Born in 1941 at MacDonald Station in the Utopia region, Cowboy Louie is a highly respected Elder and brother of important Utopian artist Louie Pwerle. Cowboy’s brother taught him how to paint with acrylics at a young age. He often paints symbols, representative of spears, rocks and the hills of his region. The geometric shapes outlined in dots represent the tracks of the Bush Turkeys, Goannas and Emus. His fine, detailed dot painting art showcases a traditional Utopian man’s life, exploring the land and looking for animal’s tracks to hunt them with spears or hunting boomerangs for tucker. Many of his artworks also focus on the journey of the Bush Turkey. His art depicts the trail it leaves as it searches for food and water over various Utopian sites. In addition, Cowboy is known for his wood carvings of animals. Many Australian and overseas galleries have featured Cowboy’s creations. Cowboy now lives at Mosquito Bore with his two wives, sisters Carol and Elizabeth Kngwarreye. His nickname came from the work he did as a stockman, as he is always dressed in Cowboy attire. He is a family man very focused on traditional customs and looking after his family as well as taking care of cultural business. Cowboy continues to pass on the Dreaming to his grandson, as his father did to him, carrying on an important and sacred tradition.
