Joshua Adam and Susan Parish Adam had been on the island for two days when Hurricane Gonzalo hit.

The couple came as Masterworks artists in residence in 2014 after a Bermuda resident who was visiting their gallery in Maine encouraged them to apply.

“Everyone wanted to know why our paintings were so brown and there were no flowers in them,” Mrs Adam laughed.

When they returned last year to work on their second show they narrowly missed Hurricane Nicole.

“We seem to be hurricane magnets,” Mr Adam said.

The plein air painter had painted the island before in August 1995. Hurricane Felix got him that time.

“That’s why I’m feeling a little bit paranoid,” he laughed.

The Rick Faries Gallery, however, is awash with colour this time around. Their works will remain on display until April 12.

“The idea I had this time, was that I wanted to highlight the water of Bermuda and the flowers. When I got here, it was right after Hurricane Nicole and there wasn’t a flower to be seen.

“[But] things bounced back fairly quickly.”

“He paints wherever he goes,” his wife said. The pair have painted all over the world, in France, Greece, Nepal, Scotland and England.

Mrs Adam, paints exclusively in her studio. Transporting to Bermuda was “easy”.

“I can set up a studio anywhere,” she said.

“That [St George’s] apartment was literally one room. I always thought that if we went somewhere to paint, we each needed out own studio and we needed a bigger house, but that taught us we really don’t.

“We painted, ate, slept, everything, all in one room and it was great.”

The oil painters met in college, where they had adjoining studios at their Colorado campus.

Now married for 28 years, they share The Adam Gallery in Castine, Maine, in the carriage house next to their home.

Mrs Adam said she felt at home in Bermuda, being able to paint the water, the coast and the boats.

“And I could bring my turquoise, which I never use in Maine,” she said.

“Our normal palette wasn’t able to produce the blue of the water here, so we had to buy Cobalt Turquoise Light, which is a very expensive paint, but it’s the only one that really reproduces the turquoise of the water here,” her husband explained.

The 54-year-olds “shared a wall” at Colorado college, but not a style.

“When we met, Susan was a completely abstract painter with no discernible subject matter,” her husband said.

“And Josh painted every blade of grass,” she intervened.

“I like to think we’re moving together somewhat in our styles,” he added. “When you work together for so long, although we have separate studios and we don’t ever give each other unsolicited advice, you’re bound to.

“You know how they say people look like their dogs, or the dog ends up looking like you?”

“Because I was a very abstract painter and Josh was a realistic painter, I don’t think we appreciated each other’s paintings,” she added. “I know Josh didn’t really understand mine and I found his lacking in colour, but through all of that the thing that strikes me is that we’ve always been very encouraging.

“Of course we want the other to be successful because we’re trying to carve out this living.

She said they are never critical of each other.

“We’re home together 24 hours a day everyday, so you’d better find a way to get along,” he laughed.

Mrs Adam grew up in Connecticut and would spend summers in Maine with her family. Mr Adam is a native Californian.

He said visitors to the gallery often idealise their “romantic” arrangement, but it’s not a reality.

“You don’t know if you’re going to make money that month and some people can’t get use to that uncertainty,” he said.

“It was a struggle in the beginning financially, but it’s getting better every year.”

The early days were marked by “a lot of rice and beans” and home-grown vegetables.

He once traded a painting for a Mercedes. She used her work to pay for trips to the dentist and a regular house cleaner.

While Mr Adam experienced “early success” in San Francisco, commissioned portraits became Mrs Adam’s “bread and butter” to support her passion for landscapes.

“This lifestyle is really starting to pay off now. We worked really hard and we’re finally reaping the benefits,” she said.

Just before they arrived last month, Mrs Adam got a call from HBO to purchase her work.

The eight paintings will be featured in season two of Divorce, starring Sarah Jessica Parker.

View Susan Parish Adam and Joshua Adam’s work at the Ricky Faries Gallery, Masterworks until April 12. www.adamgalleryonline.com