This collage-like mural piece celebrates Alina's recent recognition for her community service and disaster recovery efforts in regional Queensland, including winning the Queensland Day Award in 2026 and the Small Swim School of the Year Award. I painted her with her father, a pioneering educator and the first teacher of Access Ed in regional areas. He instilled in her a dedication to community and conservation. Alina and her family championed efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Following the lead of her forbears, Alina has devoted herself to maintaining accessible community pools that are about much more than water safety. Pools are essential hubs of recreation and social connection, especially in the remote outback, where summers are intense. I now work with her to spread the word about drowning prevention by creating murals.
Article: Meet Alina Graham
To follow my journal as I experiment with the combination of Intense watercolour pencils and other water-based materials in rugged mixed-media for large-format painting, sign up below to receive a newsletter. I welcome suggestions and questions.
Painted in acrylics and then enhanced in Photoshop.
The original is now the subject of a textural exploration.
When I paint a major work like the portrait of Alina and her father, I like to experiment with smaller sections of the mural to be sure I am paying attention to detail. This clownfish ended up down on the left-hand side of the painting. It has been done with coloured pencil on cartridge paper.
The seahorse is a major player in the story. It is the logo of Alina's Aquatics Entity called All About Aquatics. Alina and I are involved in producing extensive resources on drowning prevention. These will include community murals.