HAMILTON. UNTIL NOVEMBER 1.

I don't know if these two women artists are particularly close -- but their paintings work beautifully together.

Japan must be fashionable this year because almost every artist seems to be using the traditional elements of balance and delicacy in their work.

Proctor's Peach Blossom is a light and beautiful work, its simplicity emphasised by its stark background.

Natal Plum also stood out for its bright, well plum colour, really, and delicate touches of gold, while Lemon Blossom was an understated and perfectly balanced painting.

Proctor seems at her best, however, with smaller plants. Her Magnolia and Calla Lily were a bit too lush and overblown for my taste.

Mind you, I don't like magnolia -- too reminiscent of the corruption and decay of the American South a la Tennessee Williams or Faulkner for my liking.

But her Pigeon Berry -- which hung like a delicate veil of mantilla lace -- was a joy and again benefited from a simple, plain background.

And her Bermudiana -- again a tiny and delicate-looking flower -- was an exquisite botanical rendering of one of the enduring symbols of the Island.

Cherie Sikking manages an exacting attention to detail without becoming neurotic about the whole thing.

Her Sunset over Grape Bay -- not far from home for me, so I can claim to be a bit of an expert here -- captures the difficult and complex tidal patterns of the bay perfectly with a glowing sunset tacked on as a bonus.

And the footsteps in the sand running up the right of the painting give a subtle sense of depth to what is all too often just another boring old beach scene.

Sunset in Hamilton Harbour is a canvas afire with colour and glows in a manner similar to Turner in some respects.

Her Gibbons' Garden, South Shore, shows a mastery of light and shadow, as does Bay Grape Arch, Spanish Point. In the latter, you very much get the sense that one or two steps forward and it'll be out with the sunblock.

But the star of her displayed work has to be Hydrangea with Metal Work.

The delicate pink softness of the flower bursts around the slightly rusty railing offers a truly lovely contrast between the natural and man-made, unyielding, yet intricate, ironwork.

And it shows nature up against the works of man -- with a sly hint that nature might be slow, but it will win in the end.

But Fuchsia Orchids and Red Poppy, the former incidentally, the most expensive on show, are a bit coarse and garish with Red Poppy particularly having the menace of some sort of alien invader rather than the allure of a rather pretty flower.

Having said that, this show contains some of the best representational painting I have seen this year and is well worth a visit for the gems, which far outnumber the rhinestones.

RAYMOND HAINEY SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL -- Ann Procter's depictions of small flowers are her strongest works.