3 minute read
Trent’s wall-to-wall wonders
After moving to Rye seven years ago to pursue his passion for art, Trent Downie has made a name for himself with his high-quality murals. He speaks to Sarah Halfpenny about his creative process and how he's bringing colour and life to the Mornington Peninsula through TD Illustrations.
Tell us about some of your favourite mural projects on the Mornington Peninsula.
One I did for Aegir Divers in the Dromana industrial area is a favourite because I was able to make it really impactful by only using one colour. My spider crab in Rye has great colour with a really cool meaning within the image, and the Rosebud sub-station with the Rosebud Secondary College students was a lot of fun. Dromana and McCrae life saving clubs were beautiful places to work over the springtime, and everybody seems to love my Wildflower Cafe mural in McCrae and the aquatic scene I painted at the Rye Yacht Club.
Usually when I ask the client if they would like anything particular in the image, they generally ask me to paint something that promotes where we live: seascapes, Arthurs Seat, local flora and fauna. The majority of my paintings are a reflection of the Mornington Peninsula. You offer glow-in-the-dark murals with fluorescent paint and UV lighting. How do people react to this feature?
I am also a qualified electrician so I figured I would try to combine the two careers, installing the artwork and the lighting to make the glow-in-the-dark art. I get lots of inquiries relating to this. However, there are large costs associated with the materials, and the fluorescent glow fades if exposed to large amounts of sunlight, so I have to decline a lot of these projects.
As a father of four, how does family life on the Peninsula influence your art?
My family is very supportive of my work. My kids are very talented artists so I’m always checking designs with them and I’m quite often helping out with art classes at the kids’ schools. It’s always very entertaining the questions I get asked.
Your website showcases a variety of distinct projects, from murals to set design and portrait caricature. How would you describe your artistic style?
I love bright, colourful, impactful art. I love the way certain colours work against each other.
I hope my artistic style shows this. All the different styles are actually very similar. I just use bigger brushes for the bigger works. Are there any dream locations or buildings on the Peninsula where you'd love to paint a mural?
There are hundreds: the Rosebud Memorial Hall, any of the Peninsula skate bowls, any Woolworths side walls. Basically any large blank wall I would love to see some artwork on it done by myself or any of the other talented mural artists who live on the Peninsula.
