A new exhibition by two Dartmoor based artists - Dave Peake and Rosemary Bonney - has opened at the National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown focusing on the influence of water on the Dartmoor landscape as well as providing a glimpse of what lies beneath!

Dave Peake has been fascinated by the underwater world for most of his life and began his exploration of this alien environment at the age of fifteen, diving and snorkelling in the sea in the Plymouth area. After a career as a Police Diver he retired in 1995 and now lives in the Yelverton area. He dives and takes photographs of the life and landscapes to be found in our coastal waters and indeed all over the world – but he couldn’t resist the lure to explore the hidden depths of the place he lives so he began to combine his passion for Dartmoor, the underwater world and photography by capturing images of the unique world of the National Park’s rivers and streams. He has special permission from a landowner to access a quiet river pool where he spends time lying still on the river bed letting salmon and trout get used to his presence in order to get some of the best images of these fish you will see.

Rosemary Bonney is a landscape painter working from her studio in the village of Holne.  Oils, acrylics and mixed media are her preferred materials. She has drawn and painted throughout her life but began working as an artist over ten years ago after an academic career in biomedical research.   She exhibits regularly in galleries in south west England in solo, shared and group exhibitions and her paintings can also be found in Germany, Denmark and Australia.

The Dartmoor landscape is her passion, providing endless inspiration and enabling her to merge her love of art and the natural world.  She seeks out unusual subjects and is attracted to the less visited and wilder areas of the moor, and to the fleeting moods and light changes that the unpredictable weather brings. 

In this exhibition Rosemary is showing work that has been inspired by the waters and mires of this fascinating landscape.

Dartmoor’s Hidden Depths runs until 15 April 2018 at the National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown - admission free. For opening times check the Dartmoor National Park web site