Dave Bain – Artist

Dave Bain is an artist and illustrator working out of the Drawn In Bristol studios in Hamilton House on Stokes Croft. We met Dave just after his new exhibition ‘Knock Knock’ with Laura Wady, at the Snug in the Tobacco Factory in Southville, opened. 

One of the first things we asked was what attracted him to Bristol:

‘I’m one of the many Falmouth graduates that have made Bristol their home. For me, I wanted an affordable city that wasn’t hectic, yet had an exciting creative scene, both musically and artistically.

 Since graduating I have worked as an illustrator, but not always full-time. The first few years saw me holding down various bar jobs and I even did a stint as school secretary, while I was trying to get some illustration commissions under my belt. Interestingly some of the people I met during my time working bars have, in one way or another, led onto design work and other creative initiatives in recent years, which I could never have predicted.’

This led neatly to the innovative collaborative show with Laura Wady, where one of them begins work on a character which the other completes came about:

‘’I’ve known Laura for a number of years, and always admired her work. We chatted a few times about doing a collaborative project and finally got round to sitting down and narrowing down our ideas earlier this year. It’s been immensely fun working on the artworks as, other than a few simple ground rules for the characters, we would have no idea what the other was painting until we came to swap the artworks over. I love surprises and enjoyed creating a scenario where that could be brought into the creation of an exhibition.’’

Dave has worked on numerous projects of different sizes and scales but one in particular stood out for him:
 
‘It’s tough to pick favourites. A project that stands out was for Children in Need, in partnership with BBC’s DIY SOS show. Collaborating with friend and fellow illustrator Loch Ness, we painted an enormous wall mural for a Liverpool youth centre. The joyful reaction of the young people, on seeing the redeveloped centre with our artwork, was more than enough of a reward for our efforts!

Currently, I’m in the midst of working with Bristol’s Children’s Hospital on a series of new artworks and characters for a long stretch of their corridors.’

Drawing is fast becoming associated with the art scene in Bristol almost as much as street art and Dave is one of the people who it could be said brought it to the fore as a co-founder of the Drawn Collective:

‘Drawn in Bristol was the brain-child of Bryony Morgan, the lady also behind Made in Bristol. We felt that there was a need to create something that could go some way in supporting illustrators in Bristol who were passionate about making a career out of their artworks. Since then, we’ve set up a large, open-plan studio space, a low-cost screen-printing facility, worked with a range of local clients, held numerous exhibitions and opened various pop-up shops.

The collective has 48 members, who are all incredibly talented. It’s such an honour to be working amongst them, sharing workspaces, ideas and collaborating on jobs. Next year, I’m taking a step back from Drawn in Bristol to develop some new ideas and projects of my own, but I’ll be keeping a keen eye on what happens next with everyone.’

‘All my work starts with drawing as its foundation and then I choose which method and style to use depending on what best fits a commission. If left to my own devices I always go back to pure drawing.

I’m not an art historian, so can only speak from what I know. Within the world of illustration there is an ever-shifting sea of on-trend styles and methods. Hand-drawn images and cut-out shapes seem to be the go-to aesthetic for many a current advertising campaign, perhaps because it helps whatever is being sold to seem more genuine or unique. Keeping my finger on the pulse, learning new skills, creating new types of images and solving new problems are the reasons why I became an illustrator and why I still love what I do.’