Artist Chloe Hargreaves is talking about her most recent public art creation, a colourful and intricate permanent mural at the Manning Regional Art Gallery in Taree.

The 19-year-old invested about 40 hours into the project, which took her out of her comfort zone and involved some long days.

The design included a rainbow of triangles and a central mandala.

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"I've never done triangles before, it's been a learning curve for me. I don't work with colour much, I like black and white, I'm old school.

"Someone mentioned I don't use colour. My aunty passed away in September last year from cancer and her big thing were rainbows. So it's a bit more personal."

Chloe said she has never had so many people interested in one of her works.

The opportunity to create the mural came after Chloe, who already sells a few things through the gallery, heard about the artist in residence The Wall Project, and approached the team about doing a weekend project where the community could be involved.

Instead, she said, art gallery director Rachel Piercy told Chloe she would prefer if she did something more permanent if she was putting in so much effort and that it would be so intricate.

"It was pretty exciting and I decided to go ahead with it.

"The ladies at the gallery asked for a design and for me as an artist, that's not how I work. It's really hard. I'm all about on the spot.

"When they asked for an idea I said it would have a mandala on the wall but that's all I know.

"I had no idea what I was going to put behind the mandala."

It turned into the rainbow and she said it has been a learning curve.

"I have a thing making a mistake, I never have a problem fixing them. I might be making a mandala on a piece of paper and sometimes bump the paper, I turn it into something and make it work. A lot of pieces come together in the end."

Chloe started drawing when she was 12, doodling in her schoolbooks. "I'd usually get in trouble for drawing but it was my way of integrating listening."

In year 10 at the Taree Christian College she did a mini major work, an Aboriginal work. That and a cross that she created are now on display at the school.

"Year 10 and 11, the art teacher was the only person who pushed me to go further. The teacher said I could probably take it further and I did."

She started a business about two and a half years ago and was selling works pretty regularly.

"I got into it and then I don't know what happened but I stopped doing it. About six months ago I ran into a few people who said 'you don't do that anymore'. Since then I've got back into it and it's exploded."

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