Hunter resident Thomas Hona is region's only finalist in prestigious Lester Prize

Thomas Hona is one of 40 finalists out of 700 applicants, and what makes it even more impressive is it's only his second ever oil painting.

The self portrait shows Mr Hona wearing his beloved All Blacks jersey that he got in New Zealand in honour of his favourite team (even though they've been losing lately).

Mr Hona has been travelling from Raymond Terrace to Lorn every week to learn from artist and creative arts clinician Shonah Trescott at the Feeling and Healing Hub.

In the news:

As an NDIS participant, Mr Hona is proud to show other participants what they can achieve.

"I'd like to set a good example," he said.

"I've never really done oil before, I did one and it was of one of Michelangelo's paintings and that was the first oil I did, and the second one I did was the self portrait I entered in the art comp."

Ms Trescott said Mr Hona has a lot of talent and this is just the beginning for him.

"Thomas is such an inspiration for all artists, especially artists working within the NDIS sector and this is really the beginning of his career," she said.

"It's amazing, he's showing with all these really well known artists with his second oil painting ever, so it's pretty huge."

Mr Hona said when he received the phone call with the good news, he was speechless.

"I couldn't believe it, I said to the lady 'that's cool' and I didn't know what to say," he said.

"You've just got to have a go, try your hardest and luckily it paid off."

The winning prize is $50,000, and there are seven winning categories all up with a total prize pool of $100,000.

Mr Hona is currently working on a van Gogh style landscape piece, and has set his sights on entering the Archibald Prize for his next challenge.

He said after taking various NDIS participant classes, the Feeling and Healing Hub has made a difference.

"When I met Shonah she showed me oil painting," he said.

"I didn't think much of it, I thought 'oh it's just another class' but it's a lot more than that, it's rewarding, you know.

"It wouldn't have happened without her, The Lester Prize."

The Lester Prize is Western Australia's premier portrait prize, and is one of Australia's most prestigious portrait prizes.

The winners will be announced on Friday, September 30 and the exhibition will start at the Art Gallery of Western Australia the next day.