Patricia Ellis Pengarte

Patricia Ellis Pengarte is an Eastern Arrente women from Central Australia with a proud First Nations artistic heritage.


The redoubtable artist Aunty Glenda Hayes, now an astonishing 100-years-old, is her grandmother on her father's side. As a formidable and highly respected elder, Aunty Glenda acted as the direct generational bridge for Patricia's cultural education. She is the foundation from whom Patricia learned the sacred Dreaming stories that Patricia maps on to canvas.

Aunty Teresa Ryder, sadly passed since 2023, painted with a precise Dreaming style while also undertaking watercolour landscapes. This dual mastery of landscape portrayal and bush tucker iconography showed Patricia a way to detail flora and seasonal changes.


Aunty Paula Hayes and her cousin Bernadine Hayes, further expanded her mastery over diverse mediums. Bernadine’s specialised work with etched wooden clapsticks and small-scale traditional paintings opened avenues for Patricia to look beyond the canvas, eventually guiding her toward the multi-medium public art installations and custom furniture she produces today.

Aunty Christine Nakamara Brown provided a living blueprint of how an Eastern Arrernte woman could translate ancient cultural knowledge into a highly successful, contemporary professional art career.

From all these women Patricia has built her own legacy with a style that is as unique as it is unexpected. She applies her art wherever she sees fit and in this continuation of her family line, ensures that every dot and line she paints carries the weight, authority, and blessing of her ancestors.