When I first saw the artwork of Michael Cacy, Artist-in-Residence at Masterworks, I thought, ?how did he capture light like that?? For indeed, it?s like he?s put fireflies into a bottle, only in this case the light is contained on canvas.

?Capture the Light? is currently showing at Masterworks Gallery on Front Street. Mr. Cacy feels the light in Bermuda is particularly special.

?Tucker House?, especially glows giving a new perspective on an often painted St. George?s scene.

The white of the house is rich in purple shadows. This effect, used in most of the paintings, is created by drawing and or underpainting, then layering a wash, or washes, of paint on canvas.

This is then removed creating the amazing sunlit effect. He refers to it as ?painting in reverse?.

In ?Tucker House? most of the wash is removed down to the gesso leaving the house shadowed in purple with the grittiness of the canvas board. This grittiness is integral to the piece, as it is in many of the works in this show.

They are also wonderfully framed, ?Tucker House?, in subtly wood grained black. In ?Cavello Bay Morning? it?s a rough grained wooden frame that sets off a dock with a small blue, yellow trimmed boat floating on greeny water.

The composition is complex with angled steps and the boat in a seemingly enclosed space. Despite the motor it seems it could still take people off to fairyland.

?Wharf Lights? looks like the same boat but it?s so different, especially the light. The angles are skewed, the dock looks so different, it?s eerie and darkness seems to have fallen away from the boat.

These two paintings together make a wonderful pair. ?Junior Feels the Sting of the Salt?, is a young palmetto, still close to the ground. The yellow at the base of the leaves glows complimented by yellow light on another branch.

But it?s the purple leaf shadows against brown and lime green grass that catch the eye, like dancing seaweed. As an illustrator much of Cacy?s work is created by airbrush and there are a couple of pieces in this show.

?Cosmo?s Dream? is a fantastical work that to me seems typical of popular airbrush art. It is of a fish with a yellow cat?s head and bird wings in ocean fonds. ?Bay Grape Bermuda? however, is a fine illustration of a leaf on white, with beads of water and old calligraphy.

It is stunning in it?s simplicity and looks like a poster.

A seascape, ?Dogs Running Before their Master?, at a quick glance looks traditonal, but isn?t. These rocks have a creepy 3D effect even though the paint is smooth.

Spray hits the rocks but doesn?t seem to fall on them. A small boat lists to starboard riding a swell dangerously close to the rocks adding tension.

The purple sky matches the purple of the rocks. Many of these paintings seem like they would fit nicely into specific interior designs with their dominant and complimentary colours.

?Tomato Patch? is predominantly a purple shadowed road. The light filters between palms beyond which is a manicured field. Light green uniform rows of plants, which do not look like tomatoes, alternate with rich, red soil.

Red is the dominant colour in ?Lagoon Crossing?, right down to the red stain on the frame. Red suffuses the yard, road, shrubbery, trees and less so a house.

They are backdrop for a white heron with wings aloft. Other branches are dark and the sky an intense, deep blue. It looks like a fantasy illustration. ?Washday on the Hill?, is a charming domestic scene of laundry hung close to a house. The steps of a buttery roof are especially awash with blue light. So typically Bermudian.

Another stunning technique Mr. Cacy uses is gouache/ink resist technique. Paint is applied to a prepared surface except where black is intended and the whole thing coated with India ink, which is then washed off to the desired effect.

The resulting, ?Hog Money?, looks embossed as layers of paint mesh with ink standing out in a tarnished metal effect. It is off centre, expertly framed with three mattes and a thin black frame, and looks gorgeous. This technique was also used with ?Lobsta? and ?Gombey Rhythms?.

?Capture the Light? will be on view at the Masterworks Gallery on Front Street until March 17, 2004.