Toy Mic Trev immortalised in stunning painting by artist Carl Bevan

Cardiff’s legendary street entertainer Toy Mic Trev has been immortalised in a stunning painting by artist Carl Bevan.

The artwork featuring the much loved busker is part of a series of paintings of Cardiff landscapes which will be displayed in a new pop up exhibition to launch next week.

Toy Mic Trev, also known as Trevor Rees, was a feature of Cardiff’s city centre for years, crooning classic songs with his distinctive toy mic.

Sadly, the much loved singer died aged 80 back in 2018, but not before he had made one last appearance in his favourite spot on Queen Street.

For artist Carl, Toy Mic Trev was an iconic presence and one he had to include in his latest painting.

“I have been planning on painting the carousel on Queen Street for quite a while now,” he says. “When I want to paint something I kind of stalk it a bit first, I need an idea or spark in my head of how to present it and how I’m going to build the painting.

“I eventually came across a great photograph on Instagram taken by a woman from Italy, she gave me permission to use it. I started working on it but Toy Mic Trev kept popping into my head because that spot was quite close to where he used to stand.

“I started reading about him, especially when he was rediscovered after many years. The connection in my head was now indelible. So I was compelled to paint him in.

“Trev was proof that when you know got soul, you’ve just got to do your thing and nothing can stop you.”

Characters

Carl, who lives in Cardiff but is synonymous with Newport after playing with indie rock band 60ft Dolls, says that characters like Trev and Newport street busker Frankie Lodge need to be celebrated.

“The famous Frankie Lodge of Newport had soul too and he didn’t need anybody’s permission or invitation to express it,” he says. “People like that need to be celebrated, people take to the stage for all sorts of reasons, some are more driven by vanity than anything else but people like Trev and Frankie just got to let it rip regardless.”

The painting of Toy Mic Trev and many others will be available to purchase at Carl’s pop up gallery, which opens on November 27th and runs until December 19th at the Morgan Arcade in Cardiff city centre.

It’s the second year Carl has had a pop up gallery in the Welsh capital.

“I will have nine original paintings for sale including Toy Mic Trev alongside some of my other work,” he says. “There will also be work showing from some amazing Welsh artists Simon Jones, Malcom Murphy, Sheridan Ward, Adrian John and Ash Caldwell. Dominic Gubb is joining me again with his incredible sculpture work.”

Carl has also joined forces again this year with I Loves The Diff for another calendar collaboration after the success of last year’s calendar.

To find out more and purchase a calendar click HERE

To find out more about Carl and his artwork click HERE