Two Canberra artists have brought a bus shelter on La Perouse Street in Red Hill to life, painting it with scenes from the nearby nature reserve.
Columbian-born Yamile Tafur and Carlos Sanchez have painted the bus shelter in celebration of the street and suburb in which they now live.
The artists invited the Red Hill community to collaborate in the painting process.
Local families and Red Hill Primary School's holiday program, managed by Woden Community Service, also lent a hand.
Yamile said they got approval from Transport Canberra to paint the bus shelter and then painted and funded it themselves.
"We did some research about the great things we have in this area and we discovered there are endangered plants and animals in the Red Hill Nature Reserve so we decided to do landscapes featuring those plants and animals," she said.
FROM COLUMBIA TO CANBERRA
The couple are both creative artists but also have a commercial business Condor Painting Services through which Carlos does house painting and for commercial spaces.
They came to Canberra after he got a job house painting and, then, this year opened their own business.
"We moved to Canberra six years ago. We became permanent residents this year. So, hopefully, next year we will be citizens," she said.
Yamile, 36, and Carlos, 40, are also expecting their first child next year.
"It's very exciting," she said.
If you are quick, you can also catch the last days of the couple's exhibition, In the Warmth of the Kitchen, at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre which closes this weekend.
The exhibition features their mixed-media works which explore memories of their home country, Colombia.
'CONNECTION IS IMPORTANT'
While memories of their birthplace are strong, the couple has made a happy home in Red Hill.
"Since we have moved to Canberra, we love this place so much," Yamile said.
"It's beautiful. It's a really peaceful place. And connection is really important to us. The art is a way to connect to the place where we live now."
They have had a positive reaction to the painted bus shelter.
"It's been amazing," she said. "Everyone is giving us really nice messages.
"We've got messages from people from other suburbs in Canberra asking if ask if we can do their bus shelter as well. People from everywhere. It's beautiful."
Yamile is a strong believer in art being good for people's wellbeing.
She hopes the bus shelter art she has created with her husband sparks some joy as people walk or drive by or wait for a bus.
