At an age when most people are content to slow down, Janet Percy is still challenging herself.

Three years ago she set herself a goal of holding an art exhibit to mark her 90th birthday. Land & Sea opened at the Bermuda Society of Arts just days before the milestone.

On display at the gallery in City Hall, are “just over 40 pieces of original botanical art” in watercolour, coloured pencil, graphite and gouache, seven fish sculptures and about eight enlarged reproductions on canvas.

“It was a pretty big birthday and so I thought I’d like to do something special. This all fell into place very nicely. I've been working on the exhibition for nearly three years, and got a nice collection of work together. I’m really pleased with it,” said Ms Percy, who turned 90 on September 1.

“In the past I've been known for my fish sculptures. I do have some fish in this exhibition but this time I'm branching out a little bit and have some of my favourite botanical works reproduced on canvas in quite large format — I'm so excited about those. They look fabulous and it's a new idea for me. I was thinking, this is going to be a lot of fun, doing something new at this stage of my life.”

Ms Percy has held four solo marine sculpture exhibits, the last of which was in 2018. She became enamoured years ago, just as she was about to retire.

“I heard about a papier mache workshop up in Dockyard, so I took that,” she explained. “I thought that I would be able to make something nice for my grandchildren. And it just grew from there. I got better and better at it. I've made about 260 of the fish now, and they're of a standard that I'm very proud of.”

Inspiration for this show came partly from Hideaway Farm, whose owners “so generously allowed me access to their beautiful fields to gather specimens for my work”, she wrote in her artist’s statement.

“The wonderful success of my four solo marine sculpture exhibitions …. provided a wellspring of inspiration that has guided my work ever since. It was not until 2022, that the idea of one more exhibition began to take shape — an exhibition to celebrate my 90th birthday in 2025.

“This time, my attention turned from the sea to the land. I found myself drawn to botanical forms, shifting focus from the marine sculptures that had once defined my works.

“With each new plant-inspired piece, I sensed growth and refinement, reaching standards that filled me with pride, and I settled into a new rhythm, creating botanical works that delighted me. A turning point arrived in February. In conversation with my son Robert, we devised a method that reimagined my fish patterns in a different way, and resulted in seven new pieces that we are both deeply proud of.”

She’s equally proud of the canvases she has on display, which range in size from 16in by 20in to 30in by 38in.

“I've been working very hard,” she said. “I'm very lucky that I have the support of my family and my friends, and that I have been able to do it. I'm really pleased with the results and I'm not stopping. I think if you can find something creative to do with your time, as time passes on, you're doing yourself a big favour.

“I've always loved plants and flowers, and I enjoy figuring out the way they grow. They’re put together in such interesting shapes and sizes …. I love to work with things from the garden.”

Ms Percy, a self-taught artist, has been exhibiting her work publicly since 1980.

“I was ‘good at art’ but I hadn't had any instruction. It was just like anything else — if you do it enough, practise it enough, it gets better. I've worked very hard to develop and I've reached a very nice standard. I'm very excited about this exhibition, and hoping that people will come and see what I'm all about.”

• Land & Sea is on display at the Bermuda Society of Arts through September 17. For more information, visitbsoa.bm