Edward Blitner

Edward Blitner was born on the 24th December 1961. Edward Blitner is from the Ngukkurr Community (now called Yugul Mangl) in Naijarlindji country on the Roper River, approx. 270km south-east off Katherine in the Northern Territory. Edward attended school at Concordia College in Adelaide until he was sixteen year old. As a young man he worked as a stock-man and farmhand.

Edward started painting when he was seven years old. Edward (Eddie) learned painting from his grandfather who painted on bark with natural ochre and while working on a particular painting, he recounted the Dreaming stories and taught the children appropriate songs and dance cycles.

"My grandfather would be painting on bark and we kids would sit around him and watch him grind the ochre's and mix the colours, after a while he would tell us the story for that particular painting and also teach us the songs and dance for that story. When he was in a very good mood, he let us paint the sides of the bark painting, that was my start."

It has taken Edward (Eddie) many years to learn to paint the stories and the Dreamings past on to him by his grandfather. Edward is also a accomplished woodcarver. Some of Eddy's bird carvings stand 2 meters high and are fully decorated and cross hatched (rrarrk). The detailed cross hatching shown in Edward's paintings and carvings, is the artist's family body design and is sacred to his clan.

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