Canadian Roger Savage is the current artist in residence at Masterworks' Terrace Gallery in Dockyard.

Although no stranger to our shores - he has brought several groups of artists to Bermuda to paint in the past - this is his first time in the solo spot at the west end gallery, and he is making the most of it. Already, the walls of the gallery are filling with watercolours of Bermuda scenes.

Like Homer and Sargent, Mr. Savage is particularly fascinated by light and the play of shadows. His favourite times of day to paint are in the mornings and the late afternoons, and he loves the brightness and clarity of Bermuda's light. “I like to paint into the light rather than have the light behind me,” he says. “I am a big fan of Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. I try to keep the effects of light in focus at first and then work out the rest of the composition. If I don't have a good feeling about the painting after 30 minutes, or it doesn't flow right, I start again. “

Travelling everywhere by bus or ferry, Mr. Savage has not discovered the nooks and crannies accessible only by independent means, yet his work remains fresh and interesting, and a world away from the saccharine ‘pink sands and cute cottages' genre which normally appeal to visiting eyes. Instead, his work is bold and confident, with pastels generally eschewed in favour of darker hues, such as browns and beiges. Elements of local life - construction, stone quarrying, produce sellers and the like - have all attracted his eye, and which he has enjoyed capturing.

“The challenge of working on location inspires me,” he says. “I go all over the island, and I like things that have character, like the narrow streets and how old everything is in St. George's.”

A happy man who clearly enjoys being a full-time artist, Mr. Savage is a graduate of Mount Allison University, which is where he met fellow art student, Bermudian Mrs. Shirley Pearman, who kept telling him he should visit Bermuda. Finally, he agreed and has never looked back. “I was coming down to paint by myself, and then I thought, ‘Gee, maybe I should try to bring a workshop group down',” he says. “There is a direct flight from Halifax to Bermuda, so it is very easy for Nova Scotians to get down here. I've been down four or five times now, usually in late April, because by then people are tired of the damp Nova Scotia spring.”

Other points in Bermuda's favour, Mr. Savage says, are the fact that everyone speaks English, and it is a safe destination.

His work has been exhibited all over the world including Sweden, the United States, Colombia, Germany, Switzerand, and the UK. It is also included in the permanent collections of various galleries in the Maritime provinces, and has been reproduced on poetry book covers as well as on $100 commemorative gold coins in 1978 and 1981. One painting, ‘Port Mouton Island', has become his “signature” piece, and been reproduced in poster and postcard form.

Mr. Savage will continue as artist-in-resident at the Terrace Gallery until June 29. To view his paintings (234-0701 to arrange. Examples of his work can also be seen on his website: www.savagegallery.ca

Following the success of last weekend's en plein air watercolour workshop, the artist will give another on June 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $50 per person, except for students and seniors for whom the cost is $40. For further information/registration (Mr. Savage at 234-0701 or Masterworks at 295-5580.

So far, his groups have been delighted with the Island, its beauty, and the friendliness of the people, and all are keen to return. Meanwhile, Mr. Savage has arranged his life so that he gets the best of all worlds. Winters are spent at his home in Liverpool, Nova Scotia where he has his own studio and gallery, and during the rest of the year he likes to travel giving workshops.

“I do a lot of charcoal drawings in winter, and in January I start promoting my Bemuda workshop. I have done three workshops in Germany, and I also give them in Nova Scotia - maybe once or twice in the summer.”

A section of his gallery is devoted to his Bermuda paintings.

Naturally outgoing, the artist has already made many friends among his Dockyard “neighbours”, and was invited to be a guest juror for the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard's newest exhibition, which opened on Sunday.

Viewing his artist-in-residence experience, he says, “I am getting a lot of work done. My objectives are to include more people in my compositions, so I am doing that, and I am also getting a chance to explore different areas. I can paint full time here because there are no distractions such as there are at home.”

Mr. Savage is particularly fond of travelling by bus.

“You see more, and it brings you closer to life on the Island,” he says. “Everybody is so friendly on the bus too. You just talk to anybody and they talk to you. It's all so laid back.”

Back in Canada, Mr. Savage is well known, and his paintings hang in several galleries.

Born in Windsor, Ontario, he has lived in Nova Scotia since 1973. As an artist, he realised early in his career that he preferred working en plein air (out of doors) and on site, not least because the feeling and light that he experienced on site could not be replicated in a studio. His chosen medium is watercolours, and he likes to work extremely fast because the light can change in an instant, due to a passing cloud for example.

“I keep things very loose and fluid,” he says. “If a wash bleeds, or a dark area unintentionally appears, it can stay if I like it.”

Mr. Savage's need to paint en plein air has led him to travel the world capturing everything from glaciers and icebergs to the riotous colour of bougainvillea in Colombia, and blue delphiniums and dazzling white rhododendrons in the historic gardens of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.