12 AM 4140/06
Leigh Oates Seal Hides 2006
Acrylic on Canvas 1000 x 1500mm SOLD
This painting represents different areas on the west coast of Tasmania from Preminghana down as far as Temma.

The white circles are a representation of an area where the old fellas would hunt seal. They would move the stones
to make hides (an area where the stones have been moved to make a pit so the hunters could hide out of sight) and
they would wait in these hides until the seals came up onto the rocks to bathe in the sun. When the seals fell
asleep they would sneak up out of their hides and club them for food.

The four grey sections of rock surrounded in yellow dots represent the hides. The Red Earth line of rocks through
the centre represent the mark made when the seals where dragged away from the waters edge

The seventeen circle shapes are just some of the rock engravings (petroglyphs) that are found in this area

The seal hides drag marks and petroglyphs can still be seen today.