Old Bermuda postcards, chipped paint, fabrics, paper and seeds all add texture to Fayelle Wharton's collages.

Mrs. Wharton is the third artist to take part in the Masterwork's 2005 Artists in the Garden series and her show opens on Friday at 5.30 p.m.

As with previous shows, Mrs. Wharton has used antique Bermuda postcards as the centrepiece for her paintings of extended local scenes through the medium of collage.

"Works include acrylic paints, inks, local foliage, old wall paint chips, fabrics, papers and seeds to give the work a tactile quality," she said.

"Sometimes the collage gives a realistic image, but at other times there is an impressionistic solution to the work."

The central images are vintage and she has hoped to capture the timeless soul of the Island, which is so dominated by the forces of nature, she said.

"Every day it takes back our buildings and walls and leaves behind these beautiful damp, mossy-encrusted surfaces that are works of art unto themselves," said the passionate artist.

"Like many artists that are inspired by these images, I am sometimes extremely disappointed when some well-meaning soul decides to scrape off all the old stuff on that wall and repaint. The only upside is that I know eventually nature will reclaim that surface and all those paint chips are a treasure-trove for me in my work - artist road-kill if you will.

"If all of that sounds like artist mumbo jumbo - head in the clouds sort of talk I must apologise because I can't seem to find another way to describe my thought process."

In truth, with great thanks to all the original postcard photographers, the older images are great.

There are layers of what appears to be hand colouring give these images a very appealing soft quality," said Mrs. Wharton.

"And the scenes are nostalgic. My intention really is to present them as little vignettes or windows into the past."

Unlike her previous work, this show, entitled 'Postcards III: Messages Home', contains a lot of the actual messages written by visitors on the postcards they sent home with their impressions of the Island, she said.

"They are wonderful little insights to life on the Island. Some things have not changed much like one which says, 'you should have been with me last night - my dress got caught in the bike and was torn completely off and there I was in Hamilton just in my slip!!'

"That message was written in 1938 and that was a pedal bike. "Some works contain old stamps, which just add a bit more historical imagery. Some works are painted directly on the Bermuda flag, other images on bits of old copper and many have been superimposed on, or insinuated into, scanned images of trumpet vines, baygrapes, palm leaves etc."

There are about 45 pieces, which are mostly small, although she said: "These pieces can be labour intensive, but its hard to estimate how many hours go into each because there are so many phases of putting them together, application and mounting of foliage and layering of materials.

"Some are more complex than others. Most of the works are mounted on custom mahogany frames, inverted shadow-boxes, that give a 3-D feel to the pieces as they hang on the wall."

She also likes the idea of The Masterworks Foundation's Artists in the Garden.

"I like exhibiting in the gardens, because I like the feeling that people can stop by on their way out of town, easily get a parking space, relax, see friends and let their children run around in a natural setting and look at some art," she said.

"I love having children come to my shows - art should be a family event. My studio is in my house so my children and their friends are always stopping in to see what's going on and its great to get their opinions.

"They get to see first hand how things are being created and that, like life, art can be fun and frustrating, but its worth the struggle."

Mrs. Wharton said although she has no formal training, her love for art has been a growing experience.

"I have no formal training in art, so this has been a learning process for me over the last couple of years," she said. "Unfortunately, I took no art courses in school after the age of 12, but I became involved with an Artists Guild in the US before moving back home five years ago and it was there that I was introduced to the medium of collage.

"I didn't know how to use paint properly, but I instantly loved the concept of collage and just tried to figure it all out through trial and error.

"Someday I will have the time to take a painting or drawing course, but for the time being I work during school hours, try not to work too much on school holidays and when I'm getting to within months of a show I exist on five hours or less sleep for as many days in a row as I am able to do and still be creative.

"Art is a passion, but it is also a job."