In Her Own Words - Debra Nangala McDonald
Debra Nangala McDonald is a Pintupi painter from Papunya, the birthplace of the Western Desert art movement. She is the granddaughter of Shorty Lungkata Tjungurrayi, a founding painter of the movement who worked alongside Geoffrey Bardon in the early 1970s. Debra carries her grandfather’s stories forward and is today the sole custodian of the Uwalki Watiya Tjuta (Mulga Leaf) Dreaming, passed to her by her mother-in-law, Mitjili Napurrula.
This places Debra within a direct, first-generation lineage of the Papunya movement, with documented links to its founding artists and a clear transfer of custodianship across generations.
On how she started painting
"I saw my grandfather. He used to work from 1970 with Geoffrey Bardon. I go there on the weekend. I stay with my grandfather, and I see my grandfather doing painting. And he told me this story - when I pass away, you can go and do this for yourself now."
This is a rare, first-hand account of the early Papunya painting period - not learned later, but witnessed directly as it was happening. Few artists working today have this level of proximity to the origins of the movement.
For Debra, becoming a painter was a direct inheritance from one of the most important figures of the early Papunya movement. As a child visiting her grandfather Shorty on weekends, she sat beside him while he worked and listened to his stories.
On Mitjili and the Watiya Tjuta Dreaming
Debra was married to Rodney, son of the late and renowned artist Mitjili Napurrula. Over time, Debra and Mitjili formed a close bond, spending long periods painting together.
"I start working with Mitjili there. Mitjili gave me permission through this work. Give it to you, do it, and for next generation, our grandchildren to do it."
After Mitjili's passing, Debra received her family's blessing to continue painting the Watiya story. She remains the sole custodian of the Uwalki Watiya Tjuta (Mulga Leaf) Dreaming - meaning she is the only artist with permission to paint this Dreaming.
In Western Desert culture, permission to paint a story is not assumed - it is given. This represents a direct transfer of authority from Mitjili Napurrula to Debra Nangala McDonald, confirming her as the legitimate custodian of this Dreaming.
Acacia Leaves / Mulga Trees (Watiya Tjuta)
On the bended mulga trees
One of the most recognisable elements of Debra's work is the movement she paints into the mulga leaves - the curved, flowing forms that make the trees look alive on the canvas. This came directly from Debra's own observation.
"I got an idea. I put movement. I said, Mit - look that tree, not straight, it's like this. We gotta work on that as well."
Sitting with Mitjili one day, Debra noticed that the real trees around them weren't straight. She pointed it out, and together they began painting the mulga leaves with movement through them. That observation is now a defining feature of the Watiya Tjuta style - one Debra continues to develop in every painting.
"You can see the tree - there's movement. Yeah, I see that in my eye."
This moment marks more than observation - it reflects a shift in how the Watiya Tjuta story is represented. While grounded in Mitjili’s original compositions, the introduction of movement has become a defining characteristic of Debra’s work, showing both continuity and evolution within the same lineage.
Bended Acacia Leaves / Mulga Trees (Watiya Tjuta)
On women's body paint
Alongside the Watiya Tjuta, Debra paints her own Women's Body Paint and Women's Dreaming story - a ceremonial story connected to bush medicine. Unlike the stories passed down from Shorty and Mitjili, this one is entirely her own creation, developed since moving to Adelaide.
"Women's body paint, that's mine. From our story. I was thinking, I gotta do this. Like Mitjili's round one, but this is my pointy one. It's bush medicine. I got that story."
The paintings depict the body paint designs worn by women during ceremony, along with elements of Women's Dreaming and bush medicine. Debra weaves Mitjili's mulga trees into the compositions, creating a dialogue between the Watiya Tjuta style she inherited and the ceremonial imagery she has developed on her own.
This distinguishes Debra not only as a custodian of inherited stories, but as an artist developing her own visual and cultural narratives alongside them.
Women's Body Paint
On her grandfather's stories
Alongside the Watiya Tjuta, Debra paints stories passed down from her grandfather Shorty - including My Special Homeland, a Papunya story, and the Goanna Love Story.
"My Special Homeland - that's Papunya story. That's my grandfather used to do, 1970. And he gave me the permission to do work."
My Special Homeland (Papunya)
The Goanna Love Story tells of the goanna man seeking a woman, the laying of eggs, and the next generation growing up and running around the country. It's a circle of life story - and one that also reflects everyday life on country, where goanna eggs are collected and eaten, usually seasoned simply with salt and pepper.
Goanna Love Story
On colour
While Debra paints in a wide range of tones, her personal preference is always for the earthy colours that remind her of country - the reds, ochres, whites and blacks of Papunya and Lake MacDonald.
"I love earth. It reminds me of home."
On carrying the stories forward
Like other senior women painters across the Western Desert, Debra sees her art as a form of teaching - both a record of what has been passed down and a gift to those who will come after her.
"Mitjili told me - give it to you, do it, and for next generation, our grandchildren to do it."
About Debra Nangala McDonald
Debra Nangala McDonald’s work sits at the intersection of inheritance and continuation - carrying forward stories from the earliest days of the Papunya movement, while refining and evolving the visual language passed down to her. This combination of direct lineage, cultural authority and lived experience places her among a small group of artists with both historical connection and ongoing relevance.
Debra Nangala McDonald is a Pintupi artist born in 1969 at Papunya Camp, approximately 240km west of Alice Springs. She is the granddaughter of Shorty Lungkata Tjungurrayi, a founding member of the Papunya painting movement. Her mother Martha McDonald, and aunties Linda Syddick Napaltjarri and Wentja Napaltjarri, are all acclaimed painters, placing Debra within one of the most respected artistic families of the Western Desert. Debra is the sole custodian of the Uwalki Watiya Tjuta (Mulga Leaf) Dreaming, passed to her by her late mother-in-law Mitjili Napurrula.
Art by Farquhar is a member of the Australian Aboriginal Art Association. Every painting comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and full provenance documentation.