Lyn Martin has seen just about the worst you could imagine of humanity through her career in law enforcement, working on the trains around the greater Sydney area.
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So to move out to near Oberon and take up painting has been a stark change of pace, helping her to see beyond the pain in life and focus on its beauty.
Ms Martin lived in the Blue Mountain for nearly 20 years while working on the rail network, which involved encountering murders, people at their absolute worst moments, and a lot of running.
While she found it fulfilling to help people, she told the Review the job was taking its toll in more ways than one.
"I saw everything... and so that was a really good job, but it was also taxing, and it's seeing a lot of the negative side of life," she said.
"I [also] always joked about how the bad guys always get younger and I'm still just getting older, I couldn't catch them anymore. So I ended up packing it in and moved out this way."
Ms Martin lives in Porters Retreat, where she moved to in around 2007 and built her own house off the grid.
With plenty of land on her property and the expanse of nature around her, she was quickly inspired by her new home to pick up the paintbrush and practice her artistic skills.
"It's just nice to see the local landscape trying to be captured, because it's such a lovely area. I mean, the Blue Mountains is spectacular... and it's been painted to death," she said.
"But further out west, there's some beautiful scenes here, beautiful places... it's nice to try and capture that side of Australia a little bit. What it's like up in the high country here."
She said she was spurred on by the photos captured by local minister Johnny Lush, and wanted to find another way to express the area's beauty.
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"He captures that instant and that moment... I feel like a painting is more like poetry without words, you sort of immerse yourself in the scene while you're painting it," she said.
"I love all the wildlife... you watch their characters over the years you live there, you see the families change and the babies grow up. I like to just try and capture that a little bit in the paintings, if I can."
Some of her favourite spots to paint are Flat Rock Picnic Area near O'Connell, along with Abercrombie River National Park which her property backs onto.
Now immersed in the local community, with some of her art even showcased in local businesses, Ms Martin said her change has changed in a welcome way.
"I think just being somewhere where you're seeing animals be animals, [it's] peaceful. It's a nice way to start a different career. And I'm meeting different people now, going to markets," she said.
"It is a dramatic change, I would say. I don't have to run as much in this job."
Lyn Martin accepts commissions. To get in touch with her, email lynmartinart@gmail.com or call 0458 280 661. To see more of her work or buy online, visit her Etsy page at lynmartinartstudio.etsy.com
