Thomas is now an established and gifted artist who paints the stories of  ‘Tingari’.  This recounts the extensive journeys of their ancestral ancestors as they covered the vast expanse of the Western desert region.

Tingari is instilled in a series of secret song lines and sacred men’s business. Thomas Tjapaltjarri uses journey lines and over dotting as a device to protect the highly secretive and private elements of these stories.  The meanings behind Tingari paintings are believed to be multi-layered, however, they are not available to the uninitiated.