Peter Barraclough

Peter Baraclough left his native Yorkshire for Tasmania in 1969 - over two decades later, he claims to have found his direction as an Australian painter.

Brushing aside the images and light of Northern England, which has filtered through his painting and tied him to his formative years as an artist, Barraclough has revealed a unique interpretation of his environment. He now feels free to vigorously pursue the Australian landscape and paint it as it is.

"I don't see myself as a complex artist. I don't try to inject great meaning into what I paint. My paintings are a response to the landscape and it provides any power or drama in my work."

Barraclough put his teaching career on hold in 1985 to devote himself to painting.

His studio, far removed from his subject, was in the commercial centre of the small industrial town of Burnie on Tasmania's North-West coast, and his methodical even pragmatic approach, "I come to the studio every day - even if it's only to clean up. I don't like to loose touch with my painting…" is revealed in a somewhat formal approach to his landscaped.

Barely venturing away far from the coast the effect of light on seashore and sky underplays his work. Much of the effect - heavy skies, low textured horizons - is accidental. Brushwork is restricted to skies; smearing and scratching to highlight what Barraclough refers to as the endearing scruffiness of the Australian bush.

Lately he has ventured further into the use of colour, away from the "safer" tonals. The rugged Tasmanian North-west coast with its temperate rainforest green, has provided Barraclough with a challenge matched only by the tropical green of the "Top End" where he has recently been commissioned to work.

Typified by his business-like approach to his work, Barraclough's "see it as it is, say it as it is" attitude to painting is a carry-over from his early days at art college, when he was preoccupied with the images of seedy cafes, factory backyards and industrial sites.

Neither does he shy away from the detrimental effect of man on the environment today - rivers murky with mine tailings, blasted quarries and skeletons of trees feature in much of his work, revealing natures slow struggle to recover.

Since 1971, Barraclough has exhibited extensively throughout Tasmania and the mainland states. His paintings are to be found in public buildings and private collections around the world, including two large works commissioned by the Japanese industrialist Ken Fujii.

In 1988, Peter moved his studio to the beautiful and historic waterfront city of Hobart where he and his daughter run a studio gallery restaurant complex.

Being situated in Sullivans Cove, virtually on Constitution Dock, most of his subject matter is drawn from workboats, trawlers, warehouses and people working and playing in this busy environment

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Curriculum Vitae

1939	Born in the west riding town of Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, England
1954 - 1958	Studied painting & lithography at Dewsbury & Batley College of Art.
1959-60	Obtained Art Teachers Diploma at Liverpool College of Art
1960-69	Taught in high schools, grammar schools and colleges of further education in United Kingdom
	Exhibited in "Yorkshire Artists" and "West Riding Artists" exhibitions
	Partner in small design studio "Visual Communications"
1970	Moved to Tasmania with his family to take up positions in Tasmanian secondary schools teaching art.
1980	Appointed Head of School of Art, Burnie College of Technical and Further Education.
1985	Became full time painter.
1989	Established small studio in Hobart
1989	Established the "Peter Barraclough Studio Gallery" in Hobart.
1992	"Pallettes Studio Café" incorporated in the gallery complex.