At the start of Sustainable Canvas, I was painting much, much more than I am now and sustainability often felt like a compromise. If a product was environmentally conscious, there was an assumption that it might not perform as well or take up more time. The “better for the planet” option was often viewed as separate from the professional option.
Where Sustainable Canvas Started
I kept wondering what would happen to all these paintings I was making long term? handed down, opp shop, landfill? Then these thoughts moved to what if the material causing an environmental problem could become a premium artist surface? What if sustainability wasn’t the feature, but simply part of a better product? That question eventually led to Australia’s first artist canvas made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.
100,000 Bottles, Thousands of Artworks
Today, we’re approaching a milestone that feels difficult to comprehend. Almost 100,000 plastic bottles have now been transformed into canvas.
When I look at that number, I see paintings by Australian Artists. I see artists experimenting with a new idea, I see studios, classrooms, commissions and exhibitions. I see thousands of hours spent creating something that didn’t exist before.
Sustainability Starts the Conversation, Quality Keeps It Going
Sustainability might start the conversation, but quality is what keeps it going and I think that’s reflective of a much bigger shift happening across creative industries.
Artists are asking different questions than they were five or ten years ago. Performance still matters, of course, archival quality matters and reliability matters. But increasingly, artists also want to know what something is made from and where it came from.
So while reaching 100,000 bottles feels like a milestone worth celebrating, it’s evidence that artists are embracing new materials when they perform, it’s evidence that waste can become something valuable and it’s evidence that sustainability is slowly moving from a niche consideration to an expected part of good design.
That’s a future I’m excited to be part of.