Eva Byrum’s interest in painting began in early childhood, no doubt influenced by her mother, who was a painter. However, when they fled the Czech Republic and she obtained Austrian citizenship in 1989, she could never have imagined that one day she would end up marrying the man she met at the rock climbing wall in the capital of a tiny speck of land in the Atlantic Ocean called Bermuda.As luck would have it, American Ward Byrum is also an artist. They fell in love, married last year, and spent a month-long honeymoon in Thailand, where they were very inspired by the Thai people and their culture.

So much so, in fact, that on returning to the Island the couple both got out their brushes and canvases and captured some of the many things they had seen.

The result of that collaboration is the realisation of their determination to have a solo show at the Bermuda Society of Arts prior to their departure next month for a new life in the United States, where they intend to pursue their dream of owning an climbing gym and art gallery on the East Coast.

“We came up with the idea of having a show together, but if it weren’t for my husband I might have chickened out. He said, ‘We can do it and we are going to do it’,” Mrs. Byrum relates.

Entitled ‘Thai Inspirations’, the exhibition now in progress in Studio B features 23 acrylic on canvas paintings representing the colour palettes of the various regions of Thailand.

“There were so many great experiences that we said we are going to make it last longer, and we just started painting when we got home,” Mrs. Byrum says. “We did so many different subjects.

“Some are traditional and some are modern.

“We went to monasteries, which I captured the monks with their bright red, orange and yellow robes.

“There is a gold elephant, and there are beautiful, blended blue waters which are from our diving experiences — so many different things.”

In the days leading up to last Friday’s official opening, Mrs. Byrum says she was so excited she “talked non-stop, and couldn’t function for two days beforehand”, and she describes the turn-out for the official as “fantastic”.

Mr. Byrum comes from a family of artists, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas.

He runs the rock climbing wall at the Olympic Club and his wife is a hairdresser at Tangles.

*’Thai Inspirations’ continues through June 27. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar.