About Peter Underhill
Since 1999 the Bad Taste Bears have become a labour of love for creator Peter Underhill. We hope that this little retreat into the memoirs of the artist may go some way into explaining what we have wondered for a long time...where does he come up with this stuff?...
Peter was a budding artist from a very early age and even in his fledgling beginnings he was already upsetting authority figures by drawing on his class mates...
"I wasn't particularly smart at school, but what I lacked, I compensated with drawing. I remember having one of those fat ballpoint pens with tons of colours and other kids during playtime would ask me to draw tattoos on their arms. I always said I could draw anything except horses."
After a relatively humble early school career Peter found himself enrolling at North Warwickshire College School of Art where he found not only a love of design but also the love of his life...
"I attended a foundation course at North Warwickshire College School of Art - a chance to sample life's creative offerings. This led to me taking Graphic Design as my main subject. During these next two fabulously interesting years I met Dawn, a hairdressing and beauty therapy student who was destined in 1983 to become my wife."
After graduation he had several different jobs, all of which helped him to aquire the the tools of the trade.
"I'd picked up a little freelance graphic design work locally and slid easily into self employment. A year later I was offered a job as printer, which I did for 18 months and then I became an Art School Technician back at Nuneaton School of Art.
Then, out of the blue, I had a call from a small local design agency. They were expanding and needed another body in their studio. Perfect, my contract at the art school was just ending, so another door opened for me. I learned so much and because the company was too cheap to buy in illustration or airbrushing, I did pretty much all of it. I rose to the giddy title of Art Director, via a brief stint as Studio Manager.
From the agency I joined a professional photographic laboratory as graphic designer. By far the longest proper job I held - eleven years in total."
During this time he discovered the Apple Macintosh, getting his first Mac in 1991, and celebrated the birth of his son Lewis in 1993. The following year saw the birth of The Bad Taste Bears concept, though he did not know it at the time. What started as the sketch of a frustrated artist tired of designing a range of cutesy bears to be printed onto little girl's pyjamas was to become one of the most successful collectable brands ever...
"Hey kiddies! Here's the chainsaw bear!"
Eventually Bad Taste Bears became all consuming and Peter left the day job behind...
"My other work was screaming for attention as well as offering the chance to earn more money - OK, so I'm greedy! I gave up the day job and have worked from my studio at home since 2001"
Despite being the man behind The Bad Taste Bears phenomenon Peter still gets no bigger thrill than pulling out his crayons and doing a bit of colouring in...
"It has always been important to me that I continue to develop all aspects of my abilities and am seldom satisfied with a piece of work for very long. There are so many things want to explore, but at the end of the day, with all kinds of technology available, I still get the biggest kick from grabbing a pencil or a paintbrush and getting my hands dirty."
For more information on Peter Underhill visit:
www.peterunderhill.com
www.peterunderhill.blogspot.com
www.chocolatestarfish.com