Bateau Bay Rose.....

I pretty much did the most part of my growing up in a quaint (well,not so quaint now) little spot on the Central Coast called Bateau Bay, it's French for "Boat Harbour". It is situated about a one hour's drive north of Sydney. My grandparents bought a little fibro weekender about 30 odd years ago and for many years we would spend our family holidays down on the beach swimming, fishing, snorkelling and surfing. All this was set in amongst the most beautiful bushland and when you felt like you'd had enough of the beach you could always go exploring on the many bush tracks the area had to offer.

In 1985 we moved from Sydney to Bateau Bay, not so far from my grandparents place and only a five minute walk to the beach. At night you could hear the waves crashing and smell the ocean in the air. On that beach is where I would spend my teenage years surfing, fishing and partying. So I have a very strong connection with the place and although I do not live there anymore I still frequent the beach with my two little sons. They too shall hold fond memories of this special place.

All this leads me to yet another person who obviously had a huge connection with Bateau Bay. So, I must ask myself, how in all my years with such a closeness to "the Bay" and such a love for art, have I missed the work of David Rose?

He too, in his early years would regularly travel from the big smoke to to his weekender at Bateau Bay. The place had such an impact that it was the focus on much of his early, near abstract works in the late sixties and early seventies, (before I was actually born), to his much later almost photo-realistic landscape prints in the nineties.

How could I not know of this man I ask myself? Who knows? Ignorance? Yep. Most likely.....remember, all that surfing, partying as a teen and, at the time, good art to me was in the form of a clever Mambo t-shirt and Jim Phillips skate board graphics. (really hasn't changed much!)

Anyway, I was lucky enough recently to be collecting some of my own work from the Gosford Regional Gallery and took a peek at their current exhibition celebrating the print work of mentioned David Rose. Take a look at his brilliant screen prints ,which I have read, would sometimes take up to eight individual screens to just achieve the gradient in the skies!

Click the link below to view a very impressive biography and countless works that span over a 37 year career.
David Rose, 1936-2006.



www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/david-rose
www.gosfordregionalgallery.com/david-rose