By Thirroul artist and art teacher Ashley Frost
The Fowlers Gap Tour 2025 exhibition features the work of 15 artists from around Australia who were a part of an art expedition in July to Fowlers Gap in Western NSW. Of the 15 participants, 11 were students and four were staff: myself; my son Matt Frost, who helped with the food and is a tattoo artist at Solid Forge in Minto; Tanya Stubbles, the well-known artist from Coledale; and Etienne Deleflie from Corrimal, a media and design artist and former lecturer at UOW.
This is the third art tour I have organised to Fowlers Gap, which is known for its long history of supporting artists and art-related research. It’s not just a research station, it’s a place where art, ecology and arid zone sustainability intersect, fostering creativity. It is also stunningly beautiful and has a unique colour palette. Fowlers Gap is the only research station in the arid zone of NSW.
Located 112 kilometres north of Broken Hill, the 39,000-hectare property was established in 1966 and has been used by researchers from UNSW and other institutions in Australia and overseas.
I operate my art tour business together with my art practice from my studio in Thirroul where I create paintings, drawings and monotypes. I also teach art to adults and teens from Levers in Wollongong and Waverley Art School in Sydney. I have been teaching almost as long as I have been a painter, since the mid-1990s, beginning my art education career by teaching art theory classes at UOW from 2004.
I started organising the art tours a few years back when I realised I have three clear passions in life:
1. Creating art, mainly in drawing and painting;
2. Teaching art to adults and teens;
3. Travelling.
I enjoy experiencing other cultures and seeing the world and I am sure growing up with my mother working as a travel agent and my father a textile agent influenced this. I usually organise three to four art tours each year. July’s tour to Fowlers Gap included painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramics workshops, and artists were given their own studio space to work from. Many of the workshops were held outdoors.
In November 2024 I took a group to Nepal for an eight-day Art & Cultural exchange. Our group met Nepali artists, experienced historical sites, toured museums and participated in plein air painting and drawing workshops. This October, I am taking a group to New York City and Long Island for an eight-day tour where we will visit Jackson Pollock’s and Lee Krasner’s studio, see some of the great museums of New York City, take part in monotype workshops with fellow American artists and enjoy painting outdoors in the rich Autumn light.
Next year I have three tours planned: Fowlers Gap in July, Fiji Lithography and printmaking in August and Nepal again in November 2026.
September’s exhibition at Clifton School of Arts will feature stunning works by a diverse group of artists. It’s an opportunity for the artists to take part in the professional development of their practice and the group also plans to raise funds for charity, with a percentage of each sale going to Foundation Broken Hill.
The show runs from opening night, 6pm Friday, September 12, until Sunday, 14th at 6pm.
Visit www.ashleyfrost.com.au
