‘Sunday Arts’ today showed a short documentary on  Emily Kame Kngwarrey.

This wonderful old lady started cloth batik painting at the age of 70.

She wasn’t considered much of an artist by the other Utopia batik painters because her work was free and spontaneous rather than tightly drawn little images.

She moved to canvas and immediately began producing magnificent works which became the prevalent Utopia painting style.

The television piece showed  120 of the late Emily’s paintings, and included her first painting on canvas, Emu Woman.  Australians can see the exhibition for themselves at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra from August 22.

I have previously written about Emily and other Utopian artists on my site at Australiannativeart.com.

What do you think of when you think Australian aboriginal art?

A tremendous variety of colors? Lots and lots of dots?

You are right and your are wrong.

Dots and multi colors come from the desert painters of Papunya, Utopia, Lajamanu and various other desert settlements

Arnhem painters paint traditional scenes of spirit beings with x-ray paintings of native animals in ochres.

The color range of the ochre palette is amazingly diverse and the figures have a feel of movement and mystery.

This arnhem piece on bark with ground ochres is entitled “Mimi and kangaroo”

The work was painted around 1930 by an anonymous painter.

The movement and clarity of the work is incredible.

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