June was born on Texas Downs Station 1962. She has lost both her mother and father however Madigan Thomas (Senior ochre artist) and husband Sandy Thomas, a Traditional Elder, treat her like a daughter.
She lives in Kununurra, has eight children and visits her relatives at Warmun as often as she can.
She was initially taught painting by one of the best – Lena Nyadbi – who like many first generation ochre artists, seems to have devoted her life to teaching youngsters both culture and painting.
June has an extended family, and through her mother, father, aunties and uncles, is able to paint the huge expanse of Kitja land, including Purnululu (Bungles) and Doon Doon. This gives the artist a wonderful content for her works, and June is fastidious about the Kitja Dreaming Stories represented in her paintings. She travels extensively in her country, and paints with precision and authenticity.
June paints both in the typical Warmun style (thick, crusty ochre), as well as fine, detailed works in minimal palette.
She is the only artist we know who has completed collaborative works with the highly sought after artist Tommy Carroll – June’s detailed style combined with Tommy’s balanced, minimal imaging resulted in magic paintings.
June’s work has been quickly noticed and purchased by astute collectors – she has a promising future and her paintings now hang with the best of her famous relatives.
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