IF the holiday season embodies the spirit of giving, then the employees of the Bermuda Masterworks Foundation exemplify the tradition. Four staff members pooled their own money to purchase several hundred dollars worth of art supplies for two local artists who live at the Summerhaven facility for disabled persons in Smith's Parish.

Founder of Masterworks Tom Butterfield along with Elise Outerbridge, Kate Waters and Suzie Hooper took the supplies - acrylic paint, canvases and paint brushes - to Troy Landy and Dennis Rochester late last week.

"Since this is Christmas, we really wanted to give them something so that they could continue to do what they love to do," said Mr. Butterfield. "The lack of supplies was preventing them from painting."

Mr. Landy, a 38-year-old quadriplegic, is a well-known painter whose work has been exhibited at Masterworks in the past.

Under his tutelage, Mr. Rochester found his artistic talents and has begun to paint landscapes and abstract pieces.

"Troy's paintings have built a following in Bermuda," said Tom Butterfield. "It is amazing, with Troy's and Dennis' physical limitations, what they are able to create - something positive that has come out of their disabilities."

Mr. Landy, who has been wheelchair bound for 23 years after he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident at the age of 16, said that he and Mr. Rochester are grateful for the donation.

"We are very appreciative of the donation," said Mr. Landy. "The festive season is upon us and they pulled together some funds in order to buy and donate the art supplies. We are very grateful as art supplies are very expensive."

Mr. Landy's longstanding art career began 23 years ago at the rehabilitation hospital where he spent several years.

After his accident, Mr. Landy spent the next six years of his life shuttling between his home in Bermuda and Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

During his stay there, an art teacher visited to teach the young patients twice a week.

Though Mr. Landy had always been interested in drawing in black and white, he had no interest in the first couple of sessions, until one day, being bored; he dropped in on a class. His detour changed the path of his life forever.

The art teacher immediately recognised his talent and encouraged him to take his drawing a step further by adding colour to his artwork.

Mr. Landy's interest and talents so improved during his stay that the hospital held a one-man exhibition showcasing his work.

When he arrived back in Bermuda, his art career flourished, and he now paints a wide variety of genres.

"I'm versatile artist," said the painter. "I paint landscapes, architecture, animals and portraits."

According to Mr. Landy, he has had three previous exhibitions at Masterworks and he sells prints of his work at Harbour Nights on Front Street during the summer tourist months. The Hamilton-based picture store Frameworks and the Botanical Gardens Gift Shop have also bought prints of his work in bulk.

He also dabbles in retail by using the acrylic paint to adorn denim jeans and is currently painting pictures of Gombey dancers on a pair of jeans for Mr. Butterfield, who has been a long-time friend of the artist.

Mr. Landy is also an artistic mentor to Mr. Rochester - encouraging Mr. Rochester the same way the art teacher from Philadelphia encouraged him - to add some colour to his work.

Mr. Rochester, 36, has severe arthritis that began around the age of ten or 11 years old.

The condition is so debilitating that he is also wheel chair bound. The artist has been at Summerhaven for the past eight years and while he has been drawing for some time now, it was always in black and white.

"I paint whatever comes out of my head although I like to do landscapes as well," he said. "Troy encouraged me to put more colour into my paintings."

Though Mr. Rochester's first love is of carpentry, he doesn't have the tools and equipment available to get any projects underway. Painting, though, comes naturally to him.

Both artists work with acrylic paint for it aesthetics as well as for its practicality - it is quick-drying and doesn't smudge.

Due to both artists' physical limitations - they can't use a standing easel to paint and must either work on their laps or lay the canvas on their beds. This set up causes their wrists and hands brush across the canvas that would smudge a slow-drying paint, such as an oil-based product.

Most of their work is done on 18 inch-by-14 inch or 16 inch-by-20 inch canvases - which is on the smaller side of canvas sizes. Though even with those sizes, the pair must paint the top of their pictures by turning the canvases on their heads and painting upside down. An extraordinary feat for any artist.

Their work has so impressed the art community in Bermuda that according to Ms Waters, special events coordinator at Masterworks, the organisation is planning on hosting a combined exhibition of the artists' work as part of their "Artists in the Gardens" series next year.

Both artists paint in their separate apartments, however, that is soon to change. Since Mr. Landy lives in a two-bedroom apartment on the Summerhaven campus, one of which he does not regularly use, he has generously decided to turn his second bedroom into an art studio for his use by his fellow residents.

Renovation work is currently being completed to create a suitable working space for all.

Mr. Landy is giving back to Summerhaven in other ways as well. If you drive by the facility on South Shore Road, you'll notice there isn't a sign indicating the entrance. The original sign was destroyed during Hurricane Fabian in 2003 and was never replaced.

Replacing the sign has become Mr. Landy's personal project, stating that once he obtains a decent piece of cedar to work with, he is going to create an art piece for the facility that is sure to please all who pass by.

While the group of employees at Masterworks have generously donated art supplies, Mr. Landy added that his good friend Dano Outerbridge and Sheilagh Head, an artist in Bermuda, also assist him in purchasing art supplies as well.

"Dano and Sheilagh have both helped me out a great deal," he explained "If I ever need anything - any art supplies - they have always been there for me."

Earlier this year, Mr. Landy said that life "threw him a curve ball" that affected his physical and emotional wellbeing. As a result, he quit painting and spent some time in the hospital. He credits Mrs. Head and her husband Peter along with his mother, Imogene Landy, for helping him through those tough times.

"I didn't think I would ever paint again," he said. "I don't think I could have made it through that time without their support.

"They lifted my spirits and helped me get back into painting. They helped me through that time in my life."

Now that the proverbial dark clouds have passed, his passion for the arts has been revived and he is looking forward to giving back to the community by teaching a group of young artists the basics of painting next year.

Mr. Landy says he lives his life by a simple statement - one that he wants to share with everyone living on the island.

"Keep art alive in Bermuda - that is my motto," he said. Armed with his new art supplies, new art studio and Mr. Rochester by his side; he is surely on his way to helping that motto become a reality.