Colouring our world

Generous donation set to brithen the life of patients

Kelvin Smibert has jammed a lot into his 99 years and counting – he’s been a scientist, naval beach commando, farmer, author and artist.

He is also community-minded and a recent health issue saw him start a new campaign – one which came to fruition this month. “Four years ago, having had a slight but mentally disturbing stroke, I was in the rehabilitation ward,” Kelvin said.

“While individual stroke patients have different problems, mature age people statistically are 90 per cent guaranteed to suffer depression. This hit me suddenly and I’d never thought depression could happen to me.”

Kelvin was in unfamiliar territory – he wasn’t feeling the best and he was in a hospital bed. “An over-riding need was to be able to see warm colours of some kind – anything would do except having to look at stark cold-white walls all day,” he said. “Even if they had been painted a warm off white it would have helped. Television upset me – radio or reading also. When I was able to walk from the room, I would spend time in front of a small yellow and blue beach scene painting in the passage, soaking up the relief that the warm colours gave me.”

That experience saw Kelvin determined to improve the hospital stay of other patients by simply adding to the artwork that graces the walls of the Mount Gambier facility.

“Warm and bright pictures in hospital rooms help to diminish anxiety,” Kelvin said. “I determined to donate a suitable picture to hang in the hospital room.”

As with most things Kelvin has tackled over his life, the campaign grew and this month he was able to donate nine paintings for patient rooms, with a desire for the rehabilitation patients.

Not surprisingly, Kelvin is responsible for creating some of the works and organised to have them ready to hang, taking into consideration the hygiene and safety factors required to be part of the medical facility.

Mount Gambier health services advocate Maureen Klintberg was charged with the responsibility of bringing the works back to Mount Gambier after a recent trip to Adelaide, which is where Kelvin relocated after his wife Nora passed away.