Artwork that tells a story

Mr See paints murals, he has worked on sheds, shopping centres, commercial and corporate properties, residential homes and even silos all over Western Australia that predominantly champion local native flora and fauna.

The choices of which species he features are meticulously planned.

"The way I work is I only paint what's found within 10 kilometres of the surface I am painting," Mr See said.

"Wherever I go I make sure the subject matter is really site specific - what's found around there dictates what the customer can choose from."

A glance at Mr See's Instagram shows the huge number of murals he has painted over the years, with his first completed back in 2015 in Mt Lawley.

Since then demand for his unique work has allowed the artist to shape his business and complete works that resonate with his deep connection with nature.

"Back then (2015) I wasn't able to be specific and dictate subject matter to clients," Mr See said.

"But over the years I've been able to 'niche down' to what I really want to do and be where I am at now.

"At the start you take what you can to earn your money, doing what the client wants, then after a while the client starts to trust you and trust what you do.

"It's nice to be at that stage in my career where people believe in what I'm doing and know that I am doing the right thing for whoever hires me because I use what I do to educate people on the species that are local to the area of the mural."

Being able to engage with his passion for painting and for native flora and fauna is a dream come true for Mr See who attributes his connection with nature to his childhood, with time spent on a family farm in Busselton.

"Growing up I would spend all my time in the holidays walking around paddocks finding frogs and then going back to sit in the bird aviary," he said.

"Then going into high school my passion for drawing was inspired by field guides.

"I really liked the way field guides were illustrated, including bird guides, so I would copy what I saw.

"That still shows in my work now, the way I paint a side profile a lot of the time, try to show as much of the animal's features as possible.

"At school I had my art but I also wanted to do something with wildlife, we always lived close to parks and parkland so I would always be building cubby houses in the bush."

Becoming a volunteer at a fauna rehabilitation centre was Mr See's next step in his journey.

"The centre was not far from home and while caring for sick and injured native wildlife I learned a lot, the impact of people on wildlife, I learned the species and their correct names, how to rehabilitate them and how important certain species were compared to others and what were introduced species," he said.

"I learned a lot there and it started me thinking about what I was going to do when I left school, I was either going to be a graphic designer or a park ranger, I was going to do something involved with art or with wildlife, so in a way I have combined the two."

Over the years Mr See has developed a large following and is fully booked for the foreseeable future.

"I've got a four-year-old at home and a wife who is as busy as I am," he said.

"It's not the easiest thing to travel, so I only do three murals outside of the city per year and I am booked for a few years."

Mr See has chosen to only take on commissions that are in the public domain, not doing anymore private jobs.

"I am not doing residential murals anymore, I feel like my time is better used doing something that can be seen by multiple people," he said.

This means Mr See's future customers must be willing to wait knowing how much research he conducts for each painting, as well as preparing mock ups to allow the customer to get a good idea of how the end product will look.

"Customers know that I do intensive research, they come to me saying they love what I do," he said.

"It's up to me to do the research on their local species and tell them what they can choose from.

"For me it's also about education.

"I've called artists out multiple times for painting the wrong species in WA when they paint something from the east coast and try to sell it as something else and not the actual species.

"By leaving the species choice up to me, I'm able to instil a knowledge into people, for example I regularly get requests for rainbow lorikeets and laughing kookaburras and I get the opportunity to tell people they're not native, they're introduced, they're not meant to be here and it starts the conversation, they remember what I said and tell someone else."

In this instance Mr See suggests alternative birds or plants after learning what is native within the 10km radius of the commission.

"I can give the customer other options of birds that look similar and are native," he said.

"Then the customer learns another species, that is who I am and what I am about, it's as much about the education as it is the art.

"I love doing what I'm doing, but I don't want it to seem pointless, there has to be a reason behind it."

One of Mr See's most popular works of art are on the grain silos in Newdegate, which he completed in 2018.

While in Newdegate he had the chance to interact with the local school, something he also did in Kalannie earlier this year.

"When visiting these regional towns I like to let the locals know what I am doing and who I am," Mr See said.

"I personally know that if someone I thought was pretty cool came to town and they just left and I didn't know their name, didn't know anything about them, I would feel ripped off, so I don't like to be a stranger, it means a lot to me, means a lot to let the kids see."

The Newdegate silos took Mr See more than 14 days to complete.

"When I went and did Newdegate, there was a day I got rained out so I went across to the school," he said.

"I painted a mural on the side of the school, it was undercover and all the kids were able to sit there and watch the whole process."

When painting in Kalannie at the local Community Resource Centre, Mr See also met with students at the local primary school.

"It was a chance encounter with a parent that led to me talking with the kids," he said.

"It's important to let these kids know that if you've got something that you love doing and you put your time into it you can end up doing what you love in the end."

Donating some of his earnings to not-for-profits is another strong focus.

"I am lucky enough to be at a stage where I can give back," he said.

"With a lot of my corporate and commercial murals, I donate a certain percentage to Carbon Positive Australia.

"They plant new growth native trees in areas that need it and that makes me happy because unfortunately a lot of the time I am working on cleared land, and sometimes I'm painting species that may have been on that land before it was cleared, and that doesn't sit well with me."

Mr See also donates to Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre.

"The centre is up in the hills near Perth and they rehabilitate black cockatoos," he said.

"Any murals that have black cockatoos in them I give some money back and help the cockatoos.

"How I see it I am earning a living off these species so without them I wouldn't have the subject matter to paint, and it's nice knowing that I have some input in making sure that these birds are around for my children to see when they're older."

Mr See has produced some incredible murals resplendent with all sorts of flora, fauna and colour.

"I prefer to use a bit of colour, which is something that separates my work from other people," he said.

"A way for me to bring colour in is with native flora, a lot of people's favourite birds aren't the most colourful or enticing to have as a feature, but I have to ensure the artwork is impactful so that's why I use a lot of flora.

"With a lot of our animals being brown and grey I have to find other ways to add colour."

A commission north of Perth gave Mr See the chance to paint a stunning plant species.

"I went to Jurien Bay and painted the Queen of Sheba orchid on a house," he said.

"I didn't think I'd get the opportunity to paint that orchid, it's the prettiest orchid that we have in Australia.

"So that kind of goes to show that it doesn't have to be an animal that excites me."