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The bark used for bark paintings is cut from the stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetrodonta). The bark is cut from the tree during the Wet Season when it is moist and pliable, starting in December and going through until April or May.
The painter cuts around the trunk of the tree at the bottom and top then creates a incision down the tree, joining the two cuts together. This then allows the bark to be carefully seperated from the tree.
To flatten the bark, a fire is first made and burned down to hot coals of the right temperature. The wet bark is placed on the coals and pressed flat, with the outside rough surface in contact with the heat. Most of the moisture is driven out and the bark slowly unbends. The surface to be painted does not come into contact with the fire. The bark is then pressed flat for several days under weights. Finally, sticks are tied tightly across both ends with string in order to prevent warping. The surface is then ready to be painted.
The bark painters of Arnhem Land mainly work with four basic colours: red black, yellow and white, although sometimes the primary colours are mixed to give a pink, orange or grey. Red and yellows come from a variety of iron ochres including hematite, ironstone and limonite. White is generally gypsum or pipeclay and black is made from manganese ore or charcoal. The pigments are ground finely and mixed with water and vegetable fixatives. The most common natural fixative is the gum or resin from local trees. Nowadays the artists more frequently use a commercial acrylic binder.
H: 119cm W: 32cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 105cm W: 36cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 89cm W: 34cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 76cm W: 44cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 0cm W: 0cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 93cm W: 53cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 100cm W: 28cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 147cm W: 39cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 114cm W: 37cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 88cm W: 45cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 137cm W: 37cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 0cm W: 0cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 148cm W: 62cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 167cm W: 75cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 0cm W: 0cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 90cm W: 47cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 90cm W: 47cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 147cm W: 39cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 133cm W: 57cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
H: 55cm W: 35cm
The protected bay of saltwater named on maps below Cape Arnhem as Port Bradshaw is separated from the open sea (Gulf of Carpentaria) by open bush land on sand behind the highest dunes in the Territory, that face the ‘sunrise’ side (East). read more
