Villages across the Mountains have been blooming into colour recently as murals flood the streets, but for local artist Patricia Smart murals have been a way of life for more than 30 years.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
To this day she's continuing to hone her craft, having just taken home People's Choice runner up in an international mural painting competition in Tasmania with a prize of $5,000.
The Bullaburra resident began her career back when most Mountains locals were unfamiliar with the word 'mural' - around 35 years ago - which made for a challenging start to her career.
"When I first started people didn't even know what murals were. I had to actually advertise as 'wall paintings'," she said.
"There was a lifestyle program called 'Our House'... I said look, can you help us, because no one knows what these things are.
"We went on that about four times and did painting for the TV show, and that really got us going because it was really educating the public on what murals were," she said.
Having worked as a dental assistant while at art school, Ms Smart painted the dental surgery to brighten the space up for patients.
She was soon approached by another business which had seen the mural, and as word spread her budding career in murals solidified into a lifelong pursuit which supported her as she raised two boys.
"I like painting big... it's great, because in public art you get to meet lots of people," she said.
"I love that people are so engaged by it... I love that I get to meet the people that my art goes to, [and] it's nice to also have other people's input into it as well."
After decades in the field of painting walls, Ms Smart's most recent accomplishment is second place in Mural Fest, an annual mural competition and festival in Sheffield, Tasmania's 'Town of Murals'.
Ms Smart was competing with some of the best mural-painting minds from countries including New Zealand, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
READ MORE:
Her piece, Every Day A New Adventure, was made with assistance from Olaf Grohs, and was made to capture the spirit of adventure that children feel as they explore life.
Ms Smart said she's thrilled to see murals now taking centre stage in Mountains towns, such as the recently finished paintings on walls of Springwood's commuter car park.
"There's so many mural artists, and I thought they could probably go down and compete," she said.
For more info on Mural Fest, visit the website at: https://muralfest.com.au.
To see more of Ms Smart's art or to get in contact with her, visit: https://trishsmart.com.au/.
