Douglas Kwarlple Abbott was born in Hermannsburg in 1954 and initially grew up near Idracowra on the banks of the Finke River, south of Alice Springs. His paternal grandmother’s place is at Waterhouse, near Hermannsburg at the end of the James and Waterhouse Ranges.

Under local kinship systems, Albert Namatjira was regarded as Douglas Abbott’s grandfather. As a young boy Douglas used to watch Namatjira paint, as well as his cousin Clem Abbott and other members of the original Hermannsburg watercolour artists. Clem advised Douglas to develop his own style, which he has done with great success. Abbott’s paintings are characterised by intense colour, and detail is contained within simple bold shapes.

Talking about the personal significance of his painting, Douglas says:

‘Our land is part of us. Deep inside me I miss my country. I might stop in Alice Springs here, and the station owners own the country, but I know in my heart that it’s my country. It’s my land . . . Namatjira had it in his mind and when he started off painting he put what he had in his mind on the board and showed the whole world what a beautiful country Central Australia is.’

Douglas has been painting for many years and was included in the ‘Contemporary Cross-Currents’ section of the 1991 national touring exhibition ‘The Heritage of Namatjira’, curated by Flinders University Art Museum. He was a co-founder, with his wife and others, of the Central Australian Aboriginal Alcohol Programs Unit.