Her father's lead pencil drawing of a kangaroo and emu was all it took to spark a life-long love of art for Wiradjuri artist Cara Shields.
"It was a kangaroo and it had an emu and he kind of drew it into its leg and I just thought it was the most deadliest thing I'd ever seen because it was like two animals and it just went so well."
The picture inspired Shields to draw but, she admits, she quickly learned depicting animals like her father was not her strong suit and she would need to develop her own style.
"You find your own style and that's what I did. I can sit there for hours and do fine detail line work with the tiniest little paintbrush and I have no issue doing that but if you put a kangaroo in front of me, no, I can't do it," she laughs.
The exhibition in Bristol is Shields' 11th in the UK with Coe Gallery. Source: Supplied / Coe Gallery
"There's a highway between Narromine and Dubbo... and we drove along it quite frequently and there's a lot of old trees on that highway and a lot of scar trees so I was always looking at them," Shields said.
"It was something I've always been drawn to and I always look out for especially when I'm driving."
Shields has been practising her craft since she was first encouraged to undertake an Aboriginal Art course at TAFE as a 16-year-old.
Now, more than twenty years later she continues to connect with her culture through art and says she is "honoured and privileged" to have her work on display alongside renowned artist Barbara Weir on the other side of the world.
"That took my breath away," she said.
"[I was] speechless that I was chosen to be next to Barbara's work."
Shields said it's surreal to have her art on display in the UK as part of the country's first Aboriginal-owned art gallery, Coe Gallery.
"I'm very proud to be over there and [Jasmine]'s always exhibiting my art so beautifully," Shields said.
Coe Gallery founder and Wiradjuri-British artist, Jasmine Coe, said "It's been a joy to see Shields' work develop" over the years the gallery has shown her pieces.
"This is Cara’s 11th exhibition over in the UK and it's fantastic to see her works now being recognised by Bristol and London audiences," Coe said.
"In this exhibition, Cara’s Scar Tree Series hangs proudly next to the late great Utopian artist Barbara Weir and her Grass Seed Dreaming. It’s wonderful to see the two generations of work together and to see how the values behind both of these paintings encourage our visitors to reconnect back to earth."
Coe said UK audiences have called Shields' work "captivating".
Coe Gallery founder Jasmine Coe said UK audiences are now beginning to recognise Shields' work. Source: Supplied / Coe Gallery
"I didn't look at other people's artworks and take their designs... that's a huge thing now with a lot of artists, it's appropriation," Shields said.
"They find out they are Aboriginal and they will go and look and take this and take this. I never did that because I already knew."
Shields as a child with a scar tree. Source: Supplied
Although her children are only 1 and 4 years old, she hopes her expression of her culture through art will have a positive impact on them as they grow up.
"I know I'm very lucky that I can connect to my culture through my art," Shields said.
For now, the lead pencil kangaroo-emu drawing has pride of place, framed on her children's wall to inspire another generation.
