The 30-year-old said it was hard to “make it” in Australia because property ownership was expensive and rental instability could be devastating to a business.

“As soon as you've set up a home studio and developed a client base and gained momentum, you have to move because the landlord wants to move back in,” she said.

“Because you're still a new player in the field, you have to start all over again.”

Q&A

Mercury: How did you manage to get work in Panama?

Porter: I was traveling the US, and was particularly impressed with the galleries in Lanai, Maui (Hawaii) and the art markets and little galleries in New Orleans.

Lanai is supposedly the third best place in the world to buy art - and I believe it, as I came across originals of more Masters than I could count, in addition to innovative new works by some very impressive local and international artists. I would love to study as an apprentice under some of those people.

While I was traveling America, I joined forces with an American Panamanian. Based on a hunch and a few leads, I found myself on the Costa Rican edge at Bocas Del Toro, the Caribbean side of Panama.

I made some connections almost instantly and was offered the job of painting the mural, and it looks like I'll be staying for a while as other commissions came in since then. It's hard to get serious art supplies in Panama so I expect I'll be on a bit of a buying trip when I return to the States.

Mercury: What was the experience of making the mural like?

Porter: The mural was a bit of an experiment. I'm an expert colour mixer so it was unusual and somewhat constricting to rely on pre-mixed colours and spray paints. But you've got to work with the materials available. A corrugated surface is also the most difficult you could ever work with, too.

Mercury: Will you be returning to Australia, or do you think you’ll base yourself overseas?

Porter: I think Panama is a great central base for out-of-the-box visionaries like myself and other brilliant people I've met here, like successful robotics engineer Jaimie Mantzel. He has 35,000 subscribers on his You Tube channel. [I also met] a sought-after Hawaiian-American sculptor Konrad Pilimai, whom I'm assisting to put together a great relaunch after a 6-year retirement, and highly anticipated by some lucrative fans.

It's fairly easy to get set up here in a legal sense, and it provides easy access to markets in the States with regular affordable flights to Florida and other places.

I'm not sure if I'll be here forever - I'll go literally anywhere in the world where there's opportunities to earn enough to thrive while doing what I love. However it's a great base for now, with some great potential mentorships with other successful internationals, and I'm currently in the process of applying for residency until life calls me elsewhere.