Born c. 1934
Kathleen began her art career in the late 1970s in batik with over eighty other women from the Utopia Region in Central Australia. Her work in batik is featured in the book Utopia A Picture Story. When the painting movement swept Utopia in the late 1980s, Kathleen swiftly changed her medium. Kathleen’s popularity as an artist grew in the early 00s, especially thanks to her simplistic “Bush Plum” (Anwekety) paintings. Her work has been exhibited around the globe and is also featured frequently in Aboriginal Art auctions. Kathleen loves to paint and talk about her work. Though she speaks little English, she continues to try to teach the wider world about her paintings and in particular her main subject matter, the Anwekety (Bush Plum). These are small black conkerberries that grow after good rain. Living with her sisters and extended family in the Utopia Region, Kathleen is encouraged by and passes her enthusiasm onto them. Polly Ngale, Glady Kemarre and Angelina Pwerle are just a few examples of many related artists.
