Rex learnt to paint by watching his father paint stories on bark using ochre.  Rex was born at Roper Mission (Now Ngukurr) and went to mission school.  His wife Judy Doctor Wilfred is also an artist and sometimes assists Rex with his paintings.  Rex paints the traditional stories he heard as he was growing up.  His technique of using grass to apply the fine cross-hatching lines is a traditional way of painting.  In recent years Rex has proved to be popular with buyers and art collectors.

From an exhibition in March 2000 of works by a group of Ngukurr Artists, one of Rex’s paintings was purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria.