As famed New York street artist Claw Money opens her world exclusive exhibition at the Warrnambool Art Gallery, an emerging local artist has made her mark in the city's west.
Chelsea Crawley-Walsh teamed up with Winchelsea artist Lauren Green to paint a new mural at the Davidson Oval playground as part of a Warrnambool City Council project. The play equipment itself will be renewed in the coming weeks.
It isn't the first public artwork for the Year 11 Brauer College student, with her piece "Can You See It?" currently displayed in Timor Walk as part of the Up in Lights exhibition.
She said that as an artist, she mainly works with coloured pencils, so it was amazing to work with Lauren on a large-scale mural.
"I learnt a lot about the process from her and we also had a few people passing by asking questions about it and complimenting our work which was a really nice feeling," she said.
"Loz was really great, she let me to paint the flowers, the fish, the background and a few other details, including my own signature too!
"Public art is important to me because it allows my art and other artists' art to be recognised and seen.
"It's very rewarding and it's a way of giving to the community and helps brightens people's days, especially with so many struggling with mental health these days.
"For as long as I can remember I have always loved art. I have always struggled with my learning at school due to my dyslexia.
"Due to my learning struggles I have always held tightly onto my art skills as these have been my strength. This has driven me to wanting to become an artist as a career."
Lauren said that she was delighted to work with Chelsea and help her continue on the path to being a career artist.
"I have done many murals over the years but this one was particularly special and memorable as I had the enormous help of Chelsea to assist which was so rewarding," she said.
"We spent hours on that wall over the two days together, chatting and learning.
"It felt so special to show Chelsea the entire process from start to finish as well as have her physically work on the wall.
"Those experiences can be life changing and so rare to find.
"To share a common interest with someone and to see the joy and pride when working on and completing a project was so rewarding.
"It also reminded me of why I love these types of jobs, revisiting the basics and re-learning the process.
"I hope Chelsea gets many more opportunities like that in the future!"
As part of the same project, former Warrnambool resident Shaun McIntyre painted a mural in the Breton Street playground.
Now residing in Melbourne, Shaun completed one of the first officially sanctioned pieces of street art in the Warrnambool CBD in 2013: a mural commissioned by the F Project in a laneway next to what was then the Hai Bin restaurant.
The Davidson Oval and Breton Street mural project was supported by VicHealth and aligns with Warrnambool City Council's Healthy Warrnambool Plan.
