March 2025

Nyurnma (burnt country)

This painting is about the landscape, bushfire (waru), and bush foods. Seeing the difference after the waru burns, it leaves some patches on the ground, and when the regrowth of the bush plants come back to life, it leaves a mark.

Well, I learnt that story from my grandmother—going out bush, learning about the different sides of burning. Talking about before burning and after burning, and how people go hunting after burning, looking for goanna. Teaching the younger generation where and when to hunt for goanna.

I learnt painting from my grandmother (Nola Taylor) and my grandfathers (Muuki Taylor, Wokka Taylor) by going out on Country, sharing stories, and learning from them about bush plants and bush food. I painted before, but going to Parnngurr and being around old people really opened my mind—seeing them paint and the colours they used. My daughter started painting with the old people too, and now she watches me paint their stories. I’d like to be an inspiration to her and to young people.

Connecting to Country

Expressing yourself through your art. Because all you’ve got is expressing yourself through art and connecting to Country.

I was watching my sister paint, and she told me to paint. I thought, I don’t know how to paint or anything. Then I thought about my father, why he painted, and how he was thinking about his birthplace and Country.

The colours bloom too when you see them firsthand on Country. And when we go to Country, I see everything and try to remember it—all the colours, I take it in.

Now, when I paint, I’m thinking about my old people and how they walked down from the Walmajarri area towards the Western Desert.

Canning Stock Route Area

This painting is about waterholes in the desert where the old people used to walk from water hole to water hole in the canning Stock Route area. All the colours represent all the different wildflowers and the brown is the sand dunes. The circles represent different water holes.

Wild Flower

Untitled

Seeds

Untitled

Untitled

Red Sand and Hills

This painting is about the red desert sand in The Great Sandy Desert and the hills. I love the colours of the desert.

This painting shows the Artists Grandfathers country where they used to walk around in circles searching for bush tucker and water from the waterholes. When our ancestors came out from the Canning Stock route, they used to see big mob of sand dunes and flowers.

Canning Stock Route Area

This painting is about waterholes in the desert where the old people used to walk from water hole to water hole in the canning Stock Route area. All the colours represent all the different wildflowers and the brown is the sand dunes. The circles represent different water holes.