A queensland mother has found secret treasure in the artwork of her
four-year-old son, Evan. Alison Bird, who lives in Yungaburra in
north Queensland, has taken Evan's colourful, free-ranging paintings
and turned them into greeting cards with a bright tropical feel.
And business has boomed - so much so that it now provides full-time employment for Alison, a former marine biologist, and her husband, John Maggs, the accountant for the family venture.
"It all started when I doodled fish shapes over what Evan had painted, thinking this would be our next Christmas card," says Alison. "Then I had the picture laser-copied and called it Fantasy Fish."
Alison applies collages over Evan's roller and finger-painted backgrounds. "Everyone looks at children's artwork and sees it as being so free and uninhibited. We had no idea it would be so successful," she says.
LEFT: Alison Bird, and her son Evan display their designs.