When Maree Power from Dabella Station, 100 kilometres from Julia Creek in north-west Queensland, was asked to paint directly onto the walls of the local bakery her first response was to panic and turn the job down.
Now she is in the middle of what she describes as "the single most exciting opportunity" of her artistic career.
The fresh white walls of Corrina's Cafe are slowly being decorated with black and white depictions of historical photos of the town and the community response is overwhelming for both Power and bakery owner Corrina Sollitt.
"I was in here one day having a coffee with Corrina and she basically just said, out of the blue, 'The walls are pretty blank and boring … you should come in and paint something on them'," Power said.
"My immediate reaction was absolute terror.
"But I thought, well, you know, I'm really good with paint so if this is just not good at all I'm great with a roller so I'll just repaint the wall."
Historical significance
The building was a different cafe in the past and Ms Sollitt said when she found the old photos she knew she had to display them in some way.
Painting directly onto the walls was an option that she said would not have been possibly without Power.
Ms Sollitt says having the art in the town is a great way to showcase not only their local talent but the local history.
"Maree is a beautiful person, she's very talented and everything she does comes from the heart," she said.
"She lives here locally so everything she does is special and she's so passionate about it.
"She just does everything freehand, she turns my ideas into real stories to make it so that people can understand."
Making time for painting
Power is only part-way through completing the art project.
She runs a cattle station with her husband Alex Power and their two sons Ned, 9, and Dustin, 6 — who Power also teaches at home due to their remote location — and finding time to come into town can be difficult.
She began the paintings in the cafe in December and has been slowly adding to them ever since.
"That's probably been the trickiest part of the project — the time," Power said.
"It has been a bit of a negotiation with my husband to have the kids with him for the day but, I have to say, I scored pretty good in the husband department and he's very supportive.
"There's often that there's big chunks of time between when I can come in and work on this but it's a story and stories take time to tell."
After growing up in Julia Creek herself with strong historical family ties she said the photos the paintings were based off were important to her and her family as well.
"I grew up here, I remember a lot of these old buildings," Power said.
"Even the photos of the beautiful old-fashioned outfits that people were wearing, and the old cars and trucks brought back a lot of memories that my father and grandfather have shared with me over the years.
"I think that's something to be proud of when you come from a place and you're connected to its history."
