A passion for painting

Despite a lifelong appreciation of art galleries and exhibitions, Trevor shelved his high-school artistic ambitions for a career as a civil engineer and any creative pursuits took a back seat to a busy life filled with family, sport and work.

"Deep down I always wanted to try my hand at being creative, so when I retired and moved to Halcyon Lakeside (QLD), I suddenly had the time and an amazing art room at my disposal," Trevor recalled.

"I turned up one September morning in 2018 and gave it a go."

After a few attempts at pencil sketches of landscapes, Trevor found his creative muse in portraits of his family, including his four children and his son's dog, Chewy.

He created his first painting of the Halcyon Lakeside bowling green in May 2019 and has been painting ever since, including a portrait of his mother and a self-portrait.

"I'm still learning and haven't developed my own style yet, so I am trying different techniques from abstract to hyperrealism," he said.

Trevor enjoys painting in the art room, either with a group or on his own. After chatting to the art group about brightening up the space, he set himself a challenge to create a mural.

Inspired by a caricature painting of the homeowners and village he had seen at a Halcyon Parks art show, Trevor designed a mural layout that depicted all the activities available at Lakeside in late 2019.

Then COVID-19 hit and Trevor was unable to access the art room, so he set up his easel on the back veranda at home and busied himself by painting a beach landscape.

After the lockdown hiatus, he picked up a brush and completed the mural in late January, ticking off a list of more than 50 activities that included everything from pickleball, golf and stand-up paddleboarding to yoga, pie-tasting, calligraphy and reading in the library.

In addition, Trevor has depicted his onsite wedding to wife Lynne in March 2019 as well as other celebratory events at Halcyon Lakeside and has even painted the local lake wildlife within the mural.

"The mural is a good talking point and offers a challenge for people to identify all the activities included in the artwork."

"I guess the mural is a reflection of what life is like at Halcyon Lakeside and the many activities to get involved in the facilities here are really an extension of each home," Trevor explained.