The Camel Lady

In 2010 I painted these pictures after reading the true story of a young woman who, alone but for her camels, crossed some of the most isolated and inhospitable desert on the planet. Her journey was from Alice Springs, at the centre of the continent, to the Western Australian coast over 2000 kms away. It was a test of courage and endurance which she set for herself. She spent the previous 2 years in and around Alice Springs learning the ways of camels and of the desert and the dangers of both. She survived such events as being attacked by a wild bull camel intent on killing her and stealing her camels. She was forced to defend herself (reluctantly) with her rifle, and survived that and many other events in a part of the land where only very occasional small bands of Aborigines might venture.