Ochre painting. Ochres are coloured rocks that easily crush to powder and can be used for paint. There are many stones like this and a little experimenting will soon lead you to them. Most people know of red, yellow, black and white ochres but there a many, many other colours as well that occur naturally, so don't hesitate to use them if available. If you really cannot find coloured rocks that are soft enough to crush up for ochre how about using different coloured chalk?! But coloured earth and soft rocks are very common so try to find some. Look in creek beds, roadside cuttings, the back yard, on the beach, you will find something. Crush the ochre rocks to a fine powder. This is still done using stone tools like grindstones and hammer stones-- smooth hard rocks. Add enough water to mix it into a smooth paint. To make the ochres stick permanently, my ancestors would use fig tree sap or honey or a variety of other things, like egg whites, blood, orchid sap or wattle gum. If you have a problem gathering these materials you could either add some clear water base glue to the water and ochre mix or spray the finished job with a clear sealant you can get from the hardware store. Hairspray works really well! Now what to paint? For this example I am painting a didgeridoo. Didgeridoos come from Northern Australia where there are strict customs about who should blow through a didgeridoo. South of this area didgeridoos were not used and were seldom seen except by travellers If you do not have a didgeridoo to paint you can get cardboard rolls from the drapery. The sort they use for bolts of cloth. Or you can get other things to paint like bark, timber, sticks or smooth stones. unpainted boomerangs or just use cardboard, paper, canvas, old shirts, lots of things!!...
Design To start, the whole background could be painted a single colour or multiple of colours say one third, red one third yellow and one third black. (I always paint it black to start) Traditionally Didgeridoos are painted with animals and with ceremonial designs using lines and dots. Each clan would have it's own signifigant colour and layout. These images represent millennia of memories and myths and legends about aboriginal culture. For example, animal paintings may represent a spirit ancestor, lines may represent travelling or spears or tracks, dots may be campsites or waterholes...see colours- culture.. on this disc The images included on these pages are made by me and you can practice on them. Lizard outline. Lizard fill Lizard finished These dots represent frogs eggs Fish outline Fish spine Fish Ribs I am using a feather for a paintbrush or you may find it easier to use an ordinary fine brush. I don t think anything compares to a feather for fine lines. Look for the wing tip feathers. Dip it in the ochre and, holding it like a blade, apply the ochre by gently drawing along the surface.
Fish tail Fish finished Leaf Dots are best done with sticks or you might find that cotton buds are ok Note how I use my little finger to brace my hand so I don t go all wobbly.
Do the same when using a feather to stabilise your hand. Be careful you don't touch down on wet ochre and smudge it. If you make a mistake or are unhappy with a line, don t be afraid to wipe it out very carefully Taking care to only rub out the mistake Then paint straight over it. If you cannot repair it, you will have to paint over it with the background colour, wait till it dries and then repair the mistake. This takes time, so it is best if you learn to wipe out mistakes straight away while they are still wet without smudging.
Lily leaves. Dots representing rain. Anyway, with a little practice you will soon be doing great work. Have fun but remember that Aboriginal art, like all art is the property of its creator and so, rather than just copy someone else's work, try to create your own designs. B Y E, R I C K