Disappointed with her finished depiction of a whale, Mish Foreman propped the artwork against a wall and pondered about how it could be improved.
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The painting remained - almost forgotten - leaning against the wall of her apartment for many months while Mish busied herself studying a certificate three and four course in design at Tuncurry TAFE.
"I wanted to improve on what I was doing," the Forster artist said.
"The teachers were fantastic; they opened me up to a whole lot of new ideas."
It was following a class project using the diptych art technique - and which incorporated line tattooing - that Mish finally found her inspiration.
"I decided then to give my whale an edge and message."
The edge was created by 'tattooing' a pattern on the whale and incorporating a message about her concern for plastic pollution within the design.
The feeling I get when I am painting is a mixture of joy and excitement; so why not join three of my loves together and add a strong anti-plastic message?
- Mish Foreman
"That was the seed, oh my how it's grown."
"I have four great loves in my life; my children (and grandson), the beach, the environment and painting.
"The beach is my happy place that soothes my soul.
"The feeling I get when I am painting is a mixture of joy and excitement; so why not join three of my loves together and add a strong anti-plastic message?"
Mish began painting in earnest after taking lessons from Ghinni Ghinni artist, Wendy Patch.
"Wendy was very encouraging and made painting fun; and it is fun; so why not do something that make you smile."
Mish had studied art as an elective while completing her secondary education at Colyton High School, St Marys before working in sales at David Jones and raising a family.
"Painting was always in the back of my mind."
Early next month Mish will combine her passion for the environment with an exhibition of her unique work at Tuncurry TAFE.
Working in acrylic on canvas with ink, each piece will include a message cleverly woven through the subject.
"As an artist I strive to produce work that will inspire others to make more informed choices in regards to the damage that the production, use and disposal of plastics cause our fragile planet."
More than 16 works of art will be displayed in her two-week "Our Drowning Oceans" exhibition at from November 14.
Either dreaming about her next painting, a cleaner, healthier environment or that the human race will wake up to the damage plastic is causing, Mish is an environmentalist, true to her word.
"I use a keep cup, every single time, if I don't have my cup I do not buy a drink, I used a re-fillable water bottle and never buy bottled water, I buy soft drinks in cans not plastic bottles, I use my own containers at the butcher's, I never, ever use plastic bags for my fruit and veg, and I walk on the beach and always pick up rubbish to dispose,
"I am collecting all of the lids of the milk bottles at the Bunnings' cafe to give to the charity to turn them into artificial limbs for children, I have bamboo toothbrushes and I recently bought sheets; I made my choice base solely on the fact that they were in there own cloth bag instead of plastic."
Mish also successfully fought her body corporation to strop it chopping down trees in the apartment complex.
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