Neil flicks through the gallery catalogue, looking for his first painting.
The art sessions at Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison help him deal with negative feelings and stop him thinking about "the stupid stuff", he says.
Neil grew up in foster care and in jail.
Over time, his paintings have become brighter, full of the colours missing in his first landscape, painted when he was contemplating suicide.
"The black and white one, that was when I was in a dark spot," he says.
"And then you'll see the colours coming through.
"I was changing through the colour system."
A new opportunity
Palya Walkaly-Walkalypa is the only prisoner art gallery in a WA jail.
Located in the outback town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the gallery opened officially in November and is open to the public every first Tuesday of the month.
Superintendent John Hedges, who has worked in the jail system for 37 years, hopes the gallery will also open doors for the prisoners.
Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison is one of the few prisons in Australia to offer inmates a space to create art and to sell it to the public.
Superintendent Hedges says the prison's art program helps equip inmates with the tools they need to cope on the outside.
Corrective services' mandate is to help prisoners leave better off than when they arrive, so the activities they provide aim to reduce reoffending, he says.
"Art is for the prisoners, but rehabilitation is for the greater good of the community," Superintendent Hedges says.
The benefits the program brings to the inmates are evident: it helps them regulate their emotions while they are inside.
Painting is a freeing act, providing a momentary escape.
"I get a sense of bliss," says Quentin, who has been in prison for most of his adult life.
"It takes me away and I really get involved in it, before I know, hours have gone past."
The way finder
For many of the inmates, the good place where art takes them is their country.
At the centre of the prison's courtyard, there's a landmark from which lines run in different directions, showing where the local Indigenous communities' lands are.
It is a way finder for those prisoners who miss their country and family, but also a visual reminder that Western Australia holds a sad record: the highest Indigenous incarceration rate in the country.
First Nations peoples are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system and art can be an important bridge to culture and country.
"As you paint your grandmother's or grandfather's country, you still feel that you are part of the culture, still part of the lands," says a prisoner painting alongside her aunt.
"It's like you're home again".
This desire to be with family and on country can motivate prisoners to stay out of prison.
"It is important that [inmates] don't forget where they are from, because that's where they are hopefully going to go back to in the future," Superintendent Hedges says.
Something I can't fail
"I feel like I haven't failed something. I can't fail that," a woman prisoner says.
This is how, along with words like "joy" and "pride," the inmate describes the emotions she feels when she looks at her paintings.
Educational campus manager Cassie Tasker says through the art program, prisoners gain a nationally recognised accreditation, and also the confidence and motivation to improve in other areas.
"Sharing talents gives them sense of self-esteem that is really important in terms of self-development," she says.
The opening of the Palya Walkaly-Walkalypa art gallery is a chance for inmates to sell their artworks, but also to reframe their identity in a positive way.
If someone values their art and wants to buy it, spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars, it is easier for prisoners to see themselves as artists, rather than offenders.
"I thought this would never ever be possible to be honest, with my background, and being in jail all my life," Neil says.
He's shocked, but also inspired to make positive changes.
"I don't want to go out and be those persons that I used to be," he says.
Aboriginal Legal Services WA senior court officer Murray Stubbs, who sees some of his clients going through the court system time and time again, welcomes the initiative.
"It's a great initiative that they are showcasing their artworks and it can help them with some money when they get out of custody," he says.
But he also warns that if Indigenous artists are not paid what their pieces are worth, poverty might make it hard for them to move forward.
"You need to have a market outside, so that, when they do leave the prison system, they are able to continue doing their artworks and get the best dollar they can, instead of being ripped off," he says.
Neil adds a few touches to his latest, bright landscape.
Through his artist's eyes, the future is bright.
"This opens new doors for everyone … you know," he says.
The surnames of prisoners have been omitted for privacy reasons.
