That's exactly what happened to Thales employee Rick Slaven five years ago when he had a dream that told him to become an artist.

"One day I had a dream that I was around a fire and someone said to me I've got to do art and I woke up and said to my wife 'I'm gonna go do art' and she said 'but you've never done art?' and then I went and got some paint and came home and did a painting," he said.

Mr Slaven's first painting was of a koala.

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"Everyone asks how I learnt to do it, but I just had a dream that I was an artist and from then on I've been doing it and I seem to somehow know what all the symbols are and all the colours," he said.

The contemporary Wiradjuri man uses art as a form of mental health therapy.

"I was feeling down. It's something that usually happens to anyone who is Indigenous because when the environment gets ruined it affects your health. It's part of the connection of being custodians of the earth," Mr Slaven said.

Traditionally, the Wiradjuri culture do cave paintings but Mr Slaven said he likes to cover all the bases.

"I'm doing dot paintings, x-ray paintings, mimi paintings and more. I put a bit of all different cultures in there," he said.

When Mr Slaven starts a new work he sometimes has it half figured out, but often just goes with the flow.

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"Sometimes I'll get overwhelmed, walk over to my paint cupboard and I'll randomly grab a colour to put through [the artwork] and it just works," he said.

Mr Slaven paints on black canvases which he purchases from Signature Framing in Portland and likes to source his materials within the local area.

"If I can't get something I need in town I get it from Bathurst, but I source everything within the local area," he said.

On the black backgrounds he uses traditional earth colours as well as bright colours to give his artworks warmth.

"I use mainly reds, browns, copper, yellow and even blues. Earth colours are used traditionally, but being contemporary you throw brightness in there so it's happy and warm," he said.

"I have very active paintings, mine are very busy, I can't have big areas with nothing in it."

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Mr Slaven often uses a lot of symbols, but said it all depended on the story he was trying to tell.

"Everything is symbolised but with Indigenous art one symbol can actually mean 10 different things," he said.

"Snakes for example are a guardian, if you see one when you're out walking it's a sign that they're watching you. But, if you see a few then that means the ancestors don't want you there at the time.

"Our totem, which is the goanna, will actually guide you and give you a selection of paths to take and even though you might take the wrong path it will always bring you back to the right path."

Mr Slaven said when someone requests a painting he will then ask them a few questions about their life. He then tries to put their life story onto the canvas.

"It's creating a bond with them," he said.

"It's a chance for me to connect with that person and when they buy the painting they will have a bit of culture in their house."

Mr Slaven enjoys creating someone's art piece and seeing their reaction when they receive it.

"If they tear up I know I've actually achieved what I wanted to," he said.

"When I sell a painting, even though I've created it I won't sell it to a person until they come and tell me it's exactly what they want."

During the last five years, Mr Slaven has sold artworks overseas and has been commissioned to do works for politicians as well as Reconciliation Action Plan paintings for big companies.

"I'm also in the process of doing a mural up at the high school and I also designed the uniform for Wallerawang Junior rugby league," he said.

His works are on display at the Lithgow Information Centre, the gallery at Dargan and in the Hartley Historic Village. He also takes part in the Lithgow Arts Trail each year.

Not only does Mr Slaven create paintings he also makes traditional Indigenous weapons such as stone axes and boomerangs.

To find out more about his works or order a painting visit the Rick Slaven Art Facebook page.