Natalie Pula Holmes

Born: Utopia, 1985

Skin Name: Pula

Language Group: Alyawarr

Region: MacDonald Downs, Northern Territory

Only young, Natalie Pula Holmes is an emerging artist. Her fascination with painting goes back to her childhood in Tennant Creek as she watched her mother and artist, Marilyn Brown paint.  Her mother saw at once the fascination colours and shapes held for Natalie and encouraged her to experiment.

Natalie has only recently begun to paint for Eastern Desert Art as raising her family has been her main pre-occupation for the last eight years. She lives on MacDonald Downs (285kms NE of Alice Springs) with her five children and husband Neville. 

The flora and fauna of her landscape in the Eastern Desert, Central Australia, inspire Natalie’s energetic, and colourful work. Her paintings are representations of land and place.

Her husband, Neville is the son of Dudley Petrick, the traditional owner of MacDonald Downs, Utopia (where Natalie resides).  Dudley is also a local ‘rainmaker’ - a role he takes very seriously.

Natalie says “I sit up and look at the birds when they are flying low over our place and they circle round and round – I see too (meaning ‘so’) much colour and I want to paint this.  I look at the land/my place –there are different colours and seeds go this way and that and make patterns – this is what I paint.”

Natalie’s work is energetic and colourful - as shaped by the nature and landscape of the semi-arid desert and all its fauna and flora which are forever changing in colour and shapes/patterns.

Exhibitions:

2010: The Utopia Story, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore

2010: Western and Eastern Desert Art, Blaxlands Inn, Hunter Valley, NSW

2010: Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London