"Get `em up and move `em out!"

That is the reaction artist Joy Blackburne hopes for when viewers attend her first-ever exhibition in Bacardi Building, which is a fund-raiser for the registered charity, Riding for the Disabled.

The three-day exhibition opens today and continues through Friday. Viewing hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free.

Having spent many summers in Colorado, where she rides and paints, Mrs. Blackburne has become impassioned with "western art", and has produced a collection of paintings with a "western" or cowboy theme in watercolour, acrylic and oils. Some of these, along with non-western themes painted earlier in oils and acrylic, are being included in this 74-piece exhibition.

Because most of the paintings have an equestrian theme, the artist has chosen Riding for the Disabled as the beneficiary of 30 percent of sales, and the charity's committee hopes that executives needing paintings for their offices will find them of interest. Prices range from $150 to $2,900, with most being in the $490 to $590 range.

Dutch-born Mrs. Blackburne is a professional artist who is well known both here and abroad for the excellence of her work. She has been commissioned to execute murals, trompe l'oeils and decorative art in England, France, North America and Bermuda. Among local examples are the scenes painted on the roadside arches of the Modern Mart in Paget. Her watercolour portraits of houses are in locations around the world. The artist has also been commissioned to paint many of the great chateaux of Bordeaux, France.

Bermuda's road users will also be familiar with her

Mrs. Blackburne was born in Holland and studied art at Amsterdam's Kunst Academy, as well as the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, and the University of Florence in Italy.

She gave up her her career as an actress when she moved to Bermuda, where she has worked for many years. An avid and former Olympics trials skier, for the past 12 years she has spent most of the winter season in Aspen, Colorado, where she has been commissioned to paint murals in hotels, restaurants and private homes.

Bacardi Ltd. is hosting the exhibition, which is entitled `Inspired by the West', as well as tomorrow's opening reception from 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more of the artist's work visit www.JoyBlackburne.com