Recent Paintings of Steven Masters -- Windjammer Gallery -- until November 6.

In his first exhibition for almost three years, popular Bermudian artist Steven Masters launches out into oils and acrylics as well as watercolours.

It was watercolour, however, which earned him his early reputation as one of the Island's more promising artists. And today, it remains his forte.

His latest show, of some 36 paintings, is rather disturbing. Possibly, he is going through a period of artistic angst, or more simply, merely trying his hand at different concepts and methods. Whatever the reason, I found it difficult at times to even recognise some of this work as having come from the brush of Steven Masters. More to the point, I believe that, had his reputation not already have been firmly established (he sells extremely well in Bermuda), this show would hardly have done it for him.

There are, of course, moments of vintage Masters, when his ability to capture the essence of old Bermuda is second to none. One's eyes are immediately drawn to his figures. One, in particular, which pays homage to the dying craft of lime-burning, represents this artist at his considerable best. Sifting Lime, depicting an old Bermudian fellow, surrounded by the pails and barrels of his nearly extinct trade, is a work of enormous strength, drawn with tenderness.

The same quality is apparent in Surveying the Net, where another elderly man, in rolled-up trousers and green cap, anchors his pole in shallow, Wyeth-like waters.

Steven Masters was one of the first artists to record, before they were lost forever, the quirky charms of Bermudian architecture -- not, necessarily, the grand mansions of yesteryear, but the hidden crannies of weathered walls and ancient steps. Quiet Corner is just such a picture, which focuses on the shaded textures of the palest of pinkish-beige walls and dusty green shutters of a Bermuda cottage.

There is a preponderance of earthen, often sombre tones, even in some of his Bermuda watercolours. The same cannot be said for his acrylics and oils, which tend toward the garish. Island, which rises out of the sea and reaches into a preposterous sky of cotton-wool clouds, seems to be almost a parody of landscape painting.

Gibraltar of the West is a huge acrylic, with a huge price tag to match. The Dockyard buildings form the central line of the painting, separating a turquoise sea from the sky. His idea was a good one -- presumably, to capture the paradoxical prospect of "Morgan's cloud'', the phenomenon named for the legendary pirate who, as tradition has it, still occasionally casts his black cloud over a perfect summer's day.

Steven Masters is, essentially, a realist painter. So his `primitive' approach to both composition and use of paint doesn't, somehow, ring true.

There are several paintings of New England, where Mr. Masters now makes his home. White Barns, surrounded by windswept golden grasses and punctured by the gnarled skeleton of a tree, again reveals the effect that Wyeth has had on his art. This is apparent, too, in his interiors, such as The Studio, where pale sunlight from a side window filters across a still, empty room. The brown earth tones continue in his Back Door, another satisfying work that centres on a plain wooden door, the detail of the wood-grain and old-fashioned fastening hook contrasting with the undefined, but pervading aura of New England rusticity. Two winter scenes are conventional enough in composition, but he does capture the weak yellowish light and pale shadows of endlessly banking snow.

Mr. Masters' fans will enjoy this show; some will certainly welcome what appears to be a new direction. Others may wish for a return of the Steven they know best.

PATRICIA CALNAN PAINTING MASTER -- The watercolour "Quiet Corner'' is one of many paintings, including for the first time oils and acrylics, by local artist Steven Masters, on display at the Windjammer Gallery until November 6. PHOTO PAINTING MASTER -- The watercolour "Quiet Corner'' is one of many paintings, including for the first time oils and acrylics, by local artist Steven Masters, on display at the Windjammer Gallery until November 6.

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