UK-based illustrator and painter Camilla Perkins has a body of work that is inspired by the flora and fauna that surrounds us but with an imaginative and fantastical twist. From portraits of anthropomorphic animals to sketches of picnic blankets covered in individually drawn foods, her attention to detail and exotic colour schemes are remarkable and it is in her vivid White Peach creation all of this comes together in a playful display.
Through bold colour and print combinations, Perkins’ renderings burst with life and energy. Featuring plenty of overlay with a distinct, handmade quality, her illustrations are an articulate translation of her fascination and passion for the world around her.
Camilla has always been creative and since a child remembers writing and illustrating her own stories and being obsessed with colour. Having a long-standing love and nostalgia for children's illustrated books, Camilla always felt drawn to the idea of working from a brief to create something unique. This was definitely realised when presented with the iCandy White Peach Charity Art Project, dedicated to Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital.
Having long been fascinated by the art surrounding modern parenting and the joy of play, iCandy decided to launch a unique 4-piece collection of white Peach pushchairs with the purpose to be designed, drawn and painted upon to raise awareness for the GOSH charity.
Camilla embraced this brief with a pushchair that is adorned with playful, party-parrots in jaunty hats, sat upon brightly coloured branches and imaginary fruits. The creation is not only bold and fun but incites the viewer to play and create themselves. The pushchair design is reminiscent of a child's bedtime story book, where a young mind could wander and explore wondrous worlds and be completely immersed in a new and exciting landscape, that is uniquely their own. Drawing from her own early influence of such designs, Camilla wants the child and parent to regress back to that time and enjoy play with their child and the importance play has in a child developing imagination.
Camilla's pushchair was hand-drawn then painstakingly hand-painted, taking a number of weeks to complete.