Margaret joined the MFPA as a student member in 1970 and has been a full member of the group since 1980.

She recently celebrated her 80th birthday and has been painting by holding the brush in her mouth since her mid-teens, after contracting polio when she was just 13 years old.

The painting on the card, which will go on sale throughout Australia, is called Bushland and shows an unmistakable bush scene with an old shed, gum trees and a tumbling down fence with the misty hills beyond.

Margaret draws her inspiration for her famous Australian landscapes from the coast near her Moruya home.

This year the world-wide Mouth and Foot Painting Artists are celebrating their 60th birthday after being founded in 1956 by a group of European artists.

Today they have approximately 850 members around the world and proudly describe themselves as a self-help organisation, which gives people with disabilities the opportunity to fulfil their creative ambitions, while maintaining financial independence by selectively selling their artworks.

MFPA was established in Australia in 1971 and currently has 16 members around the country. 

Several of the group’s artists, including Margaret, have also written and illustrated their own books.

Members of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists gain their income through the sale of their paintings or on products illustrated with their paintings.

Although this started with Christmas cards, a stand out in the current range is the jumbo-sized gift wrapping paper which comes in a whopper 700mm by 1000mm.

To become a member of the organisation, an artist must first qualify as a student member by painting using a brush held in either their mouth or foot, having lost the use of their hands through an illness or accident.

Student members may also receive scholarships for art supplies and tuition.

Phone 9698 3933 or visit www.mfpa.com.au for further information.