The artwork in Trevor Todd’s latest show is a lot like his life, a continuous line with frequent sudden twists and turns.

He started off working in a stone quarry with no training in art at all. Then, after a trip to Australia in 2005 he was so inspired by aboriginal art he saw there that his life took one of those turns and he became an artist.

Mr Todd will be opening ‘A Cosmic Continuum’, his first Bermuda show in four years, next week at the Windjammer II Gallery in the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

He said since his last show, which was held in Dockyard, he has gained more self confidence and mastery.

“When I first started I definitely had to deal with feelings of inadequacy,” he said. “The journey that you take, you are constantly trying to find out who you are. When I started painting, I was definitely wondering how the images I had in my head would be received. As I did them I just let them go and they took on a life of their own.”

Mr Todd’s art is heavily inspired by Australian aboriginal art. Before he started to paint he was adopted by an aboriginal clan, and received permission from them to paint in the aboriginal style which uses dots and lines.

Since returning to Bermuda from Australia, respect for his work has only grown despite his lack of formal artistic training. Last year he had his first solo show abroad in New York City at the Heath Gallery.

“The show in New York went pretty good,” he said. “I had a great experience as far as having a solo art show in another country. It is about growing an audience. It was my first time in that type of arena. People out there were very receptive to everything I had to show. I bought to them stories of my cultural heritage integrated with the aboriginal art.”

He said he has no plan to move away from the theme of aboriginal art, and its influence is in everything he does.

“My art is therapy for me,” he said. “It is a healing of self judgment, self criticism, and feelings of inadequacy. You go through these things time and time again in life. My whole objective is to create.”

From a technical stand point he thought his art had also grown. The work in this show is more intricate, and he has learned better how to blend and mix on canvas to new effect.

Looking back, he never imagined himself in the space where he is today.

“Five or six years later, I am doing intricate stuff that I didn’t imagine I could do before,” he said. “All I did was start to take the journey that life is.”

This particular art show journey started when he visited the Windjammer II Gallery and spoke to gallery owner and artist Sheilagh Head who runs the gallery. They started chatting and Mrs Head asked him if he was a painter. Overcome by a bit of shyness he said, “I paint every now and then”. He thought that would be the end of the conversation, but Mrs Head asked to see his portfolio.

The next time he saw her, she invited him to hold a show at Windjammer II.

A Cosmic Continuum will be on at Windjammer II Gallery from January 24 to February 7. For more information contact the Windjammer II at 295-1783.