Mervyn Rubuntja was born in 1958 at the Telegraph Station in Alice Springs. His mother, Cynthia (Kamara) Obitja was a Western Arrernte woman. His father was the late Mr. Wenten Rubuntja Pengarte, a famous painter. His father has been an important role model for Mervyn. He was a senior lawman and and a respected member of his community. He fought for Aboriginal rights and protection of the land, working alongside the Central Land Council, and assisted in the Mabo agreement. Mervyn has followed in his father’s footsteps and painting in the watercolour style that his father taught him. When Mervyn was 13 yrs old his family moved to Hermannsburg. This is where he first saw watercolour paintings as he watched his uncles Maurice, Oscar and Keith Namatjira painting like their father Albert. Arnulf Ebatarinja, another uncle, kindled Mervyn’s painting talent when he gave him some watercolour paperboard and taught him to paint. Mervyn’s family moved back to Alice Springs again in 1975 and he began to paint with Basil Rantji, who taught him how to mix colours. Mervyn lives at Larapinta town camp where he paints at the Learning Centre. Mervyn has sold his paintings at the Papunya Tula Gallery and the Arunta Book shop in Alice Springs and was exhibited in the 2008 NATSIA Awards in Darwin. In 2006, he was invited to submit a painting for the “Mornington Peninsula Works on Paper” exhibition at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and in 2013 he was invited to participate in the seminar “Presences in the Art of Rex Battarbee & Albert Namatjira” at the State Library of NSW. Today Mervyn works through the Ngurratjuta Iltja Ntjarra / Many Hands Art Centre (sounds like ngoo-rrah-joo-tah ill-tjah n-tjah-rrah).Based in Alice Springs, Ngurratjuta was established in 2004 in order to provide a place for Arrernte artists to come together to paint, share and learn new techniques and ideas. The art centre has a special focus on encouraging the ‘Hermannsburg School’ style watercolour artists, who continue to paint in the tradition of their grandfather and relative, Albert Namatjira.About 15 watercolour artists are associated with the art centre. These artists continue to paint in the tradition of their grandfather, Albert Namatjira, arguably one of Australia’s most famous artists. His paintings have been seen across the world and his descendants are finding the same success with their images of this unique landscape.The art centre has achieved national and international recognition. Artworks by the current Hermannsburg School of art are held in collections including the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Ngurratjuta artists have exhibited their work in all major cities in Australia as well as in London, Paris and the Netherlands. In London, partnered with Big hART's Namatjira Project, the art movement was internationally acknowledged by an invitation to attend a private audience with the Queen. Recently with the Namatjira Project, Ngurratjuta had a high profile exhibition, Namatjira to Now, at Parliament House Canberra, displaying works from all five generations of Hermannsburg watercolour school, including a digital watercolour animation from the youngest artists coming through. Ngurratjuta Many Hands collaborative was a finalist at the 2014 NATSIA Awards in Darwin with their collaborative collage painting, and they exhibited their significant, innovative work "Mpera Marra - Good Country" at the Desert Mob exhibition in 2014. In recent years the art centre has worked on innovative projects that bring Namatjira and the Hermannsburg School into the contemporary era whilst continuing to maintain the important tradition of this school. These include the ‘Namatjira Collection’ range of artwork printed circle skirts, exhibited at the University of NSW Galleries in 2015.