An Island artist drew upon the works of the founder of the 19th Century French school of Neo-Impressionism Georges Seurat for her current exhibition.

Elizabeth (Betsy) Mulderig?s show entitled ?Painting for a Calendar Year?, opens on Tuesday at the Masterwork?s Arrowroot Gallery, in the Botanical Gardens.

Ms Mulderig said her last show, which is still hanging in the Ace Gallery, was of smaller pieces.

?My last show was very, very small,? she said. ?The paintings were miniatures and rather surrealistic. The work in this show is much larger.

?However, I?ve created a homage to Georges Seurat with these paintings.

?The images are created by a series of tiny dots. In fact, the painting on the invitation is a ?Bermudianised version of Seurat?s ?Sunday in the Park With George?.?

The series of one dozen paintings came about because of a calendar commissioned by Butterfield Bank.

?The bank had seen the last calendar I had done for another company and liked the idea behind it, which was Bermuda traditions,? said Ms Mulderig.

?I painted the obvious ones such as kite flying day (Good Friday) and Cup Match, but I also branched out and painted things like the traditional Bermuda roses and Darrell?s Island, which was the location of the Island?s first airport.?

Ms Mulderig?s work has often been referred to as whimsical.

?I appreciate the fact that my work is referred to as being ?whimsical?,? she said, ?There is a certain humour and light about Bermuda that seems to transcend throughout my work, including these paintings.?

Her enthusiasm often comes from the simplest things, and she said: ?I find the inspiration for my paintings right outside my window, but of course, there is so much beauty and colour outside most windows in Bermuda.?

One of her favourite pieces in the upcoming exhibition is a painting she did of her mother Ruthy.

?She is someone I?ve painted over and over again,? said Ms Mulderig. ?In this piece, I?ve painted her with my brother, Rob, and I as children waiting for the ferry.

?There is a certain light in the painting that reminds me of sunny winter day. A day which lends itself to drifting off into daydreams.

?I suppose I like the nostalgia behind the painting.?

A favourite painting among male audiences seems to be on of a ship in St. George?s, she said.

?I based the ship upon a ship I?d once seen in another of Seurat?s paintings,? she said.

?I used rich deep, dark colours to paint the scene. A very cultured art mogul has already purchased this painting. ?Although, other people seem to respond very strongly to the loquat scene I did for the month of February.

?This piece has an old Bermuda farm house in the background, surrounded by loquats and kiskadees. The entire painting is structured from a series of different yellow dots. It creates, I think, a very bright old time Bermuda feeling that people seem to gravitate towards.

?I?m always fascinated by the fact that one painting seems to win a popularity contest. And, of course, it is never the one I would vote for.?

The she used in this series was oil on canvas, as she said: ?It creates a luminosity when I layer the dots of paint. And since Masterworks? founder Tom Butterfield has apparently painted the walls of the Masterworks Gallery a stunning new colour, I?m hoping my work compliments the walls.

?It?s very exciting to be showing at Masterworks again and since there will be a full moon the night of the show who knows what will happen.?