"So they're unique and specific, and they're a great way to connect our community with art."
Blenheim graphic artist Sean Duffell chose the ruru, or morepork, as the central theme on his Queen St mural, which is adorned with native plants used in traditional Māori medicine.
Martinborough multimedia artist Lotte Hawley's mural "Sink or Swim", on Dixon St, brightens up the Education Centre's car park.
Her work was inspired by children skipping stones by Wairarapa rivers.
"The traditional vintage blanket wrapped around the far left Māori girl wraps around each child as a symbol of wind, warmth, current and tradition," Hawley said.
Pip&ZoePaint are a Wellington mural painting duo, who transformed a Dixon St wall just behind the Lone Star.
Pippa Keel said the duo were inspired by the region's five rivers: Waingawa, Waipoua, Waiohine, Ruamahanga and the Tauherenikau.
"We looked at some of the unique species that are found only in those [rivers] and are native to New Zealand and a few of them to this area," Keel said.
"We created a bit of an abstract piece that shows them all sort of weaving throughout."
Over winter the Wellington-based illustrators completed a mural in Carterton featuring bright and beautiful flowers, something they're frequently recognised for.
Zoe Gillett said mural painting brightens up spaces and creates a conversation.
"We have lots of cool chats with the community around art and it's really good for the local artists as well," she said.
Keel and Gillett are the only muralists involved in the project who work solely in brushwork rather than spay paint, which presents a few challenges.
"For this one specifically, it's our first corrugated wall," Keel said.
"So that's been interesting in terms of sketching up the design. And it holds the heat of the day quite strongly, so it's kind of almost like painting on a heater.
"So that's been a really unique challenge […] we're learning."
Internationally recognised artist Hayley King, known as FLOX, painted the mural entitled "Past and Present" through rain and shine on Lincoln Rd.
Her mural is a homage to Mt Bruce's Pūkaha Wildlife Centre.
"The left side is symbolising our past, while the right is more celebration of the present and what we have and the treasures and the tāonga that we have here, specifically in Masterton," she said.
"The left side is dominated by the huia bird, which in the Wairarapa region was one of the last places that the huia was actually spotted when it was around.
"And of course, it's now extinct, so that's why I chose that bird there on the left because that harks back to a time that is almost forgotten.
"It's a symbol of a treasure that we have lost. And so the right side is a celebration of what we do have now…the [North Island] kōkako.
"[The kōkako] is sort of renowned as the Pūkaha ambassador, because it is their success story in terms of regenerating that bird and bringing it back from the brink."
FLOX said mural painting was similar to pouring your heart and soul onto the wall.
"I'm sure I've left some hair and some blood and some sweat on the wall; who knows. It's almost like a real personal journey that is on public display too.
FLOX's advice to creatives looking to start painting murals is to find your process.
"There are some ridiculously talented mural artists in New Zealand.
"They just get out there and start sketching this beautiful portrait of someone, and they're just referring back to their A4 printout.
"There's some crazy talent, but I would say be prepared for some hard yakka. It's almost like giving birth.
"It's hard work, but at the end you get this incredible baby that you're so proud of and you know, you just want to introduce that to the world.
"So there's a lot of highs and lows, but at the end of the day, it's incredibly satisfying."
MTLT said it was keen to see more people getting involved in the creative process.
"We visited a number of the colleges in Masterton and have spoken to the senior art students to see if they can get excited and engaged in creating murals," Johnson said.
"When the artists were all in town, we invited local business property owners and also local art groups to come and see the process, talk to the artists and hopefully engage and get inspired.
"We're really keen to get more property owners putting public art in our area and exposing our local art communities to creating more murals.
Johnson said MTLT had been around for 150 years and part of its role is encouraging arts, culture, and heritage in the community.
"We offer concessional rents to Aratoi and to Hau Kainga, which is a locally based Māori arts and exhibition space, and also ConArt.
"So we're supporting them with funding and encouraging arts in our community.
"We also have annual grants and funding for the arts community, so that's a particular area that we're engaged in and we'd like to promote it and support it more.
"This is the start of our public art funding with the first four murals, and we're looking at sculptures next, so just watch this space."
