Cecily Daniels

Cecily Daniels comes from Papunya, a small community some 240km northwest of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the Northern Territory. Growing up, Cecily lived at an outstation just outside of Papunya called 5 Mile. She is the daughter of celebrated artist Barney Daniels Tjungarrayi, who taught her to paint when she was a young girl. Cecily's sister, Gladys Daniels, is also a talented artist. Cecily is now married to the son of one of Papunya Tula’s founding artists, Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa.

Cecily’s style of painting is characteristic of the Western Desert painters, using dots and linework to tell important Dreaming stories. Using this repetitive form of markmaking, Cecily creates incredible optical-style art with captivating movement and depth. Cecily often depicts Tali (sandhills) and other topographic designs; she is also known to paint designs associated with the Tingari Dreaming or Tingari Song Cycle, a deeply sacred and secret Dreaming story of the Pintupi peoples.