Ray Thomas, The Old Mission Church 1986. Acrylic on canvas. 85 x 70 x 4.5cm.
This painting is about the width of one arm. It’s framed in a gold decorative frame.
It shows a weatherboard church in a sparse Australian bush landscape. The landscape visually dominates the composition. There are dozens of tall, thin eucalyptus trees scattered throughout the painting which stretch upwards towards a clear sky. Whilst the ground is sparsely covered by foliage, it is largely dirt. There are no roads but wheel tracks are visible on the ground. The light is soft and there is no sun visible in the sky.
To the middle right of the painting is a small church building with a steeple topped with a wooden cross. A figure with light-toned skin is dressed in a long white gown and stands in front of the building, his arm raised as if to motion towards someone in the distance. This figure holds a small book in his hand and is wearing a black stole, typical of a minister or priest. Next to the church is a simple, wooden two-wheel cart.
In the foreground, there is a figure with dark toned skin seated on a fallen tree trunk, who is wearing a red shirt and jeans. There is another figure in the lower right-hand corner who looks at the church from behind a tree, as though hiding. Both figures appear to be children or young adults and face towards the church at a distance from it. The artist, Ray Thomas, says that the two figures are George Thomas and William Thorpe, the great-grandfathers of his family, who were taken to Lake Tyers Mission after their parents were killed in a shooting massacre.