June Peters / Texas Downs to Purnululu (3B)

June was born on Texas Downs Station in 1962.  She lost both her mother and father at a very young age however the late Madigan Thomas (Senior ochre artist) and her husband Sandy Thomas, a Traditional Elder, brought her up and treat her like a daughter.

She lives in Kununurra, has eight children and two grandchildren and visits her relatives at Warmun frequently.

She was from an early age taught painting by the best of our famous first generation ochre artists, including Jack Britten, Madigan Thomas and Lena Nyadbi. These Elders devoted their lives to teaching youngsters culture, Traditional Dreamtime stories and ochre painting technique. June is the niece of our most famous ochre artist, Rover Thomas.  June’s mother was one of five sisters (Rita being Rover’s wife) and every one of these women, all from Texas Downs Station, have produced highly talented artists. June’s eldest daughter Deanne is following in her mother’s footsteps and is an accomplished artist. June has an extended family, and through her mother, father, aunties and uncles, is able to paint the huge expanse of Kitja land, including Texas Downs, Purnululu 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 bulked ochre), as well as fine, detailed works in minimal palette and on occasion, wonderful works using the acrylic medium.  June’s work has been quickly noticed and purchased by astute collectors and included in exhibitions at Australian galleries such as Japingka Gallery in Perth and Harrison Galleries and Gallery Tjukurrpa in Sydney plus international galleries in France, The Netherlands and USA. June has a promising future and her paintings now hang with the best of her famous relatives.

The artwork is a map of some of the richest cattle grazing land in the East Kimberley region together with the ‘jewel’ of the East Kimberley – the magnificent Purnululu National Park. The middle section features a prominent and very large billabong on Texas Downs Station (painted in blue/grey) called Fish Hole. This is Barramundi Dreaming country. The Kitja women tell the story of the women fishing for barramundi (Daiwal) with nets. One jumped out of the net, flew over the country and dropped its scales in the area where the Argyle Diamond Mine now is, making the country rich with the precious stones. June says of this area: “The tourists all love this place – lots of people come from all over the world to see this country and they are very welcome. We are very lucky to live here”.