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Gabriella Wallace
Gabriella Wallace was born on the 13th February 1945 at Arltunga, approximately 100 kilometres east of Alice Springs. She was the ninth of eleven children born to Elisa and Bruce Wallace.
Her home was a bush humpy at Arltunga for the first eight years of her life but by 1953 the Arltunga water supply deteriorated to the point where they had to leave. With the use of some old trucks, her family moved to Santa Teresa Mission that consisted at the time of a few houses, a school, a church and a little hospital.
Initially the family moved into an old tin shed. Soon after, a girls' dormitory was built by the Catholic Mission where Gabriella took up residence during the week. She joined her parents 'over the hill' on weekends and for school holidays.
Rations in those days were flour, tea and sugar, with the remainder of their diet consisting of bush tucker and vegetables from the Mission?s vegetable gardens.
Gabriella received a basic education of reading, writing and needlecraft from the nuns at Santa Teresa. She also loved to go on bush excursions and to watch her brother Gordon paint. This is where her interest in painting developed. With the help and encouragement of others, including a Mr Sorjack who painted portraits of Aboriginal people, Dr Ethol Robinson and particularly Sister Anastasia, Gabriella began a life of painting.
Her art-making began with coloured pencils and charcoal on paper, eventually moving on to watercolours, oils, gouache and acrylics. Gabriella's first subjects were charcoal portraits of old people before venturing into landscapes and bush scenes. The artist subsequently taught herself to paint birds, animals and bush foods.
This shy artist continues to paint today, mostly landscapes in acrylics, but also works in the dot painting technique with an emphasis on bush tucker themes. Gabriella says that by painting this way, the kids of today will be able to recognise what things they should eat. This is particularly directed at town and camp kids, as well as bush kids who are continually attracted to town. She says these youngsters today don't know what bush tucker to eat. |
