Utopian Aboriginal Art Website

Wally Pwerle Clark

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:57:09 +0930

Julie Pangata

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:52:19 +0930

Julie Pangata was born in 1955 at Ti Tree in the Northern Territory. Her father (deceased) was Paddy Pananka Pangata and her mother is Rosie Pananka Purula. She now lives on Utopia with her family and her dreaming is the Bush Plum (Arnwekety). Her paintings depict the life cycle of the Bush Plum (Arnwekety) plant as it flowers into maturity across her country. She paints from a traditional perspective, surveying her landscape with a spiritual eye. The dot-like appearance of shrubs, spinifex and other grasses from her country are a great source of inspiration for her paintings.

Mary Ngala Jones

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:37:07 +0930

Mary Ngala Jones was born into an artistic family. She is daughter of the painter Myrtle Petyarre and niece to Ada Bird Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Nancy Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Violet Petyarre and Jean Petyarre. Her sister is Gracie Pwerle Morton. She was born at MacDonald Downs and lives at Thelye, an outstation on Utopia and is married with five children. Now that her children are growing up, Mary has begun to paint and her style is unmistakably similar to that of her mother, aunties and sister. Her style of painting is distinctively minimalist and she uses a very delicate dotting technique and traditional colours derived from natural ochres. Her signature theme in her paintings is the bush plum known to the Alyawarr as Arnwekety. All of her paintings directly refer to these "Dreamings" and the associated country around Utopia in the eastern central desert of Australia.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:10:35 +0930

Hazel Kngwarreye Morton

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:02:31 +0930

Hazel Kngwarreye Morton was born in 1963 into a large artistic family. Her mother Kathleen Kamara Morton was wife number two to Billy (Stockman) Pitjara Morton, a renowned sculptor and painter. Like many artists in this region, including her sisters, Hazel was introduced firstly to batik –making and was involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) community projects which resulted in Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas – A Summer Project. Since then Hazel has been painting and her works have been exhibited here and overseas. Her subjects include Wild Flowers (Alpeyt), Women's Ceremony (Awely), narrative camp scenes, Rainbow (Mpwelarr) Dreaming, and Ilyarn (plant) and Ilyarnayt (grub found in the Ilyarn). She has developed her style into a very fine pattern of dot work and symbols.

Jessie Pitjara Hunter

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:59:40 +0930

Jessie Pitjara Hunter was born in 1957 at MacDonald Downs and is the sister of renowned artists Sandy, Annie and Susan Pitjara Hunter. She, along with her siblings, now live at Irrultja, on Utopia Community. Like her sisters, Jessie’s main Dreaming is Awely or Women’s Business but she also paints Arawerr country and sugar bag body design.

Lisa Pula Mills

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:30:26 +0930

Lisa Pula Mills is the daughter of renowned artist Dolly Petyarre Mills. She was born at MacDonald Downs and now lives on Utopia with her husband Damien Petrick (son of well known painter - Josie Petrick) and daughter Shakira. She grew up between both Irrwelty and Amperlatwaty (further north) where she went to Amperlatwaty school. Lisa paints her mother’s dreaming - Emu (Aherr) Tucker and Bush Potato (Anaty) Dreaming. The colourful patterning of Lisa’s work depicts her country of Alhalker situated in the Utopia region north east of Alice Springs. Her semi abstract work depicts the patterns of the foliage and growth of the sacred Bush Potato (Anaty) bush across her country of Alparra. Lisa Pula Mills began painting for Eastern Desert Art in 2006.

Janice Kngwarreye Morton

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:29:50 +0930

Janice Kngwarreye Morton, born in 1959, is the youngest daughter of Utopian artists Mary Kemarre and Billy (Stockman) Pitjara Morton. As part of the Alyawarr tribe she now lives at Rocket Range, on Utopia Station, with her sisters and extended family. Together with her mother and sisters, she was involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) batik-making community projects which resulted in Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas – A Summer Project. Janice's work is featured in the Robert Holmes a Court exhibition and collection which has toured extensively within Australia and overseas. Among her painting subjects, Janice paints Wild Flowers, Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Rainbow (Mpwelarr) and Honey Ant (Yerramp).

Audrey Kngwarreye Morton

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:29:10 +0930

Born in June 1954 to Mary Kemarre and Billy (Stockman) Pitjara Morton, Audrey together with her sisters began her artistic career with her introduction into batik making. She was involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) community projects which resulted in Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas – A Summer Project. She has featured in several group exhibitions since 1977 for her work in batik (during the 1980's) and throughout Australia and America for her work in acrylics. Audrey paints many subjects including Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Alpeyt (Acacia flowers) and Awely body designs from Antarrengeny which is her mother's country.

Sarah Kngwarreye Morton

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:21:52 +0930

Sarah Kngwarreye Morton, born in October 1958, is the third daughter of Utopian artists Mary Kemarre and Billy (Stockman) Pitjara Morton (deceased). Together with her mother and sisters, she was involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) batik-making community projects which resulted in Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court Collection which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Painting: The first works on canvas – A Summer Project. Sarah’s work is featured in the Robert Holmes a Court exhibition and collection which has toured extensively within Australia and overseas. Her painting subjects include Wild Flowers, Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Rainbow (Mpwelarr) and Honey Ant (Yerramp).

Annie Pitjara Hunter

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 15:14:57 +0930

Annie Pitjara Hunter, sister to artists Susan, Jessie and Sandy Pitjara Hunter is becoming well known for the fine execution of her interpretation of Women's Business. Like her sisters Annie is concerned with Awely and all it symbolises during the deeply spiritual women's ceremonies. Over the last few years she has participated in several group exhibitions throughout Australia. Pitjara Hunter's have been collected since the beginning of the Utopia art movement when batik was first introduced to the women in 1977. Her batik was selected for Utopia- A Picture Story an exhibition from the Holmes a Court Collection which toured extensively nationally and overseas. Her paintings were also featured in the significant exhibition “Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project” (1988-89). Annie Pitjara Hunter’s work is represented at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and in the Holmes a Court collection in Perth. Born on MacDonald Downs in 1964 to Johnny Ngwarrai Hunter and Molly Bula Hunter, Annie now lives at Irrultja with her sisters.

Polly Ngala

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:16:22 +0930

Polly Ngala was born in 1940 into the Anmatyarr tribe. She was married to Ray Yeramba (deceased) and now lives at Camel Camp on Utopia with her family and sisters, Kathleen Ngala, Maisy Ngala and Angeline Pwerle Ngala. Polly began her artistic career in batik, like many of the women in Utopia, before venturing into painting with acrylic paints on canvas. She often assisted her sister Kathleen and also the late Emily Kngwarreye Kame with whom she shared the same country. Arlparra is her country from her father’s side and her mother came from Ngwelay, commonly known as Kurrajong Bore. Together with her sisters, Polly is a senior custodian of the Bush Plum (Arnwekety) Dreaming. Polly's depicts the Bush Plum and its effects on her country. She often depicts the topography in shades of reds, oranges and yellows reflecting the varying seasonal palette. Like her sister Kathleen she builds up layer upon layer of colour creating a multi-dimensional effect to reveal the Bush Plum (Ankwekety) - and her country - Alparra in all its glory.

Mary Kemarre Morton

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:07:24 +0930

Mary Kemarre Morton - born in 1925 on MacDonald Downs - is one of the senior women on Utopia and therefore has responsibility for initiating young women. She is involved in painting body designs on young women, singing Awely songs to encourage their fertility and teaching them the rules of life. Her country is on the northern end of Utopia and she has custodial responsibility for the Kurrajong tree seed. She was married to Billy Stockman Morton (deceased), who was a renowned sculptor. Mary is passionately involved in maintaining traditional practices for her people. She is also highly regarded for her bush medicine skills. Mary Morton’s entire oeuvre is devoted to Awely which refers to the ceremonial world of women’s business and includes women’s ceremonial body designs. These ceremonies are associated with women’s social structure and ritual knowledge. Awely can also refer to particular ceremonies and its songs, dances and designs. Morton’s energy and passion as custodian of the Awely is reflected in the innate lyricism in her work.

Lucky Kngwarreye Morton

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:03:41 +0930

Lucky Kngwarreye Morton (Kngwarreye originally spelt Ngwarai) was born in 1949 on MacDonald Downs and is the daughter of artist and senior boss woman Mary Kemarre Morton and Billy Stockman Morton the renowned sculptor. Lucky speaks Alyawarr and lives with her large family on the northern end of Utopia. Lucky spent her childhood years growing up at MacDonald Downs and around Kurrajong Camp at Utopia. Lucky Kngwarreye's career in painting began in the late 70s when the Utopia Women's Batik Group was formed . Under the expert guidance of CAAMA and Rodney Gooch the fist major communal project - a series of eighty eight works entitled Utopia - A Picture Story was launched onto the Australian and international stage. The Holmes a Court Collection sponsored these art projects from Utopia projects which toured Australia and world wide. This was followed by the first foray into acrylic on canvas in the summer of 1988-9 as part of CAAMA's "The First works on Canvas, a Summer Project". This first body of paintings was exhibited - and enthusiastically received - at the SH Ervin Gallery in Sydney. Lucky has continued to use this medium to express her Dreamings and has exhibited in Melbourne and Sydney in the past few years.

Kathleen Ngala

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:01:01 +0930

Kathleen Ngala was born in approximately 1933 and is one of the senior boss women on Utopia. Her language is Anmatyerr and she is married to the artist and sculptor, Paddy Motorbike. She lives at the outstation of Camel Camp with her large family and sisters artist Polly Ngala, Maisie Ngala and artist Angeline Pwerle Ngala. Like her sisters, Kathleen is a senior custodian for the Bush Plum - Arnwekety - in her country of of Arlparra although all sisters have very different techniques for expressing their dreaming. Kathleen started her career in batik before she was introduced to paint and canvas. She is an extremely fine painter and has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She was a finalist in the 2000 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award and until just recently she has become a finalist in the 25th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. The Ceremony for the awards will be held on the 15th August 2008.

Freddy Kngwarreye Jones

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:47:48 +0930

Freddy Kngwarreye Jones was born in 1939 on Old MacDonald Station. His father, Jacob Jones, was an authoritative Alyawarre man who traveled extensively as a young camel boy, working and mixing with European and Afghan men during the period when camel trains carried goods in the Australian desert. Freddy Jones lives at Theleye outstation within the Utopia community and speaks the Alyawarre language. The Alyawarre and the Anmatyerre peoples are closely related. Alyawarre people’s traditional country lies to the east of Anmatyerre country, and many members of the two groups are related by kinship and marriage. Several men from these communities have achieved prominence for their art, including Dave Ross, Lindsay Bird, and Cowboy Pwerle. Most maintain the ‘classic’ geometric circles and parallel lines of men’s designs, marking out the Ancestral Tjukurrpa routes. Freddy Kngwarreye Jones is concerned with the Caterpillar Tjukurrpa (Altyerre) or Dreaming, the central dreaming for the town of Alice Springs. He is also the principal song leader in ceremonies for the meat ant, pink-crested cockatoo, sulphur-crested cockatoo, snake, spider and kangaroo. He has exhibited in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth and his work has been acquired by several institutions, including the National Gallery of Victoria and Art Bank Australia. Source: Extract: Isaacs, Jennifer Spirit Country - Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art, Hardie Grant Books, 1999 Freddy Kngwarreye Jones is one of Elders on Utopia and as such his work is all the more significant. He is now passing on his knowledge as custodian of these Ancestors to his son and artist Charlie Petyarre Jones.

Elizabeth Kamara Leo

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:44:07 +0930

Elizabeth Kamara Leo, born in 1953 in Alice Springs, into the Anmatyerr tribe and she now lives at the outstation of Irrultja, on Utopia Station, with her partner and fellow artist Sandy Pitjara Hunter. She began her career when she became involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) batik-making community projects which resulted in Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas – A Summer Project. Her Dreamings include, Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Bush Tucker Seeds and Awely (Body paint) which is her interpretation of the designs of the women’s ceremonies.

Dolly Petyarre Mills

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:36:32 +0930

Dolly Petyarre Mills was born in 1948 at Boundary Bore Outstation on Utopia Community in the Northern Territory and her language group is Alyawarr. Dolly lives with her sister, Gloria (Glory) Petyarre Mills, at Boundary Bore and are full sisters to Greeny Petyarre Purvis. She is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal artists and has work in major Australian and international collections. The delicate patterning and subtle colours of Dolly’s work depicts her country of Alhalker situated in the Utopia region north east of Alice Springs. She participated in the Utopia, A Picture Story which included 88 silk batiks from Robert Holmes a Court collection. This confirmed the artistic credibility of the Utopian artists. The major subject of her work is in association with the Yam (Anaty) Dreaming and Emu Tucker (Ankerr) Dreaming.

Cowboy Louie Pwerle

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:32:50 +0930

Cowboy Louie Pwerle was born in 1941 on Old MacDonald station. He is the younger brother of Louie Pwerle (deceased) who was an important Utopian artist and is an Eastern Anmatyerr speaker. His traditional country lies on the Western side of the Sandover River on Utopia station and stretches west on to Mt Skinner. Cowboy lives at Mosquito Bore with his two wives, both of whom are the sisters Carol and Elizabeth Kngwarreye. Cowboy Louie depicts his Turkey Dreaming over various traditional sites on Utopia. He also paints Emu (Ankerr) Tucker Dreaming and Lizard (Arlewatyerr) Dreaming. Cowboy's name is attributed to his reputation as a stockman and his cowboy attire.

Gladdy Kemarre

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:53:21 +0930

Born in 1937, Gladdy Kemarre (also spelt Gladys) lives at the outstation of Camel Camp, Utopia. She paints her Dreaming - Bush Plum - as well as Bush Men which are very interesting hunting and family scenes which she describes as ‘olden times - these things my mother told me’. Her career in painting began in the late 70s when the Utopia Women's Batik Group was formed. Under the expert guidance of CAAMA and Rodney Gooch the first major communal project - a series of eighty eight works entitled Utopia - A Picture Story was launched onto the Australian and international stage. The Holmes a Court Collection sponsored these art projects from Utopia projects which toured Australia and worldwide. This was followed by the first foray into acrylic paint on canvas in the summer of 1988-9 as part of CAAMA's "The First works on Canvas, a Summer Project". This first body of paintings was exhibited - and enthusiastically received - at the SH Ervin Gallery in Sydney. Gladdy Kemarre has continued to use this medium to express her Dreamings and since 1985, has held a number of exhibitions in Australia, Belgium and Germany. Her work is held in a many private and public collections throughout Australia.

Joy Kngwarreye Jones

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:38:37 +0930

Sister of the renowned artist Lily Sandover Kngwarreye (deceased) and Freddy Kngwarreye Jones and auntie to Charlie Petyarre Jones, Joy Kngwarreye Jones was born in 1959 at MacDonald Downs and lives at Theleye, an outstation on Utopia. Like her sister before her Joy paints with a stick and a gutta nib applying paint in bold and confident strokes. Although she participated in the early Utopian art movement Joy didn't become immersed in her art again until 2006. Her confidence has now grown to the extent where her outpourings are prolific. Joy’s paintings are in many important collections including the Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane and The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth.

Susan Pitjara Hunter

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:31:52 +0930

Born circa 1966 into the Alyawarr tribe and the younger sister of artists Annie Pitjara Hunter, Jessie Pitjara Hunter and Sandy Pitjara Hunter, Susan lives at the outstation of Irrultja on Utopia in the Eastern Desert. She lives a traditional life spending all her time in the bush with her husband Clements. Susan Pitjara Hunter (also known as Susie) is one of the most gifted young emerging artists of this region. For such a young artist, Susan has always had a deep sense of belonging to her country and has remained steadfastly a bush woman. Her meticulous execution of Women's Business is rendered with extreme care and respect for her subject matter. The end result is a myriad of intricate patterns symbolising her Dreaming.

Charlie Petyarre Jones

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:19:56 +0930

Charlie Petyarre Jones born in 1968 is son of renowned artist Freddy Kngwarreye Jones who sanctions what can be shown and painted. Charlie lives on Thelye outstation on Utopia with his family and speaks the Alyawarr language. As well as passing his Dreamings onto his son Charlie, Freddy has taught Charlie his technique with acrylic painting. Son and father often collaborate on painting their Dreaming. Charlie paints many Dreamings which include the Kangaroo (Aherr), Caterpillar (Aylperlayt), Wallaby (Greyneng) and Snake (Kwerreny). The designs are prepared on the ground during lengthy song cycles marking the journey of the Ancestors whose design is depicted.

Sandy Pitjara Hunter

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:07:54 +0930

Born in 1953 on MacDonald Downs into the Alyawarr tribe, Sandy Pitjara Hunter is greatly admired for his fine and precise dotwork and masterful use of colour. Like his sister Susan Pitjara Hunter, Sandy's work usually consists of patterns of minute dots applied with a very fine pointed stick. The son of Johnny Ngwarai Hunter and Molly Bula Hunter, Sandy Pitjara Hunter was born on MacDonald Downs in December 1953 into the Alyawarr tribe. He now lives at Irrultja on Utopia and is married to Elizabeth Kamara Leo who is also a painter, and his other sisters Annie and Jessie. His Dreaming is Caterpillar (Atlerlayt) which was passed down to him from his father and also paints Bush Tucker Seeds.

Angeline Pwerle Ngala

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 15:42:19 +0930

Born in 1947, Angeline Pwerle Ngala has come into international prominence with her interpretation of her Dreaming - the Bush Plum - Arnwekety on her grandfather's country, Arlparra. The subtle changes in the depth and intensity of her dot-work produce a multi-dimensional textured surface. Angeline also does figurative work in strong, striking colours. Married to the painter and sculptor Louis Pwerle (deceased) Angeline is the sister of painters Kathleen Ngala and Polly Ngala all of whom paint the Dreaming – Bush Plum. Angeline was part of the batik project in 1988 and her work is featured in the Robert Holmes á Court Collection which has toured extensively within Australia and overseas. She began to use the medium of acrylic paint on canvas in the summer of 1988-9 as part of the CAAMA project with the Utopia women’s paintings: ‘The First works on Canvas, A Summer Project’. She has continued to paint with acrylics on canvas. Her work has been collected by many significant public and private galleries and institutions. She was a finalist in the 23rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards, 2006. ‘In 1986 she was introduced to batik; however, in recent years she has primarily focused on sculpture and painting. The representation of the Bush plum (Arnwekety), Arrker (night owl), bush foods, and flowers remain the central concerns of her work. Along with the other women artists of Utopia, Pwerle was first given canvas and acrylic paint in the late 1980s. Her canvases characteristically feature an intense concentration of dots which produce the effect of movement or shadows, across the surface. Her work is distinct from that of other artists in the community in the clarity of her colour schemes. Placed on dark backgrounds, the dots take on a pure, ephemeral quality. There is a strong heritage of amongst the men and women of Utopia, although until the 1980s women made only non-traditional sculptural work. It was in this context that Pwerle’s bold, whimsical animals and figures were first produced. The artist gives her creatures and little people bright-eyed, startled faces and adorns their bodies in green, grey, and blue, as well as traditional ochres.' WN Part extract Kleinert & Neale, The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, 2000, OUP, Melbourne.

“Featured Online Listings for Utopian Aboriginal Art”

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:13:59 +0930

We believe in having a strong presence in the online Aboriginal art industry and can be found through the following Art and General websites: www.artuk.com ArtUK.com
UK art galleries list, British art galleries, UK art exhibitions, art London

Agora Gallery Contemporary fine art gallery established 1984, located in Chelsea , New York art galleries district. The public is invited to the gallery art openings receptions. Sponsor of the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition and publisher of ARTisSpectrum magazine. Painters, sculptors and photographers are welcome to submit their portfolios for review.

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Art Directory - www.artsearch.us Spacio & Zona Pierdutin's artwork - Posters and photography downloads, online art by Pierdutin: abstract oil paintings, watercolours, acrylics, collages, "greeting" cards... If you would like to support our website by linking to us, please contact us or email us via the details below.

Handcrafted double bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:06:06 +0930

Handpainted leaf shape bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:46:54 +0930

Handcrafted large bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:22:09 +0930

Handcrafted double bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:32:30 +0930

Handcrafted elastic bead bracelet

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:22:20 +0930

Handcrafted elastic bead bracelet

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:49:59 +0930

Handpainted yellow, red & green bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:45:11 +0930

Handpainted black, red & yellow bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:18:45 +0930

Handcrafted double bead necklace

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:48:37 +0930

Handpainted Large Bead Necklace

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:02:26 +0930

A beauifully handcrafted 172 cm necklace. Each large seed pod has been hand painted in black, taupe, raspberry and pink and interspersed by several yellow Bean Tree seeds.

Carved Wooden Bird

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:28:24 +0930

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:14:01 +0930

Bush Plum (Arnwekety) Dreaming

Awely-Body Paint

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:43:11 +0930

THESE 6 PIECES ARE ALREADY STRETCHED

Bush Turkey (Arwengerrp) Dreaming

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:01:47 +0930

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:29:26 +0930

Susan’s inspiration for her paintings is derived from her knowledge of Awely and the ceremonies associated with it. Awely refers to the ceremonial world of women, women’s social structure and ritual knowledge and is commonly known as women’s business. It also includes women’s ceremonial body designs. Susan learnt about Awely designs while painting on the bodies of women about to take part in a ceremony. The many striped designs painted on the upper torsos of ceremonial dancers are the source of inspiration for her paintings.