When you tell your child not to write on the furniture, consider that writing on the walls opened the world of art to Bermudian artist Kevin Morris.

Mr. Morris' show of abstract art 'Contemporary Conversations' is on at the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) until August.

"I never really gave much thought about becoming an artist," he recently told The Royal Gazette in a telephone interview.

He is currently living in Athens, Greece with his wife Ann-Marie Schramm. "It just naturally happened."

In fact, his background is in housepainting.

"When I was about 22 or 23-years-old I started working for a company that specialised in faux finishes."

"I was painting houses when I left school at 17. I got into experimenting with paint finishes on walls and furniture."

Then it seemed natural to move to a canvas drop cloth on the floor.

"No one knew I was doing it," said Mr. Morris. "I was just doing it because I enjoyed it."

Mr. Morris attended Saltus Grammar School where he failed his General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations in art.

"The examination required you to do more realistic stuff," he said.

So his expectations were quite humble when he first started playing around with art at home, a few years later.

After awhile he'd created 10 canvases that he was proud of. In 2001 they were picked up for an exhibition at the Kafu Hair & Gallery.

In 2002 he entered the BNG Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Bermuda Art. Since then his career has taken off and he has been in numerous shows, locally and abroad.

In addition to a number of shows in Bermuda, in 2004 his work appeared in a juried exhibition at The Gallery in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, and in 2006 his work was shown in Greece for the first time in the winter exhibition at the Christiana Carellas Gallery, Nea Psychiko, Athens.

One of his untitled pieces won a Peoples Choice Award at the Bermuda Society of Arts (BSOA) 'Artists Voices' exhibition in 2008.

He was inspired to think of himself as an artist after seeing the film 'Jean-Michel Basquiat: An Interview'.

"He was more a graffiti artist," said Mr. Morris. "He was full of words and child-like scribblings. He was a big influence. He showed me that you didn't have to do realistic stuff. I also like Jackson Pollock's work."

Mr. Morris said his work has naturally changed since he first started.

"My earlier work was more abstract and has evolved over the time to be more theme-based," he said. "It might be on one topic, or lots of different topics. I use a lot of words and multi-cultural references in my art. I use things that might come from music or current events."

Mr. Morris is a great reader. He likes to write down words or phrases that he finds interesting. And often these phrases find their way into his work.

"I sometimes use the same phrase in a few different paintings," he said. "For the show that is up now, with some of the pieces, I had more of an idea what the piece was going to be about before I started.

"Often, I don't know what I am going to do before I start. I just start by putting paint on the canvas."

Mr. Morris' piece 'Sicknesses and Suicides' uses different phases to highlight different artists and their various creative demises.

"Before I knew I was doing a show at the BNG, I thought I would do a body of work all about artists and art history," said Mr. Morris.

"I am self-taught. I have independently researched things to learn about art history."

He was fascinated by some of the artists' trials and tribulations .

"Depression and illness haven't always affected their art in a negative way," he said. "A few artists when they were children were sick, and it had an impact.

"Andy Warhol was in bed a lot when he was a child. He would listen to the radio all the time or take photos or look at photos of celebrities. That continued through his whole life."

Mr. Morris has been living in Greece for four years. His wife teaches English there.

"Living in Athens has changed my work a fair bit," said Mr. Morris. "When I came here, initially, we were out here for a year. Now it has been four years."

He was still showing in Bermuda. This necessitated some adjustments to his work.

"I started doing much smaller work," he said. "Ideally, I like to work on big pieces.

"I shifted to very small work – four by six inches. The work got more detailed.

"It was strictly because of the fact of getting it back to Bermuda."

And Greece itself has found its way into his work.

"There are references to Greek culture in some of the pieces in 'Contemporary Conversations'," he said. "There are Greek geometric patterns.

"Another way Greece has influenced me is by being exposed to religious Icon paintings,which I am quite interested in. The influence of which can be seen in my mask icon paintings and 'Bird with Fish Icon'."

For his most recent show, he has gone back to larger canvases. "I knew the show at BNG was a big space," he said. "I always paint on the floor, normally on outstretched canvas."

He said that Bermuda is a unique place for an artist to show their work.

"There is a lot of opportunity for all levels of artists," said Mr. Morris. "If you want to show work it is pretty easy to show something there.

"You have the BSoA and the Dockyard Arts Centre. Bermuda has a lot more chances to show work than other places. It is a pretty good place for that.

"There is a good art scene there. It is quite a social thing to go to an art opening on the weekend. There is a lot going on there considering the size."

He said that many people have seen his artwork at the BNG and written him e-mails.

"I have had quite a few people contact me with positive feedback," he said. "That is always very encouraging. It has all been positive."

Mr. Morris hopes to soon have his work shown more overseas.

"I would like to try and have something happen in an art capital like New York or London," he said. "It is a hard thing to do. This show has helped a lot and I am getting closer to that goal."

'Contemporary Conversations' will be on at the BNG until August 7.

For more information go to the BNG website at http://www.bermudanationalgallery.com/