Trevor Pareroultja

1941 – 1983

Trevor Pareroultja was the son of Otto and Laurel Pareroultja. Although he was not a prolific painter, Trevor was very talented, exhuberant and expressive. Not much is known about him.

Trevor’s mother Laurel was Loritja. Trevor was Western Arrernte, subsection Peltharre. He was born and died in Alice Springs. He was living in Papunya as at 1961. He was probably painting from around 1965.

It is broadly estimated that the three paintings in the author’s collection were painted between 1965 and 1975. They are discussed in the order in which they were purchased.

Perhaps some artistic licence was applied to achieve dramatic affect in this striking composition. The rocks and downward swoop of trees are perhaps a little exaggerated. Viewer is on same level as the ground of foreground trees, looking down. The viewer anticipates sweeping down the valley in the swoop of riverbed rocks and trees.

The location appears to be in the Finke River Valley south of Hermannsburg on the way to Palm Valley. Ken Porter drove the author and her husband down through this area along the bed of the river. The river was in flood after two days of heavy rain. This seems to be a view centred on the white riverbed, but it is not portrayed as a flat riverbed. Most rock patterns could be from nature, but there are passages of contrived patterning.

Lemon yellow under-wash emphasises part of the swoop. In this painting the white of the tree and ‘riverbed’ is unpainted paper. The painting shows considerable experience and progress toward an all-over system. There are blobs and varied lines on rocks.

The pair of ancient surviving ghost gums tower gracefully over the burnt saplings in the riverbed of a gorge/gap. The sapling on the left is dead, while that at the centre is regenerating. Another on the right in the clump of small trees is also recovering from the fire in the gorge. The small trees have already re-grown.

There is a yellow under wash behind foliage of the ghost gums and in particular behind the band of small trees and the thin horizontal band beneath the small trees, indicating regrowth of fresh grass after a fire. Perhaps this was a managed ‘cool burn’ to promote quick growing feed to attract hunting prey. Perhaps alternatively this was a matter-or-fact comment about fires as part of life.

The location may be in the Belt Range near Haasts Bluff, out west of Hermannsburg. There are no intense reds.

The drama in this fantasy painting is for the satisfaction of being dramatic and perhaps reflects Trevor’s personality. It portrays a scene a year or so after a bush fire.

The near tree is regenerating. The band of small trees at the base of the hills is regenerating with blackened branches above still attached. The foreground rocks seem to be animate. The colour fields are of light red, red, lemon with the sky almost without colour.