† Bernard Tate †

Bernard's first love, obviously, is painting the human figure.Capturing the elusive beauty of youth has long been a quest of which he never tires. His canvasses elicit gentle, romantic warmth, and this approach to the subject is his trademark which has won him acclaim and a growing demand for his beautiful works worldwide.
Born 'with a paintbrush in my hand',Bernard says he can't really remember when he was not drawing or painting. Always in trouble at school where,hiding behind a fortress of books at study times,would find him busily drawing away, much to the consternation and at times disapproval of, and occassionally physical discouragement by his teachers, for which he is forever grateful, for it made him all the more determined to be, in his words "one of the best"
to which he adds "One day soon..."
Although basically self taught, at sixteen he managed to pay for a short stay at Julian Ashton's School where he quickly absorbed "much needed data" which saw him haunt galleries and libraries seeking more of the same.
A series of jobs in commercial art studios gave him a grounding in the discipline he required to succeed by the age of 27 as one of his countries top illustrators, with thanks to the influence of paintings by the Santa Claus man, Haddon Sundblom, a book by Andrew Loomis from which he taught himself practically everything about his craft, and the likes of the wonderful Bernie Fuchs, Mark English and other American illustrators of that era. Bernard and his wife reside in a small slice of paradise in Australia.