It all began with a conversation about birds.
The new owners of Karribank Mountain Country Wellness Retreat had fallen in love with the family of Splendid Blue Wrens living in their garden. Unfortunately, they don’t come out all the time, and their colours change throughout the seasons. A painting that captured the family in all their bright glory and fun personalities was the ideal; they also had some very white, old repurposed tanks on top of their hill. So a plan was made.
I visited the garden in 2025, where the family of Blue wrens were playing with my sketch pad and camera. Reflecting on Karribank’s beautiful view and the wider landscape, I created a series of sketches, landing on my final draft seen above, based on the dimensions of the old concrete tanks.
After getting approval from the Karribank team, I projected the main elements onto the curved walls, adjusted them, and freehand-painted until they looked just right.
90 hours later, the mural was finished
