Murals brighten up regional and rural towns thanks to Mural Nomad

Today, she travels across the country with her husband Ben and a border collie named Zen, in their renovated van, brightening up the empty walls of regional and rural communities with her colourful murals.

If it wasn't for the pandemic, however, Ms Hannagan might not have been able to live this dream.

She came to Australia from Italy in 2013 to study English, tourism and business.

Worked a high-paying corporate job, she moved up the ranks quickly, but when the pandemic hit, she was one of thousands left without work - to her relief.

"I don't think I would have quit that job on my own if (the pandemic) hadn't happened," Ms Hannagan said.

Wanting to follow her love of art but afraid to leave the business world, Ms Hannagan worked at a medical clinic while studying interior design.

But at the start of 2021, the couple sought a bigger adventure and hit the road living in their van, named Moose.

"We went full minimalist, everything we own is in the van, but I didn't want to part with my mural equipment," Ms Hannagan said.

"I took some paint and brushes and thought that I would paint here and there to at least keep up my portfolio."

In every town they visited, more and more people were requesting Ms Hannagan's murals.

"I didn't think many people outside of Brisbane would want a mural but I was wrong, I got so many requests everywhere we went," she said.

After painting all through Queensland, Ms Hannagan's art had put them in good stead and they moved on to explore Darwin.

She was commissioned to paint a garden wall at the Darwin Royal Hospital, by a nurse at the mental health department.

"She had a very small budget which she raised herself to paint a tiny section of this big wall - she and the team put in a lot of effort and a lot of outside-work hours to make that garden pleasant," Ms Hannagan said.

"I was so touched by what they did that I decided to use the money to buy a bit more paint and donate a much bigger mural than what they wanted."

After this, Ms Hannagan set herself a goal to paint 100 murals and rebranded herself under the name 'Mural Nomad'.

After more than 18 months, her total sits at 62 murals.

Ms Hannagan expects to reach 100 in about six months.

She donates a portion of the proceeds of every mural to the Black Dog Institute.

Shortly after moving to Australia, Ms Hannagan was twice asked to teach art.

"I was terrified at the idea because I never saw myself as a teacher," she said."English is my third language and sometimes when I'm nervous, I swear I forget half of my vocabulary."

Giving it a go anyway, Ms Hannagan loved seeing the joy her weekend classes brought the participants, but with a full time job, she found herself becoming burnt out.

Now Ms Hannagan is back teaching and offers one-on-one mentoring sessions, free resources and group calls for other muralists.

She works with about 20 students from all over the world, supporting artists in their practice and with the business side of the work.

Ms Hannagan said studying business at university helped to market herself, develop her brand and attract new clients.

She said a lot of artists don't get the opportunity to learn about business.

"I think being an artist can be lonely, it's an introverted job," Ms Hannagan said.

"(The group call) becomes a super enjoyable chat, where we are asking questions and brainstorming solutions.

"We're just being artists together, it's a safe space for everyone to bring their emotions and their struggles," she said.

Sponsored by Dulux, financially free and choosing her projects, Ms Hannagan has broken through the "starving artist" stereotype.

"I gained so much knowledge by asking others for help and it just seemed selfish to keep it all for myself when there are lots of other artists out there struggling," she said.

"There's so much beautiful art which needs to be seen and I want to help equip artists with the basic business skills, so they can get there."

Having painted since she was young, Ms Hannagan has never been able to put her brushes aside.

Over the years, the size of her canvases increased and she had a desire for her artwork to be enjoyed by more people.

"When you're painting murals it's a whole physical experience and I never knew how good that felt until I started painting large canvases," she said.

Her artwork is brightly coloured and is inspired by local flora and fauna or as Ms Hannagan said, "things with a soul", as well as sunsets and landscapes.

"I love how by being a travelling artist, I get to learn about every place," she said.

"Usually I dive deep into the local native flora and fauna and try to enhance it through my mural to educate other people on what's out there.

"Because often some of these animals you don't get to see them.

"I like enhancing how colourful the world around us is," she said, referencing the famous blue fairy wren.

A recent works was completed on two water tanks in Sandstone, featuring working dogs and a blue fairy wren set on a brightly coloured landscape.

Pictures of the mural have gone viral on social media.

"So many people connected to it," Ms Hannagan said.

"I feel like every second person I met during that project came up to me to tell me about their kelpies or a dog they grew up with.

"It just proves how people love seeing art and they want to see more of it.

"It's great to show other artists that we are valued."

While painting, Ms Hannagan attracts a lot of interest from the community members where she is working.

"In Sandstone, I could have easily spent all day just talking to people," she said.

"I couldn't believe how many people were there, I even had some people set up camping chairs and just watch me work for half a day."

Ms Hannagan said she creates a sort of "exclusion zone" for herself at work and sometimes puts up posters with information about herself and the projects.

"I love when a client gives me the opportunity to plan some show and tell sessions - that's my favourite thing to do," she said.

"Because then the public can come and they're so good at asking very smart questions and everyone benefits from hearing the answers."

At the time of the interview, Ms Hannagan was in Kalbarri, taking some time off painting following the massive mural in Sandstone and another in Northam on their second trip to WA.

"It feels like you guys have so much space here, the east coast is very crowded," Ms Hannagan said.

"I fell in love with the outback, I could go back to Sandstone a million times over and I never thought I would ever spend time in a place like that.

"There's something magical about being so remote and there's so much charm and history in little towns like that," she said.