FRAME YOUR FREEDOM WITH TAMINGA CONNELL
For some, art is a learned skill. For others, it’s a dormant seed waiting for the right season to bloom.
Taminga Connell is a Bunuba / Gija woman born and bred in the Kimberley—a vast, rugged expanse of Western Australia defined by red dust, turquoise water, and ancient rock formations. Alongside her husband Scotty and their seven children, she runs Kimberley Spirit, sharing the raw beauty of her home with travellers from around the globe.
But in more recent years, she’s become known for something else: vibrant, freehand paintings that capture the soul of the Country she loves.
Unlike many artists who pick up a brush in childhood, Taminga’s artistic journey began later in life. For a long time, her focus was purely on survival and family.
“I was a single mum, so I was always hustling... growing my kids up on my own,” she recalls.
That changed when she met her husband, Scotty. He encouraged her to pause the hustle and find space for herself. “He was really adamant that he needed to support me... so I started painting to decorate our house.”
Her breakthrough piece, Seasons, was a labour of love that turned into a metaphor for her own life. It depicted a field full of weeds being cleared to make way for new growth.
“I didn't realise until after I painted it... it was my life that was like that,” she says. “You start off here, and you go through the ups and downs. That’s why it was so hard to paint.”
That single painting sparked a chain reaction. After posting Seasons online, Taminga was approached by Luke Wyllie of Corsaire Aviation with a unique request: to paint his helicopters.
For Taminga, this wasn’t just a commercial job; it was a continuation of a proud family legacy.
“My grandfather painted the first Qantas planes back in 1999, the reconciliation ones,” she explains. “So to be able to do the same thing in a different sort of way, on helicopters within our beautiful state of Western Australia, is pretty cool.”
Her artwork now travels across the skies of the North West, a vibrant symbol of culture moving through timeless landscapes.
Taminga’s creative spark comes directly from that Country. Living in Kununurra and spending her days on the Ord River, she is constantly surrounded by inspiration.
“I feel connected to it and I've just started painting it more and more. That's what the Kimberley is known for. Its beautiful colours, from Broome, the white sand and the red pindan, to the blue oceans to the East Kimberley, to the big rocks and the waterways and green, lush palm trees in the middle of nowhere… you never get sick of looking at this place. It's incredible.”
To celebrate this connection to Western Australia, OTIS has collaborated with Taminga to feature her artwork on our limited-edition sunglasses wrap.
Made from recycled PET bottles, the cloth is part of our commitment to sustainable, plastic-free packaging. It’s a functional piece of art designed to protect your mineral glass lenses while reminding you of the rugged beauty of the North West and the sense of freedom you can find up there.
When we asked Taminga what freedom means to her, her answer was perfectly in tune with the OTIS ethos: finding perspective in the outdoors.
“Standing up on the mountains and [seeing] how small we are. I think that’s freedom,” she says. “Just to be accepted and free to roam about this Country. You don't need much to have joy. And I think you can really find yourself in this place.”
For Taminga, the collaboration is about even more than freedom. It reflects the story painted on the cloth itself.
“This is the different regions of WA and everyone coming together,” she says about the artwork. “Most of the paintings that I do, I say it's about the people. At the end of the day, it's all about unity and I think that’s exactly what this does.”