BERMUDIAN Sharon Wilson is one of the first artists to be featured in the new Just Art programme that was launched this week by Appleby Spurling and Kempe (AS&K) in conjunction with Masterworks.

The artist's works, which can also currently be viewed at the Bermuda National Gallery's main gallery exhibition Once Upon a Time, will soon be on display at AS&K in the Cumberland Building and at Cedar House in Hamilton.

The 48-year-old artist said she was contacted by AS&K to see if she was interested in participating in the programme and displaying some of her works some months ago. "I didn't know that they were going to ask me to be the first artist to roll with them, but they did and I'm happy to go with it," she said. "At the time, I didn't even know if they were showcasing group artists or solo artists. But it turns out that I'm being paired up with Betsy Mulderig, which is cool. We've been buddies for a long time. So we're rolling with it."

THE artists' works will be on display at the law firm starting early next month and will be replaced or rotated every four months to allow different artists to showcase their works throughout the year.

While showcasing local artists' works in the halls and boardrooms of private companies is not a new idea, Ms Wilson said it was rare in Bermuda. "Masterworks rotates their collection in buildings around Bermuda quite often. But I don't know of many companies taking part in this type of programme. I think it's great that AS&K is prepared to support this kind of thing. Obviously, it will be an ongoing commitment on their part to organise the shows, look for different artists and get the art," she said.

Ms Wilson has been painting for more than 25 years, 20 years of which have been dedicated to pastel art. "I started working with acrylics, but I moved over to pastels and it has been my medium of choice for most of my painting years. I'm starting to feel like one of the older artists on the block."

The artist attended West Pembroke Primary, Whitney Institute and the Technical Institute in Bermuda before going off to the Massachussetts College of Art in Boston where she completed both undergraduate and graduate studies in illustration and education respectively. While the artist always enjoyed art in high school, she did not realise she had an aptitude for art until her later years.

In fact, before college Ms Wilson had gone away to a prep school in the UK, which she said, was not for her. "I didn't like the school. But one day I was making notecards and someone said, 'Those are kind of nice - you should do this.' I said, 'That sounds good because I don't like what I'm doing now.'

"So at around the age of 17, I got a portfolio together and applied to arts school. I so easily could have missed the mark because I didn't see it coming."

On her return to Bermuda, Ms Wilson taught art classes at Prospect for Girls - now the site of CedarBridge Academy, as well as in other public schools across the island. Soon after she started teaching a continuing education programme for adults at the Bermuda College.

Today, Ms Wilson teaches art to adults in her own studio four mornings a week. In addition to her teaching, the artist runs the Sharon Wilson Art Gallery and paints every day.

"I usually do my real art work in the wee hours - somewhere between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.," she said. "I really like the quiet hours of sitting by myself. As an artist, you need to appreciate the quiet, sustained periods of time by yourself. Art does not come to you in the middle of noise and confusion. It has to be quiet time. It's incredibly therapeutic."

TRICIA HILL