Kay & Clarise Tunkin Baker

Clarise Tunkin comes from a large family of highly talented artists. Her great-grandfather is the great Jimmy Baker, her grandmother renowned artist Kay Baker, the talented Teresa Baker is her mother and Kani Tunkin her aunty. It’s not surprising that Clarise is overflowing with artistic talent. Clarise is part of a new generation of artists creating rich, energetic works with a sensational individual style. She began painting in 2012 and her talent was quickly recognised when she was selected as a finalist in the 2015 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA).

Born in the early 1950s at Palvwell, a birthing place near Ernabella, Kay Baker, also known as Tunkin, grew up at Ernabella Mission where her father, noted artist Jimmy Baker, had moved in the early 1930s.
Kay is a director of the Tjunga Palya Arts Centre and spends her time between Kanpi, Watarru and Alice Springs. Apart from being a highly esteemed painter Kay is also a basket weaver.