Traditional artists from Australia’s far north (Arnhem Land) paint with earth pigments (ochres ground from rock) to create figurative, minimalist and abstracted bark paintings. These bark paintings range from Arnhem Land’s classic X-ray art to many other styles derived from cave painting.

The bark is cut from the trunk of the stringy bark eucaluptus trees at the end of the wet season (Nov-March) stripped from the tree by cutting from top to bottom and levering it off the tree. Placed on a fire and outer fibre is stripped to make a sheet which is flattened with stones on the ground over several days. The surface is then made smooth and earth pigments are applied using brushes made from sedge grass stems or palm leaves, the chewed ends of twigs, blades of dried grass and fine human hair. The earth pigments are traditionally ground with water and mixed with a natural adhesive or binder such as the juice of the native orchid tuber.