David McLean looked here, there and everywhere before landing at Orchid Island.
David McLean looked here, there and everywhere before landing at Orchid Island.
“We kept coming back to Vero Beach and in particular, Orchid Island.”
“We kept coming back to Vero Beach and in particular, Orchid Island.”
David McLean and his wife Tammy have lived in NYC, LA, and several places in between, but when the thought of another northeastern winter became just too tiresome, it prompted a years-long search for another home. With a little luring from New Jersey neighbors, they visited and eventually fell in love with Orchid Island.
Choosing a new place to live is like “Freshman rush week in college,” explains David, who scoured the Florida coasts. “You hear, ‘This house is best on campus.’ ‘No, this one is.’ We’d go to Florida for three, four weeks to see different places but we kept coming back to Vero Beach and in particular, Orchid Island.”
McLean's reasons for for selecting this community are myriad, but topping his list were the residents and their many fascinating pursuits. The proximity to the ocean, surrounding natural beauty and the “not-too-big, not-too-small” but “just-right” sized community clinched the deal. Now, the couple has had “three years of bliss here.”
“Orchid Island is perfect, not too big, not too small.”
“Orchid Island is perfect, not too big, not too small.”
The new phase two.
David notes that Orchid Island residents, who have had enough accomplishments to be comfortable in their own skin, selected the location and its lifestyle because they want to do something new in life and are not defined by their old careers.
“The thing I love about painting is that I don’t know what I’m going to paint,” he says.“ A lot of times, it is in my imagination. I start splashing paint around, then go in a different direction. I strive for expressionism, but I’m not sure I’m there yet. I try to do post-impressionist landscapes once in a while—portraits too; faces can be landscapes in a post-impressionist way.” Resident artists informally display their work at themed monthly shows in a space at the golf club. One showing might feature landscapes; the next could display nature-inspired art. Talent is also robust enough for the annual Orchid Island Art Club member’s show, where the entire community is invited to enjoy wine and artist meet-and-greets and purchase the works on display.
“Right now I’m working on a song I call, ‘Books from the Library.”
“I’m a fan of ‘60s, to ‘80s pop and soft rock.”
Enter the music man.
An admittedly frustrated musician, David says Orchid Island’s quiet and peaceful environment has been conducive to dabbling in guitar again—despite the fact that this may seem like a paradox. Strumming out tunes over his garage, he ignited the flame of a new passion: song writing.
“Right now I’m working on a song I call, ‘Books from the Library,’” he shares. “It’s an ‘Eleanor Rigby’ type of song that talks of a person whose life was not as exciting as she wishes it had been, so she reads books from the library and travels in her mind. A good book juxtaposes the dreams she had with the reality that became her life.”
A fan of ‘60s to ‘80s pop and soft rock (his favorite song is “Here, There and Everywhere”), he always pens the lyrics first, and says he’s shared his music with a rare few. Tips he got from insiders include that it’s easier to mold a tune if you memorize the lines, as opposed to continually referring to written words, and that sticking to it is key to completion. “If you quit too soon and don’t want to do the heavy lifting, it sits on the back shelf and never gets finished,” he stresses.
His art, however, is colored with more social interactions. In painting, he can set aside a canvas for weeks in the cabana he bought among a colony of resident artists, get support and reinforcement, and even show his work at the annual Orchid Island Celebration of Creativity.
A place for your personal renaissance.
Renaissance is French for “rebirth,” and that’s just what happened to David. His love of impressionist oil painting was reignited when he discovered a whole community where artists have studios in their homes.
“No one is showing up with their resume,” he comments, likening his “great new chapter in life” to turning 18—without the tests or homework. “If you’re given the time and the freedom, if you’re in the right environment, you discover passions that you didn’t know you had and make friendships that you didn’t know you’d make.” In other words, life on Orchid Island is not about the much ballyhooed “pivot” but about a full-on forward advance.
“The thing I love about painting is that I don’t know what I’m going to paint.”
Life in balance.
“Being extroverted is my personality, and part of what I love about Orchid Island is that there are so many exciting social outlets.”
“Being extroverted is my personality, and part of what I love about Orchid Island is that there are so many exciting social outlets.”
David notes that Orchid Island residents, who have had enough accomplishments to be comfortable in their own skin, selected the location and its lifestyle because they want to do something new in life and are not defined by their old careers.
David says he has pondered the seemingly solitary nature of his current pursuits and attributes it to making up for a “deficit” or balancing his former life as a litigator, which was extremely extroverted and collaborative. Plus, he adds, in any long-term marriage, you have to stay interesting to one another, which different pursuits accomplish. “There is something invigorating about sharing with your spouse what you are doing,” he adds. “Tammy is very supportive in my artistic endeavors. I cheer her on when she gets master points at bridge.” Of course, because he is outgoing by nature, his friends and children visit regularly. Favorite family activities include golfing, lounging poolside and playing tennis. When he’s not painting or composing, David is dining with his wife and other couples, taking field trips with friends or meeting new ones at the nearby Environmental Learning Center or the gym. “Composing music is a solitary art, and I’m having a blast doing it,” says David. “But being extroverted is my personality, and part of what I love about Orchid Island is that there are so many exciting social outlets.” A cappella and accompanied? Balance achieved.