Lindis Pass painting makes the library wall

The 75cm x 75cm artwork is one of Erik’s proudest achievements and took one month to complete.

With a background in teaching, he found himself looking for something meaningful to do while supporting his wife through a period of ill health.

“I was looking after my wife and I had a bit of time on my hands, so I went up to the craft room and did some art,” says Erik. “It was a great way to clear my mind.”

When his wife needed respite care in the Care Centre, just across from the couple’s Apartment, Erik spent even more time in the art room. “I’d always been interested in art, so it was like a godsend that I could take it up in our village.”

He began by creating collage pieces before progressing to oil painting on canvas, developing his skills as he went. His Lindis Pass painting proved particularly challenging. “The difficulty was getting the colours right, and shaping the hills took a while.”

Today, many of Erik’s artworks are treasured by his children, but his Lindis Pass painting will remain in the Addington retirement community, where fellow residents and visitors will be able to admire it for years to come.

Resident Dianne Watson has been interested in art since primary school and is a regular in the village art room. “I get an urge to paint and it’s often because something has caught my eye,” she says.

She’s been mostly focused on acrylic paintings recently and has completed a Tuscan scene by the sea with autumn colours filling the canvas. “As artists, we never quite know when we’re finished and sometimes we have to put the brush down and call it complete,” Dianne explains.