Those driving past the newly colourful bus stop shelter on the way into Scarsdale would do well to look at it a bit closer, with many hours of hard work going into its owls and cockatoos. 

The artwork has been painted by Linton artist Pam Farey, who paints with her mouth better than some artists paint with their hands. 

Ms Farey's work is well known in the region, even for people who aren't art connoisseurs. 

WATCH PAM PAINT BELOW:

She painted the power poles along Linton's main street 15 years ago and has kept up her interest in public art. 

"Out in the open people can see my work. I've had lots of work in galleries as well, but unfortunately most people go into galleries very rarely," she said. 

The bus shelter stuck out previously because of its collection of more amateur art. 

"It was originally a very sad-looking, graffiti-covered bus stop and I thought I'd love to paint it," Ms Farey said. 

Its new design is a collection of owls emerging out of leaves. 

Ms Farey said she chose the birds (there is a cockatoo on each end of the shelter) because of the surrounding greenery. 

"It's such a beautiful spot here in Scarsdale, amongst all the paddocks," she said. 

"I'm hoping a lot of people like owls." 

The detail extends below the benches and also above Ms Farey's head. 

She laughed about some of the trickier spots. 

"Lying down there with the ants wasn't great," she said. 

It involved painting the entire shelter - which had been sand-blasted by the council in preparation - with a background before even starting on the fine detail of the birds. 

She has worked on the bus stop shelter on the Glenelg Highway since January and should be finished by the end of March, barring any major weather delays. 

Ms Farey was studying art when she had to find a new way to paint. 

"Back when I was in my 20s, I came down with an illness that affected my motor nerves in body," she said. 

"I lost a lot of muscle use and I found it very difficult lifting my arms, so I reverted to painting with my mouth."