Children from the Nurruby Childcare Centre and Pre-school were treated to an art class with an Australian star last week.
Ernie Dingo, along with successful Moree artist Belinda Williams, dropped in to show students different painting techniques using watercolours.
Works by both artists, and the children, were later sold at Nurruby’s fundraiser event at the Golf Club, to raise money for ongoing maintenance of the pre-school building.
Approximately 150 people attended the function, collectively raising around $5000 for the pre-school which looks after 110 children every week.
It was a worthwhile effort for staff and parents at Nurruby, who had managed to secure the television personality’s appearance months in advance.
Ernie drove almost 4 000 kilometres from Darwin to attend the fundraiser, where he spoke about his passion for inspiring children through art.
“What we did this morning was for the kids’ imagination, we used water to try and show them how the colour dances with water, to make them understand that paint can dance,” he explained.
“I love to see the expression on their faces when the paint touches the water on the paper.
“I enjoy painting and I enjoy what art can do, the most important thing was this opportunity to come and spend some time with the kids and have fun.”
The star of television and live performances begin his career in the late 1970s, and to date he’s starred in many well known television series including The Great Outdoors, Blue Heelers, and Heartland.
Ernie has also featured in several films and a musical, but in recent years appears to have moved away from the spotlight.
Ernie turned his hand to painting at the beginning of the year, and has also been trying to assist communities dealing with drought.
“I’m looking for new ways to help out, and keep their minds off the drought,” he said.
“There are other ways to interact, a lot of farmers don’t want our
sympathy, and they’re just trying to survive.”
Ernie believes art is one way people can escape from the harsh reality, and he’s passionate about making sure children don’t take worries about the weather on board.
“They know what the significance of rain is, so we need to make sure kids have time to be themselves, rather than worrying about the drought,” he said.
“If they can paint, they might bring some of their work home and that could help to lift the mood and change the mentality.”
Ernie’s own work is inspired by his homeland in Western Australia, which he calls the wildflower capital of the world. He doesn’t use traditional aboriginal painting techniques, instead turning to pastels and soft edges which represent the colours of the Midwest wild flowers.
While his art is progressive, Ernie Dingo spoke of wanting to preserve the simple things that make Australia unique.
He took the opportunity to caution against succumbing to the pressures of modern society.
“We’re always trying so hard to do what society expects of us, and we don’t have to, we should try and do what makes us comfortable and happy,” she said.
“Nobody knows what a larrikin is anymore; old men don’t whistle anymore, we’re losing that Australiana.”