YOU would not know from his intelligent, sparking eyes that Ray Cheasley was dying of cancer.

The artist, 72, said he was possibly painting his last portrait as he had been given the news that he did not have much time left.

Back in 2005 Mr Cheasley was first diagnosed with prostate cancer.

He went through various treatments and a period of remission before the cancer came back, this time in his bones in 2009.

“Now I’m terminally ill,” he said.

“I’m okay with it. I’ve accepted it; I’m just sorry for all the people I am leaving behind.”

If you asked Mr Cheasley about his art career he would give you an unassuming answer like he “dabbled” and had always painted on and off.

But his Alfred St home is lined with landscapes, people, animals and flowers that have captured his creativity.

A few weeks ago he finished a portrait of his neighbour and jazz musician Lee Turner that took him 60 hours to complete.

“I did it because I like him. I can’t think of another reason. For me Lee’s bigger than life, so I painted him like that.”

And now he is half way through a set of portraits, one of him and one of his wife Klara – something for when he is gone.

Since moving to Alfred St when he was first diagnosed, Mr Cheasley has used painting as a way to deal with his illness.

“Lee’s painting will be one of the last. I paint for my own pleasure. It has helped me no end. When I paint I am in another zone, the pain seems to go away when I paint.”

Mr Cheasley grew up in Melbourne where he was an engineer in his own firm for 20 years before moving to work for BHP in Papua New Guinea.

With his wife Klara they decided to move to Gympie after hiring a campervan and heading north to find some warmer weather.

“We liked the friendly people. There was something about Gympie that appealed to us both.”

They first settled in Mothar Mountain and moved into town when Mr Cheasley was first diagnosed.

To previous marriages the couple have four sons and three daughters.