Paired by the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard as guest artists for its new exhibition, `Multiples, Series & Repetitions', Julia Coash and Emma Mitchell had not met until this week, yet both have come up with a similar theme for their work: flora.

In her continuing exploration of forms influenced by her physical environment, Mrs. Coash has painted a thematically-linked series of abstract oils further exploring forms influenced by her physical environment. This time inspired by vines, petals and pods from the local landscape, they suggest these items blowing in the wind, and some which have just landed - but abstracted in a way which explores their poetic associations.

For example, a petal blowing in the wind is reminiscent of a large, billowing sail; petals and pods painted with rich shadows recall reflections of boats on water; and a curled slip of rose petal becomes a floating, red-crescent moon. Mrs. Coash is a lecturer in studio art and art history at the Bermuda College.

Mrs. Mitchell's work also reflects her fascination with the beauty of nature, and she is particularly intrigued by the states a flower goes through from first bud to last tired petals.

"In my view, few artists have been able to capture the `character' in flowers like Georgia O'Keefe, who chose to explore flowers in such a way that the viewer could not help but be impressed by the magnificence in them. Each painting conveyed the force and strength of the blooms," she says. "The more I explore and work with flowers, the more I learn. They are rather `human' in that respect - the better we get to know them, the more we understand and appreciate their personalities, depth of character and physical attributes."

For `Multiples', Mrs. Mitchell has worked in line and watercolour, with watercolour pencils in the illustrations.

'Multiples, Series and Repetitions' opens at the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard on Sunday, April 13 and continues through May 16.