Artist Spotlight: Susie Ngwarrey Peterson

Susie Ngwarrey Peterson is a core member of the Epenarra artist’s collective and is well-known for her richly detailed portrayals of the landscape around Wutunugurra (Epenarra). A visitor to the region will immediately notice how Susie’s paintings capture the essence of the rugged scenery surrounding her home in Hill Country. Iytwelepenty, or the Davenport Ranges form a line of stony hills through the region 100 kilometres South of Tennant Creek. The rock-strewn landscape is dotted with white gums, spinifex, termite mounds, and all sorts of bush flowers. The ranges conceal a number of permanent waterholes in an otherwise arid environment, attracting abundant bird life. Here lie a handful of cattle stations, and the community of Wutunugurra where Susie has lived all her life.

Old Soakage on the way to Murray Downs by Susie Peterson

Susie began painting and participating in silk dyeing workshops in the early 2000s, during the first sporadic visits from outreach programs which brought art supplies to Wutunugurra. It was not until 2012 that a regular outreach program was established for the community and Susie began to paint consistently. From very early in her career, Susie’s precision and natural artistry can be seen in the fine details of the foliage filling her landscapes and the subtle shifts of colour in the nets of dot work which cover the surface of her works.

Landscape of Epenarra, by Susie Peterson

Susie’s elegant brush strokes and refined dotting bring the details of her Country to life, while her nuanced palettes recall the varying moods of the ranges during seasonal changes and the shifting light from dawn to dusk. Within these landscapes Susie creates intricate portrayals of bush foods and medicines. Susie’s visual language has had a profound influence on the Epenarra artists where a number of notable artists hold a strong interest in landscape painting and pay particular interest to the bush foods and medicines which are scattered across the landscape of their Country.

Susie’s work is highly sought after by individuals and organisations alike and is featured in a number of notable private and public collections across Australia. Most notably her work was selected to feature as the branding for the 10-year Barkly Regional Deal, her visual language has thus become synonymous with the Barkly region itself.

Shop works by Susie Peterson here.

Iytwelepenty by Susie Peterson