Bumpy Roads and Tip Top Sandwiches

‘Bumpy Roads and Tip Top Sandwiches’ is a collection of paintings by Eliza Gosse based on Aussie road trip recollections. Luggage obscuring the rearview mirror, chip packets stuffed in car doors - the sanctuary of the motel hours away. Spanning several decades these stories share the highs and lows of families on holiday in Australia.

Soggy Toast Through the Hatch 2022, oil on canvas, 102 x 244cm

2007 Balranald

Driving from Sydney to Adelaide we stopped at Balranald. I remember it feeling spooky when we drove through because being a Sunday everywhere was closed. We arrived at our motel, and all five of us were in the one room with two double beds and two trundles on the floor. We were giggling that we were the only guests at the motel and here we were in this tiny family room together, with my grandma crawling over the beds to get to the bathroom

The Cheryl Ann Motel 2021, oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm

1968 Holbrook

In the 1960’s we’d take the long trip up the single lane Hume Highway, to visit our farm at Woomargama in southern NSW. We’d play ‘Spotto’ in the car and ‘eye-spy’ all the way up. We’d stay at the nearby Cheryl Ann Motel in Holbrook. Always a highlight of the trip. The distinct smell of each room, the colour panels on the motel, the white towels and soap on the hard single beds, the hatch for breakfast where soggy toast would be delivered in grease proof paper.

Breakfast Trays of Kellogg's and Milk 2021, oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm

1960 Surfers Paradise

My Grandparents owned the Ambassadors motel at Surfers Paradise. I remember helping prepare the breakfast trays in the morning and delivering them to the suites along with a hibiscus on every tray. It was the first time I had seen the individual cereal packets. During the day we would go to the Keith Williams water ski show, the bird sanctuary and watch the meter maids all dressed in gold bikinis. A favourite was the Gelati shop spending pocket money on chocolate spiders.

Following The Sunburn, The Rest Of The Holiday Was Spent In A Pinetarsol Bath 2021, oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm

1988 Surfers Paradise

We hit the road from Melbourne in Dad’s brand new Ford Falcon company car. I vomited consistently in my brothers Brashs bag that held his new Midnight Oil tape that was on repeat. Upon arriving in Surfers, we hit Grundy’s where I got a photo with a Kylie Minogue cut out. My dad got me a Ken Done cap and a friendship bracelet which softened the blow of being so sunburnt and spending the rest of the holiday in a Pinetarsol bath at the hotel.

The Dog Rock Motel 2022, oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm

1989 Albany

We drove from Perth to Albany. Those were the days when parents smoked in the car and we needed to take an ice-cream container in the back seat, just in case. We stayed at the Dog Rock Motel. Aptly named as there is a rock across from the hotel that looks like a dog's head. The carpet was red and patterned. Dad was annoyed as our room was supposed to have a balcony. I'd never stayed in a two-storey building before.

_Pink Lemonades with Plastic Swizzle Sticks_ 2021, oil on canvas, 152 x 122 cm.jpg

Pink Lemonades with Plastic Swizzle Sticks 2022, oil on canvas, 152 x 122 cm

1976 Surfers Paradise

My family loved holidaying in Surfers Paradise, staying at the Chevron Hotel. The iconic Pink Elephant bar was our favourite place to go for pink lemonades. Each drink had a paper umbrella and a plastic swizzle stick with animals at the end. My sister used to take me to the in-ground trampolines where you could just bounce from trampoline to trampoline. When I went with my father, we always had ground floor rooms and I will never forget the excitement of waking up and opening the doors to a garden of palm trees leading straight to the pool.

“Off On An Adventure” 2021, oil on canvas, 96 x 122cm.jpg

Off On An Adventure 2022, oil on canvas, 96 x 122 cm

1991 Rainbow Bay

Rolling the car out of the garage at 4am so as 'not to wake the neighbours' to set off early on our holiday. Mum used to joke and say we were like the Von Trapp family. Hot legs sticking to the vinyl seats as Dad tried to beat his previous time record on our long drive to Rainbow Bay.

Midnight by the Pool 2022, oil on canvas, 122 x 96 cm

2005 Great Central Road

The novelty of a motel Buffet, gorging on blueberry muffins and hash browns before a day of disinteresting highway miles. “$10 to the winner”, the task, to spot a Wedge Tailed Eagle before Dad. Hours spent looking up, only for Dad to mysteriously see the prized Eagle no one else could spot. Like a casino, the house always won!