Dunsborough artist paints live ‘land meets sea’ mural at the Bridgetown Agriculture Show

A Dunsborough artist painted a live mural showcasing the Blackwood to the Beach theme at the Bridgetown Agriculture Show late last month. Salty Sketches artist Lauren Pearse said she was contacted last year by the agricultural show committee to paint a live mural with the brief “land meets sea” during the show. She said the mural reflected the connection of land and sea, and how they “need each other”. “It was a really nice theme for an inland place, because it’s not too far away from the ocean,” Pearse said. “The rivers from Bridgetown all end up out in the ocean, and it’s nice that they’re (Bridgetown Agriculture Show) connecting the dots for that town.” Pearse painted for eight hours during the show, held on November 23 at the Bridgetown showgrounds. “I love regional areas. I feel like it’s always a very family orientated day, especially at a show,” Pearse said. “The interaction with everybody was really lovely. I met some environmentalists that came up and talked to me and other artists. “I engaged with a lot of kids. I always love speaking to kids while I’m painting, because I feel like they’re always at their most creative when they’re really young.” For the past five years, Pearse has been creating under the name Salty Sketches, but had always created for herself before running the art business part-time. Ranging across different mediums and styles, Pearse said she finds “fun” ways to explore and avoids being “pigeon holed into one aspect” — with the exception of her love of whales. “My main muse of art has always been whales,” she said. “They’re so amazing — the colours their eyes, the flow of their body. “Recently, I found out that the populations of whales in the South West region have gone back up to before they started whaling.” Pearse said she has always lived by the sea, and uses her artwork to create environmental awareness. “I grew up in the South West, so I have always been strongly influenced by the ocean, and also caring for the environment,” she said. “My big philosophy with the ocean is keep it clean, keep it nice, and then it’ll give back to the earth. “If you look after it (the sea), it’ll look after you.’’ In the Bridgetown mural, Pearse included elements of the South West as well. “I selected a native floral arrangement that was coming out of the water, because I thought that connected to the inland aspect of the mural,” she said. “I do like to think of myself as a bit of a pirate of art, in that I don’t have one particular style that I use. “I painted for eight hours, and some of the time I put my headphones on and just kind of knuckled down, and other times I would take them off and I would chat to people. “It was a nice, free flowing experience. It was really nice that the organisers gave me creative freedom.”