About Aaron O'Neill

Asked to write a bio about myself, I start to write and the first words come. I am.

I am me, I am you, I am the sky, the trees, the paint on the wall, and the hands holding the brush. It’s all part of the same dance. That understanding shapes how I move through the world and how I work with people. I wear many hats but when I slow right down, I am the one behind the two.

I am a house painter and I genuinely love it. Painting has been my craft for as long as I can remember. I apprenticed under my dad, started quoting my own small jobs while I was still in high school, and never really stopped. I’ve spent my working life honing the trade, chasing quality, and building a level of professionalism I’m proud of. Whether it’s breathing new life into an old Queenslander or finishing a brand-new build, I get a lot of joy out of helping a client’s vision take form.

I am a teacher. Not in the sense of having all the answers, but in the sense of walking alongside others while we learn together. I especially love training people to become professional painters. Sharing the practical skills, yes, but also the attitude, patience, and care that turn a trade into a craft. Teaching, for me, is about creating space for confidence to grow. Watching someone go from unsure to capable, from rushing to present, is deeply satisfying. It feels like service, and it feels like love in action.

I am also a student. I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Management, at Swinburne University. My studies have deepened my interest in the human and social aspects of business, particularly how people work, learn, and organise themselves within systems. Alongside my formal education, I’m developing an interest in learning the Yagara language as a way to connect more meaningfully with Country and community, and to better understand the place I live and work.

In all of this; painter, teacher, student, I keep coming back to the same place. Doing the work in front of me with care, staying open, and trying to meet each moment as it is. Not always easy considering my humanness but enjoying journey with all its lumps and bumps. Here I am, still learning, still teaching, still painting, and still remembering who I am

Interview with Aaron

Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with Aaron O’Neill, the founder of Bufo Paint, gaining an insight into foundation of Bufo Paint.

Aaron’s painting training started in Canada, at only 10 years old. Aaron picked valuable skills from his father Tom on the weekends and after school.

Tom started painting in 1977, starting his journey in trade learning from his father, who was a builder. Tom is still painting in Canada to this day! Clearly there is a long line of trades and skills being passed down, generation to generation. Aaron has now started training his daughter, adding another generation to this beautiful family business, with the hope that Bufo Paint will live on well past his time. Aaron was proud to work with his father and sees working with his daughter as an opportunity to build that relationship every single day. The O’Neill blood is based on painting, integrity, trade skills, and hard day’s work.

Aaron is always learning, even to this day, working with new materials, surfaces, paints and technology. As the painting world changes and grows, Aaron and Bufo grow with it! His favorite task now is spray painting, because after all the hard prep work, he can see the change and progression so quickly! With just the pull of a trigger, a lot of experience and skill, your blank canvas is quickly transforming into work you can see, and a finished job. The progress of skills Aaron displayed at 10, to now in his 40’s would have been a beautiful thing to watch!

At 18, he started his own small business, quoting friends and friends’ parents small jobs. The beauty of being a small business owner back in the day was that he never had to never had to rely on anyone else to make money.

And from there, Aaron’s painting career launched! The original goal and idea behind Bufo Paint was to build a work environment where people want to come to work. Now, years later, that goal has been extended to his clients, ensuring that they enjoy the experience of their house being painted.

As a young person entering the work force myself, I asked Aaron what advice he has when it comes to trades? When it comes to young people entering the trade workforce, he urges us to remember – there are going to be days when you have to get dirty, but it can be a very rewarding and satisfying career.

I was also curious about the misconceptions that come with trades, when most people think painter, or plumber, etc., there is a specific Australian stereotype that comes to mind. But Bufo Paint is here to break that mould, painters can be professional, smart, sober and organized! One of the largest misconceptions other than trades being unkempt is that everyone and anyone can paint. Yes, anyone can do DIY which is fun and exciting, however, professional painting is completely different, requiring years of training, a build up of confidence and knowledge.

Aaron is always learning and striving to further his education, he has completed his certificate 3 in Painting and Decorating, a certificate 4 in construction and is now completing his Bachelor of business majoring in management. In his current Bachelor, Aaron has learnt a tremendous amount of applied theory and knowledge and most of all, the course has reaffirmed his previous business and management styles.

Lastly, Bufo paints moto “Integrity is everything”. What does that really mean to Bufo Paint and Aaron? Aaron’s personal definition of integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. He upholds integrity in his everyday life by becoming aware of personal biases and rising above that, he strives to always produce quality and value work. The environment is also a huge part of Aaron’s heart and the painting industry does not always align with caring for the environment. “Paint is produced as a by product of crude oil and comes in plastic drums, the impact to the environment is paramount and is the front of paint companies’ minds.” . Bufo Paint has many other ways of reducing waste, favoring paper over plastic, giving away empty paint drums, thinking before using and many more.

Overall, Aaron has built a successful business – ethically and economically, reaching all of the initial goals set out for Bufo Paint. This is a business he is proud to own, a business workers are proud to be a part of, and a business that customers are enthusiastic to support!