Aboriginal Art, Part III- Desert Art

Aboriginal artists living in the desert have many of the same beliefs as those living in Arnhem Land and the Kimberley region. If you need to, please refresh your memory on what those beliefs are.

In the 1950s, the Aborigines from several desert areas were moved to Papunya in the center of Australia. The Aborigines were forced to move because the Australian government needed their land to graze cattle on. The government also wanted to mine on the Aborigines’ land. The Aborigines were not happy about the move.

Most Aborigines living in the desert had lost interest in creating art. But in 1971, a teacher encouraged them to paint murals. He brought art supplies to the Aborigines, and children and adults alike began to love creating art. This love of art spread and now many desert artists earn their livings painting.

In Aboriginal desert art, you’ll see a lot of circles. These circles are usually meant to show water holes. Water, as you can imagine, is very important in the desert. Sometimes the circles are holes that have been dug by animals.

Sometimes desert artists paint animals, but you will notice far more animal tracks than actual animals in their art work.

Desert art includes a lot of concentric shapes. This means that the artist paints a shape, then outlines it in another color, then another color, then another color. Usually, these shapes are made up of many tiny dots. You’ve seen dots in Aboriginal art from Arnhem Land and Kimberley, but the desert artists often cover nearly their entire pieces with dots. To me, the dots look like grains of sand. What do you think?

Desert artists are also known for painting on objects such as boomerangs, water carriers, rocks, and even bodies.

Enjoy this gallery and this gallery of Aboriginal art from the desert. If you click on a painting, you can read its story.

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Aboriginal Art, Part II- The Kimberley Region

In the Kimberley area, Aborigines usually paint on canvas or board. Sometimes they paint on bark like the Aboriginal artists in Arnhem Land that you read about on Tuesday.

Artists in the Kimberley area use natural colors made from natural materials, but they also use manufactured acrylic paints. This means that they can use a wide variety of colors in their paintings.

The Kimberley artists believe many of the same things that artists in Arnhem Land believe. You’ll see a lot of animals in their artwork because they believe, like Arnhem Land Aborigines, that the land was created to look like animals.

They also paint pictures that show weather such as cyclones and dust storms. These paintings don’t look like photographs, though. Sometimes artists choose to show the path a storm takes rather than the storm itself. Sometimes the artist does paint the storm, but in an abstract way.

Aborigines in the Kimberley area have a myth that is often portrayed in art from the area. According to the myth, creatures called Wandjina came out of the sea and sky and left paintings of themselves on rocks. The spirits of the Wandjina are believed to live in the places where their images appear. They were very powerful and could even control weather. Sometimes they brought good luck, but if they were made angry they could create heavy rains or floods or cyclones.

The Wandjina look human, with thick noses, long eyelashes, and halos or spiky hair. They are usually painted on a white background in yellow, red, or black.

Check out this photo gallery of people creating and enjoying artwork from the Kimberley region. See if you can find the painting of Wandjina.

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Create Your Own Aboriginal Bark Painting

Yesterday you learned that the Aborigines, the native people of Australia, paint on tree bark. They paint animals, animal tracks, spirits, and scenes that illustrate their beliefs. Today, paint your own animal on “bark,” just like the Aborigines.

Supplies Needed:

Paper Bag
Paints
Paintbrush
Q-Tips (optional)
Like any time you paint, cover your workspace before you begin.

Choose one or two animals that can be found in Australia. I chose a snake and a lizard. Other great options include kangaroos, koala bears, and emu.

The Aborigines paint on the smooth inside of the bark, but my paper bag had some ridges in it. To make it more even, I crumpled up the bag and then smoothed it back out.

Decide on a background color. I chose black but you could pick brown, white, or orange. Paint your “bark” with whichever color you choose. Let it dry before you continue. Mine took about 30 minutes to dry.

Paint your animals onto the bag. Let them dry.
Now add in details and patterns. You may wish to paint stripes onto your animal, or triangles and dots onto the background. (Q-tips are great for making dots.) This is the fun part so go crazy. If you need some inspiration, look at this gallery of bark paintings.

When you have finished your painting, and it has dried, you may decide to tear away any extra paper. That’s why the edges of my painting look fuzzy and brown. This is a great thing to have an adult help you with. You’ll want to be careful not to rip any part of your painting.
Hang your bark painting and enjoy!

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Featured!

Plaid Kids Crafts has featured my Eric Carle inspired Valentines post. Check it out, along with many other great arts and craft projects, at their website.

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Valentine Boxes

Just came across this adorable Valentines Day project. I love the little boxes with the drawings on them.

Since I wasn't the only person to wonder about sending unwrapped candy to school, you might want to try individually wrapped hard candies or Starbursts (always a kid-pleaser).

More Aboriginal art to come...

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