Aboriginal art space welcomes guest

IN Cambrian Hill you’ll find a non-descript house whose interior is laden with the colours of traditional Aboriginal artwork.

It is the home base of First Nations art and gift retailer Raintree Art, and where Darwin-based Anmatyerre artist Louise Numina has recently taken up residency.

Inside, Numina sits on blankets spread across the loungeroom floor creating her bush medicine leaf work on sheets of black canvas.

The owner of Raintree Art, Jane Lewis, prepares Louise’s materials and brings her tea while she paints, and said she can barely keep up with Numina’s output.

“Usually, she’ll stay a week or two and paint for us, and it’s great having her. She seems to also bring the nice weather with her every time she stays here,” Ms Lewis said.

Numina has been regularly painting at Raintree Art for over five years, with her most recent residency occurring in March last year.

Once complete, Numina’s works are added to Raintree Art’s online store alongside works by other Indigenous artists like Debra Nangala McDonald and Numina’s mother Barbara Pananka.

Ms Lewis often films Numina at work to put on Raintree Art’s social media, and said one from her previous residency resulted received over four million views.

“Last time she was here it was pretty nuts, and that multi-colour video also got shared by the Facebook page My Modern Met which just blew it up even further,” she said.

“That video just took us so far. Business certainly booms every time Louise comes up, her paintings are just that popular. I’m not holding out that we’ll see that kind of attention for the moment but here’s hoping.”

With her husband and three children in tow, Numina said she expects to stay at Raintree Art until early next week, and that she finds the place a “relaxing” creative atmosphere.

“I love visiting Ballarat and seeing Jane especially. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other, and I’m able to just sit and paint all day,” she said.

“It’s a very tight-knit mob we’ve got here. We’ve come here to get away from the Darwin weather and to visit Jane the first chance we got.”