The Illawarra's beautiful escarpment was the inspiration and the star when two artists with a history going back more than a quarter of a century opened their fourth joint exhibition in Clifton.

Ashley Frost and Hal Pratt opened the doors of Clifton School of Arts late last month on Terra Motion, an exhibition featuring Ash’s textured oil paintings and Hal’s vibrant watercolours.

Ash said the pair had always had a really good connection and a love of nature.

''Living where we are, I just think you can't help but have that love of nature – it's absolutely everywhere you look," he said.

“Hal’s been a bit of an inspiration and a mentor to me, in a way. It's a very personal thing to exhibit together. There is a bit of a crossover that happens when you get close to someone. We work very differently. He works with a different medium, but I think the works have become intertwined in terms of our subject.”

The pair’s creative bond goes back to 1997. Ash had graduated with a BFA from the National Art School East Sydney three years earlier when he met Hal, who was working as an architect in Annandale. Hal’s practice had bought an old warehouse building and turned the entrance into a gallery. Soon afterward, Ash became the inaugural artist to exhibit work at 235 Nelson St Gallery, with his first show, Eclectic Antarctica.

The pair have since forged a strong partnership, attending art fairs and exhibitions together around the world and regularly hosting joint exhibitions in the Illawarra.

Hal remains amazed that Ash – 25 years his junior – ''would want to exhibit with me''.

''It's always been very encouraging. That's going back to ‘97, and it's still exciting to be exhibiting with him,” Hal said.

Historic continuum

Terra Motion celebrated the Wodi Wodi Track – 200 million years of rich geology, landscape and wildlife in the Illawarra escarpment.

David Roach, president of Clifton School of Arts, opened the show with a speech on Thursday, August 28.

"Time is circular for a lot of indigenous cultures, and when artists like Hal and Ash respond to landscape, respond to Country, I see it as a part of a continuum that goes back hundreds or even thousands of years,” David said. ''I like to think that every artwork contains the DNA of every other artwork that was ever made and that the whole history of art is a conversation between artists living and dead.

"Some landscape painters find the image they want and then put a frame around it. They invite you to look at the landscape as if you're looking at a screen. Others see painting as a sort of window... I think both Ash and Hal’s works are more like doorways – where you're invited to actually walk through and into the landscape. The picture plane is always deep."

Opening night guest Lesley Goldacre, who specialises in photography, said she had known both Ash and Hal for a long time.

“Both painters are old friends of mine, and it's just so interesting to see their work evolving,'' she said. ''I've always been drawn to [Ash’s] work because he's just such a great colourist.

“I've also been studying with Ashley this year, just learning from him how to mix colour, how to improve my painting techniques.”

Into the landscape

Salvia Davirero, a friend of Hal, said she couldn't ''afford him now'' but had ''two of his wonderful works of Western Australia''.

"He’s amazing,'' she said. ''I really like the way he does the trees. It is a work of art. It's so, so beautiful, because they're not pretty. They just are.”

Corey Zerna said his partner had been a big fan of Hal's work for about eight years. ''He saw a piece at the Scarborough Art Show years ago and didn't buy it, and always regretted it, so he's purchased one of the pieces here,'' he said.

“They're two very different styles but also complementary."

Shelley O'Neil said something that David Roach mentioned had resonated with her about the works.

''He said that looking at them is really travelling into that landscape, which is what they both have in common,'' she said. ''Some landscape work is a pretty picture, but with both of their works, you really travel there and get into the landscape.”

Art fans can join Ash Frost again at Clifton School of Arts on Friday, September 12, for opening night of the Fowlers Gap Tour 2025 Exhibition. Works were created on-site at an immersive art exhibition to Fowlers Gap in western NSW, and a portion of sales will support the remote community through Foundation Broken Hill. Ash is excited to include work from his son, Matt, as part of the gallery.

Opening night celebrations will be held from 6-8pm. For more information, visit Ash Frost's site and Clifton School of Arts