The free-spirited 30-year-old has become a celebrated artist whose latest exhibition sold out at the opening.

She has been featured in magazines and online publications and has built a strong social media following.

"There has been a steady growth of people knowing and liking my work," Matilda said.

"It's nice because art is what makes me happy. Law never felt quite right."

Matilda grew up on an apple orchard at Bilpin and after doing well in high school opted for practical academic study at the University of Technology Sydney.

She selected a combined degree in law and international studies.

During the course Matilda went to China to study Mandarin for a year. She graduated in 2009.

"I had been volunteering at the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) at Redfern and at the completion of my studies I was offered a job at the Aboriginal Legal Service in Dubbo," she said.

"I arrived in Dubbo in March 2009. I bought a house at Geurie - it is a community that I really love."

Matilda spent two years with the ALS before moving to Legal Aid for a year.

"I resigned because I felt there was something else I was more driven to do," she said.

"Working as a lawyer got me interested in young people who didn't have stable homes and families, and support in the community.

"It was hard to secure a position in youth work locally so rented out my house and went to Alice Springs in 2012.

"The youth work job was challenging and living in Central Australia was a really different experience.

"I started looking for things to do outside of work and enrolled in a drawing course. It was the first time I had done any art since high school."

Matilda moved back to Bilpin and started work as a solicitor at the Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Centre at Katoomba.

"I was planning to combine legal work with study at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney," she said.

"That didn't work out because COFA wasn't able to offer the instruction that I felt I really needed.

"I resigned from the Katoomba job and moved back to Geurie because I knew that was where I really wanted to live.

"I started working for myself as a solicitor before being offered a short contract at Legal Aid in Dubbo.

"The contract could have been extended but I didn't want to be lured by money and security. I was comfortable in the law but my gut was telling me to do something else."

Matilda had become authorised as a foster carer and was looking after children at weekends.

On her last day at Legal Aid she was asked to care for a 15-year-old girl.

"Unika ended up staying with me for the whole of the next year," Matilda said.

"The role of being a carer suited me more than being a youth worker.

"I had started dabbling in art again, painting here and there. I spent quite a long time practising, holding small exhibitions and entering competitions until I started being selected for prizes.

"I became more confident in my ability and felt my time and energy needed to go into art."

Matilda was spurred on when she became a finalist in the Portia Greach, NSW Plein Art and Calleen Art competitions.

In 2014 she was a finalist in the prestigious Norvill Art Prize for landscapes.

"This year I was a finalist in the Brett Whitely Travelling Art Scholarship," she said.

"The response to my work has been like a whirlwind. It has made me realise that even though I live in a little town in the middle of nowhere, there are people in different and far away places who love what I am doing.

"I have been part of a group exhibition at Paddington and my work sold at the opening of a show at the Walcha Gallery of Art.

"I have another show in Sydney in November. It is going to be all about Geurie and will include landscapes, still life and portraits.

"I want to let people in Sydney and other places know about the impact Geurie has had on me.

"I have built an almost complete lifestyle there. On a daily basis there are opportunities to do all the things I enjoy - taking my rescue dog Banjo for walks in the reserve, spending time with friends, seeing the stars and spending time at the river."

Matilda said "trying different things" had been an important part of a journey that led her to open shops at Gulgong and Geurie.

"Once you resign from a secure, stable job it isn't a big deal the next time you do it," she said.

"I've tried quite a few things and it is OK that they haven't always worked out. It's made me more confident about taking a gamble again.

"The journey has been good for me. I've met all sorts of people and enjoyed different experiences.

"I don't regret that I didn't study art straight from high school. Law set me up for a secure life with a small mortgage. I don't feel pressure to maintain a certain lifestyle and enjoy the freedom of exploring options.

"Directing my energies towards art has been a gamble in terms of my ego. I have gambled with myself and my confidence because my art is about me. It gives me the highest highs and the lowest lows.

"I could have stayed a lawyer but it would never have given me the sense of achievement I enjoy with painting.

"Starting Matilda and Banjo at Gulgong in 2013 was something I needed to do to make sure I kept painting.

"I opened the shop on weekends for six months before it was taken over by a girl who lives at Gulgong.

"Bliss and Friends opened at Geurie in August last year. It was started as something to keep my life and day structured. It has been a lovely success in terms of the whole community being involved.

"When my routine changed at the beginning of this year my good friend Violet took over the running of the cafe.

"It has been quite amazing to see how things have evolved."

Matilda paints in oils in an impressionistic style that relates to identifiable subject matter.

"My work is not realistic like a photograph," she said.

"The aim is to create an impression. I am quite a quick painter and once I start, I don't want to stop.

"When I paint I feel something that nothing else gives me. It is something that has kept drawing me back in.

"I feel driven and focused in terms of making art a career and gaining recognition as an artist.

"Becoming a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize is the biggest thing I have achieved so far."