Pastels VI: an exhibition of the work of the pupils of Sharon Wilson

at the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard.

The annual show of the work of Sharon Wilson|0xb9|s students gets bigger every year. At the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard there opened last Sunday the second enormous art show in as many weeks. Twenty students are represented and there are eighty pastels on show. Needless to say, the quality of almost all the work is as high as one has come to expect from those who learn at the feet of Ms. Wilson.The downside of such a show is, of course, that there is bound to be a certain sameness of both style and technique, not to mention repetitive classroom subjects. In this show portraits done as coins or medals recur again and again with almost none of them achieving the bas relief effect that would have made them successful. The sheer volume of work exaggerates this sameness.

The show is far bigger than any I have seen at Dockyard before. The pastels are hung two deep and cheek by jowl on the walls. This presents a problem for the lighting available in the gallery and many of the works were less than felicitously lit. Added to this lighting difficulty was the inevitable excess of reflection from the glass behind which pastels must be framed. To see some of the work at all it is necessary to shade one|0xb9|s eyes or try to block out intrusive lighting from elsewhere.

Of the coin portraits only Zo|0xeb| Oliver's achieved any genuine success, but then Mrs. Oliver is clearly one of Ms. Wilson's star pupils. Her Sunflower distances itself from the dark colour schemes that dominate the show and achieves a textural brilliance of light and form that is outstanding. Her black and white portrait of Leila, though in the prevailing dark and sombre mood of the show, is full of character and sympathy with the sitter.

Another Sunflower, this one Jamaican Sunflower by Jasmine Anderson, also stands out for clarity of colour and stylish form and composition.

There are several other portraits that command attention. Brenda Holder's Joshua<$> is a black and white portrait of a small boy that brims with character and charm. Another black and white portrait of a small boy that catches the eye is Belinda Butterfield's Thinking of the World. The boy's little finger is pressed to his lip in concentration, a gesture that enhances the portrait and is saved from disaster by being anatomically satisfactory.

Anatomical knowledge isn't, however, much in evidence in the rest of the show and quite spoils what might otherwise have been good work. Caron Pimental's Lady with a Wine Glass<$>, a portrait in colour, would be exceptional were it not for the hand against the lady's head. It is so

distorted as to be completely disconcerting. Her Setting up at Farmers Market<$> is also spoiled because the farmer is about to fall flat on his face. An understanding of anatomical balance points would have saved her.

It is perfectly possible to draw or paint the human form by extremely careful observation, but not at all easy. Knowledge of what goes on under the skin in the way of bone, muscle and sinew makes the whole business very much easier. There is probably no teacher of anatomy for artists in Bermuda, but there are some excellent modern books available on the Internet that go a long way to helping.

Somewhat out of the general look of the show are the oddly named Monica Smith (Jones)'s Two Irises and Swan<$>. Looser in technique than is usual

among Ms. Wilson's students, both these works have dramatic form, colour, texture and contrast that allow them to stand out in the show. Ms. (Jones)'s Tree Squat<$>, however, is quite spoiled by anatomical failure as is Gold Cup Sailboats that are stopped dead in their tracks. No vestige of movement can be detected.

This is in remarkable contrast to Frank Dublin's Devonshire Bay Ferry where the tiny punt slowly being propelled through the water by two quite large men sits heavy in the water, but nevertheless is clearly also moving through it. The colour scheme, composition and even the anatomy in this work are all considerably better than in Mr. Dublin's past work.

One of the class work pieces that stands out for its imaginative interpretation is Empties by Margarita Harries. The exercise was to draw a group of empty bottles as seen from above. Ms Harries' version gleams with light and is one of the best pieces in the show for its understanding of complex cast and reflected light. Its cohesive colour scheme also sets it apart.

The master herself, Sharon Wilson is almost self-effacing amongst her students in this show. However one of her finest genre studies, The Evening Recital<$>, a group of children playing a piano and singing reminds us what an outstanding artist she is. The dramatic chiaroscuro is reminiscent of the lighting techniques first used by Caravaggio in the 16th century, but the extraordinary humanity conveyed in this work is pure Sharon Wilson and sends one on one's way feeling much better about the world. By itself it will reward a trip to Dockyard.