Some people see feral roosters as pests, not Kocchakorn Marchand.

A white rooster is the symbol of her home city of Lampang, Thailand. One sits on the city seal, and images of the birds are seen everywhere, particularly in temples.

They’re now also the subject of The Beauty Contest, an exhibit of Mrs Marchand’s work at the Bermuda Society of Arts opening this week.

“I have been living in Bermuda for 17 years,” she said. “I am a nanny. I often take my children to the Botanical Gardens and I often see roosters there. They are so pretty and so varied. The Botanical Gardens is one of my favourite places to paint.”

Her first show was at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art two years ago; her second was last year at the BSoA. The subject of both shows was sunset.

“I wanted to do something more challenging,” she said. “The hardest thing about roosters is getting the feathers and the eyes right.”

Her father is Chinese and her mother is Burmese. Her family moved to Thailand, from China, when she was five years old.

“My mother always kept a hen for eggs, and my father had a rooster for cock fighting,” she said. “That is a traditional pastime in Thailand. So roosters remind me of home in that way. Also, my husband Gilles is French and the rooster is also the symbol of France.”

She was initially a teacher in Thailand, but she didn’t like it. She’d always had a passion for the arts and studied fashion design at the Esmod Kalawin Guerre-Lavigne International Fashion Institute in Bangkok. She worked as a fashion designer in Thailand’s capital for several years. Eventually, though, she moved to Bermuda.

“I still sew every day,” she said, “but I always dreamed of painting.”

In 2010 she began taking art classes with Al Seymour and Manuel Palacio.

“I have really learned a lot from Manuel,” she said. “He has really touched me.”

The Beauty Contest runs from November 21 to December 9. For more information see www.bsoa.bm.