It’s easy to assume the quintessential artist and mural-maker Brentos is a one-man band. It’s named after the frontman Brent Turner, after all. And as the man who started the pastel-punk empire with his Apple iPad and Pencil nine years ago, the 37-year-old is undeniably the main player. But as I sit down with him and his partner Tash Leemburg (and a rather assertive brush turkey) for a cuppa at the Boathouse near Shelly Beach, I quickly learn this is a duet, and the brand’s success is very much a love story.
So where do we start?
Should we cut straight to Brent’s upbringing – a childhood well spent exploring the trails and wilderness at his doorstep in Terrey Hills with his four siblings, shepherded by a powerhouse single mum who kept the band together as they moved around every corner of the Northern Beaches? Or perhaps the adult years living in a share house at Freshwater, when he befriended Tash and the pair grew close, first as housemates and eventually as partners?
No, let’s start somewhere far less romantic. It’s 2016 and the Apple iPad has recently launched its Pencil, allowing doodlers to doodle as they do. And as Brent did.
“I was working freelance doing website design. It was becoming less satisfying and I needed a creative outlet,” he explains. “When the Apple Pencil came out, I started enjoying doing these drawings. They were a lot more psychedelic and Mambo-esque in the beginning, but animals were there from the get-go. I found them easy to draw and I care deeply for Australian wildlife.”
The palette (those signature ice-cream pastels) was almost instant and hasn’t really changed. “I’ve had clients or brand partners wanting something different, maybe more their colours or something brighter and stronger, but I felt it was important to stick with what was mine. Holding those boundaries has been important.”
Brent had moved his freelance business into a shared creative warehouse in Brookvale called B-side. There, artist-in-residence Ken taught him to mix paints in 2017, though Brent jokes his real breakthrough came when he discovered the Duluxe colour atlas in Bunnings. That space and creative community not only rekindled his love of drawing but allowed him to evolve from iPad to mixing pastel-coloured paint on canvases, surfboards, and eventually walls.
The Brentos murals have become synonymous with the Northern Beaches, though he admits the first was actually in Bondi in 2019. Tash was in the picture by then, and the pair received approval from Waverly Council to paint the mural together. It was really well-received, and helped grow his supporter base on Instagram. Today, they do all murals together: Brentos designing in his mind, then on iPad, before they take brush to wall.
Of course, being popular doesn’t equate to paying bills. The Brentos brand and style has been popular for over five years, but it remained a side gig for years, with most profits going to causes like WIRES and Sydney Wildlife Rescue, beneficiaries that remain close to his heart. His love of wildlife harks back to his childhood spent exploring local trails, which later led him to complete his rescue and immediate response courses in 2014-15, becoming a wildlife rescue volunteer.
“It’s the role of first responder,” he explains. “I’d get the call and be on scene to rescue the animal and make sure it gets the help it needs, whether that’s going to the vet or straight to one of our carer volunteers. Those guys are amazing. They are heroes.” His first rescue was an echidna with a bung leg.
At some point post the pointy end of COVID, Tash returned from seeing family near Montreal and decided to give the Manly Markets a go to flog some merch they’d printed and had sitting in the garage for months. She made about $700 in sales that day; the turning point for the pair realising the market was there; they just needed to get organised to meet it.
In 2025, they both work on Brentos full-time. Tash handles all operations, sales, orders, and admin. Though she says one of her main tasks is making sure Brent takes a break every once in a while. You can check out their store here.
“Often he becomes so focused on his work that he’ll forget to move for hours and hours,” she says. “I’ll say, ‘It’s time to take the dog for a walk,’ though really it’s time to take Brent for a walk.”
“Yeah, I definitely get iPad brain and I can start feeling a bit rubbish,” Brent adds. He tends to hyperfocus – something particularly evident while working on his latest picture book, Big Aussie Animal Bush Bash, a Where’s Wally-style opus that took months. Tash noticed he’d sometimes forget to breathe properly, so lost in his world and the perfectionism of his work.
The business is steadily growing. Online sales of their direct merchandise such as hats, calendars, surfboards, and clothes among the options are strong, and they’ve had outstanding success partnering with major brands including Peter Alexander, Coopers Brewery, Crocs, Greenpeace, and the World Surf League. His books have collectively sold over 50,000 copies and been shortlisted for numerous awards including CBCA New Illustrator and ABIA Picture Book of the Year. He’s directly contributed over $45,000 to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Australia. Brent also designed and licensed the Manly Observer logo to us free of charge.
As I look over to see diners shoo a number of snooping brush turkeys away, I’m reminded that special treatment and tender care is often afforded to those when they’re struggling, not so when they’re thriving. Their surprising success has bred some resentment – critics describing him as a sell-out for leaning into commercialisation of his art.
“It really affected me at first, I have to be honest,” he confesses, a pigeon now joining our table. “But I don’t want to apologise for not being a starving artist. My work has always had a naturally commercial, playful feel, so I’ve just leaned into that. I love being creative, and I want to spend my days making things people connect with. If my work brings joy and helps us make a living, then that’s something I’m proud of and something we’ll continue doing.”
So what’s next for the Brentos duo? The conversation that follows is a good half hour. We talk about family, kids, life, connection. The pair is onto a good thing. They’ll keep doing their drawings, going for walks, tending to animals, and selling their merch.
They’re building a nest.
