Douglas Baulch was born 24 May 1917. He was the youngest of three children of Ernest Stanley Baulch and Annie Baulch who residing at 28 Edsall Street, Malvern, Victoria. His father had departed for the front on HMAT A20 Hororata on 23 November 1916 and returned to Australia on 26 September 1917, incapacitated due to war injuries. He died several years later. This caused financial and emotional hardship for Douglas which made him more empathetic then most. As a young man he survived off the War pension and assistance from his mother and elder sisters Doris and Gloria. They recognised Douglas’s artistic talent and he commencing formal Art Studies at Swinburne University (formally Prahran Technical College) in 1931. He graduated in 1934, after which he maintained a friendship with other renowned students and artists such as Sir William Dargie and Sidney Nolan.
Douglas’ style was typical of a blended impressionism/realism. This approach was not in vogue at the time, as the abstract stream was commencing. He refused to enter this stream, which he felt generally represented those artists who didn’t have the ability to produce work of the impressionism/realism style exemplified at the time by artists such as David Davies, Jane Price, William Nicholas Rowell, Clara Sothern and Arthur Streeton of the Heidelberg School. Douglas greatly admired these artists: he viewed their works regularly and met with some of them on occasions. Douglas felt the true image and feeling of a subject could not be portrayed without complete respect of the genuine environment and surrounds. Therefore almost all his work is plein-air and impressionist/realist in style.
To supplement his income and to support his mother and sisters he worked as a commercial artist at “Troedel and Cooper Pty Ltd” between 1936 and 1938, and then as an artist with the Fashion/Society photographer Athol Smith until 1940. He completed his post graduate studies in Fine Arts in 1940. At this time Douglas exhibited extensively at the Victoria Artists Society. At one stage the theft of several of his works caused him to be less inclined to exhibit. Then with the outbreak of World War II, he felt he had to follow the honorable path and joined the Air Force. In 1944 he managed to get a short break from the war effort and returned briefly to Melbourne to marry the love of his life, Lyla Foster on the 24th February 1944. He then returned to northern Australia due to continued pressure by the Japanese in the Pacific.
At the end of the War he returned to his home at 6 Leopold Street, Glen Iris. His son Jeff was soon born there in 1946. In the following years Douglas’ paintings were expressive of his sense of optimism about life, which was responsive to the positive atmosphere of the post-War boom and the prosperity of the Menzies era, and his enjoyment of family life. For the next 6 years he was occupied with landscape and portrait painting and the emotional and financial demands of starting a family. By 1951 he was supporting his wife and children Jeff, Graeme and Madeleine. He worked as a commercial artist to supplement his income. In 1952 he moved to East Doncaster. He regarded it to be an area more suited to growing families and appreciated its proximity to the Yarra Valley regions of Warrandyte and Templestowe. Like the artists of the Heidelberg School, he found the scenery there to be of captivating beauty, and many of his works heavily represented these vicinities in his own style.
He exhibited at numerous locations and kept his studio running full time. His family continued to grow with the birth of Michael, Francesca, Paul, Kevin and Lisa, so that ultimately it totalled 8 children. Due to his love of his family it was not uncommon for these children to be depicted in some landscape scenes and portraits.
In 1965 Douglas took a sabbatical to Dampier in Western Australia, the same time the Dampier Port was being established. He was captivated by the harsh beauty and emotion of the region as is displayed in his works of areas around King Bay, Cape Leveque, Burrup Peninsula, Hearson’s Cove and Bullarra. He would return to these places many times due to their beauty. He enjoyed the area and climate so much that he wanted to relocate to the Dampier area, however due to family commitments this was not possible. His art work of the area is unique because many of the locations that he captured no longer exist, as the area has since been replaced by one of Australia’s largest liquid natural gas development.
Returning to the Yarra Valley he would continually explore the surrounding areas around Warrandyte, Templestowe, Donvale, Park Orchards and Kangaroo Ground, capturing the ambiance of these unique landscapes. In 1964 he exhibited at Victoria Government House for the Queen’s visit. He also held many exhibitions at locations around Melbourne, and participated in shows at various state Libraries, Universities and financial institutions, as well as prizes such as the Archibald. His works are currently held in a number of private collections around the world in the UK, US, Belgium, Paris and Hong Kong.
Later in life Douglas continued to be dedicated to his own work while also working as a teacher. He taught from his studio in East Doncaster, on television, at various TAFEs and at Monash University. He also illustrated the poetry book “Beside My Hearth”. His style did change later in life, as he moved towards more vividly colourful expressions of the natural landscape. This shift was reflective of his greater sense of freedom in life and the fact that the heavy responsibility of supporting a large family had now lifted, as his children had matured and were pursuing their own lives.
Most of Douglas’ works were fresh and optimistic, however on some occasions unexpected families stresses are noticeable. For example his self portrait in the late 1970s exhibits the stress caused by the prolonged illness and premature death of his son Michael.
In the 1990s Douglas fell ill with cancer. He was hospitalised for a year and died at the age of 78.
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