my daily walk around the river.

I have a giant bean bag. And like a cat, I make sure everything is in place. Freshly ground coffee, homemade strawberry cheese cake (this week) and then 5 hours of silence. I'll then start looking at objects I find while walking – leaves, seeds etc. I visit my fav websites to relax, not work related sites – it's kinda like a mental massage.

Melon Flower - Peter Bainbridge

Can you describe your creative space?

My creative space is a sunroom in Earlwood, with big backyard and the many local birds including rosellas, and many bats at night. And it's super quiet. Earlwood is the highest point in Sydney's landscape, so the air is like ice at night, clean and clear. You could say it's almost country.

Black Orchid - Peter Bainbridge

Tell us about the Flora collection – what is the process for creating the work?

All the illustrations are done on a Mac, then they go through the silk screen to paper process. There are nine steps before the image gets to paper including coloured ink swatches on paper, mixing the bulk inks, double checking tone and shades. My printer lives in the north coast, which is where the Flora collection is printed. We make sure everything is just right, which takes time.

What is your approach to colour?

I love colour. It's weird - when I was a photographer I steered clear of colour and now I'm drowning in it, and loving it. I'm mainly working with abstract primitive colours - ochres browns, and blacks.

Liquorice Tree - Peter Bainbridge

You work with hand-made French cotton paper and beeswaxed Tasmanian Oak frames. What do you think these materials contribute to the work?

I use French handmade cotton paper simply because it's very beautiful, and one of the best papers available. I appreciate its texture, the fact that it's all natural and doesn't include the chemicals that are in some paper which turn it yellow over time. The paper is a visual experience on its own.

The work is framed in beeswaxed Tasmanian Oak. Frames are very important; the wrong frame can ruin a picture. The frames I've chosen give the illustrations a bigger graphic impact.