But when she's on the family farm, Billaglen, about 10 kilometres south-east of Braidwood, 19-year-old Hannah Cargill does.

It's "empowering" being a woman of the land, Hannah says. There's a sense of achievement at the end of the day and "you go to bed tired and knowing you've accomplished something".

The Cargills was one of 40 families in the Braidwood area who opened their homes (and their land) up to local artists over the past six months as part of a project by the Braidwood Regional Arts Group.

Art on Farms was originally planned to be a small exhibition at the Wallace Street gallery but, as it tends to happen in small towns, talk of the project spread and the idea gathered serious momentum. More than 120 farmers and artists from the Braidwood region became part of the project, which now also includes a coffee table book of stories and artworks from the exhibition.

Like most people who live and work on properties, fourth generation farmer Hannah Cargill is quiet and confident, and not altogether used to being in the spotlight.

The Cargills were "matched" with former Reuters news photographer turned firefighter Tim Wimborne for the Art on Farms project. Tim headed out to Billaglen to scope the land, the buildings and the animals. But he was intrigued by not one but three girls in shirts, jeans and work boots. Young, tough, practical and hardworking teens growing up on a 607-hectare sheep and cattle property.

"It was kind of hard being in front of the camera," Hannah laughs.

"But because my sisters were there, and we were at home, it was more relaxed."

Wimborne says he wanted to capture "the future of farming" in his photos of the Cargill girls, as well as the crucial role women play on the land.

"A lot of [artists] have focused on the landscape, on place and location, and a number have investigated the process of farming," Tim says.

"But I really thought I'd like to focus on the people.

"There were a couple of reasons why I really liked the idea of the Cargills. One was that, as teenagers, they're the next generation - which is important to illustrate because things are changing so fast, the style of farming, innovation, these are the ones who are going to be doing it all.

"But also I liked the idea that they're all girls and women. I don't know the exact statistic but I believe almost half of family farms in Australia are owned by women."

Tim's vintage style photograph of 19-year-old Hannah and her sisters Sophie, 17, and Zoe, 15, was taken with a mid-1940s speed graphic pacemaker camera and a 1942 seven-inch Aero Ektar lens. It was a technique the former news photographer saw being used by a fellow photographer 20 years ago and wanted to replicate.

The Cargills' portrait is bathed in sunlight on the Braidwood Regional Arts Centre wall, among more than 70 other 2D and 3D artworks telling the stories of the properties they've come from. It's an odd mix of art. There's the skull of a champion Awasi ram from Judy and Vanessa Bradley's farm; a ram worth $10,000 when he was alive. (The skull's worth $2000 now given that it was encrusted with opals for the Art on Farms exhibition by artist Penny Crawford.) There's also an Irish chastity belt from the Bradley property, restored by Leicester Dewsbury and decorated by Penny Crawford.

These are just some of the stories to be found on Braidwood's farms says regional arts group committee member and Art on Farms event organiser Christine Dimmer. The Braidwood region's properties range from a tiny one-hectare farm specialising in organic "birds for the table" - think ducks and other poultry at Christmas (or any time, really) - to bigger cattle properties like the Cargills' Billaglen.

"The farmers have really enjoyed being part of the project," Christine says.

"And because we didn't ask them about bad things - because at the moment things are pretty tough - it gave them a chance to talk about all the good things.

"If you have a look in the book you'll see that there are some really positive stories and some happy people out there.

"They acknowledge it gets tough but - like some of the artists - they deal with it by just laughing and carrying on."

Art on Farms exhibition, Braidwood Regional Arts Centre, Wallace Street, Braidwood, 10 till 3pm December 1-2. Art on Farms coffee table book available for $40 at the arts centre.