Viewers attending Mike Healey?s solo exhibition at the New Heritage Gallery will have no trouble understanding what they see, and that is because the visiting Scottish artist believes paintings should be self-explanatory.

?You should be able to enjoy a painting through your own sight. A good painting is all about feeling ? you either feel it or you don?t,? he says. Visually and vocally the artist makes it clear that he has a profound feeling for Bermuda?s beauty, which he expresses in a realistic style in oils on canvas or board.

His palette reflects his overall interest in colour, and is alive with cobalt blue, lilac, turquoise and the warm glow of yellow ochre and Naples yellow, which give his paintings a striking vibrancy. Like many visiting artists, Mr. Healey is also captivated by Bermuda?s bright, clear light.

?I began a lot of the paintings here and then finished them in my studio in Scotland, and when people see the blues nobody believes they really are that colour,? he says. ?The sky seems to have a touch of lavender in it, and the best times of day to paint are early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

?When the light is low you get beautiful, purple shadows. People don?t believe that. At the end of the day there is also a lovely, golden light. With the purple shadows it looks unreal.?

In approaching his canvas, Mr. Healey says ?it is all about colour and speed?.

?I like to capture fleeting moments of light. It is a direct response to what is happening in front of me. If you do a picture on the spot, often you have to destroy about one-third of what you see because you don?t have time,? he says.

?The knack is to try and paint the painting fast, and not make it look laboured. There is nothing worse than something that looks fussy and laboured.?

Modest and soft-spoken, the visiting artist says of his modus operandi, ?If I enjoy capturing a moment in time, hopefully it gives pleasure to people afterwards.?

Having visited the Island several times over the years, Mr. Healey is familiar with its key elements and points of interest, including buildings of architectural interest, but readily admits that he is particularly fascinated by water, and beach scenes.

Thus, his exhibition includes paintings of both, and incorporates sailboats, quiet harbours, and travelling ferries. ?I really like the little ferry boats zipping about the area,? he says. ?They always leave a white line across the blue water, and they add movement to what otherwise would be quite a still painting.?

Also included in the simply entitled ?Mike Healey? exhibition are a few still lifes which are further expressions of his love of colour. They include a lobster on a bright yellow chair, the latter being a favourite fixture of his studio.

Essentially a painter, the charming Scottish artist is well-versed in the scenery of the northernmost area of the British Isles, and also spends part of each year painting in France.

In each of these places he finds similarities to Bermuda. Popular with Scottish artists for over a century, France?s Cote d?Azur region in the south of that country, and St. Paul de Vince, which is inland, are also noteworthy for their light and colour.

?I paint a lot of the west coast of Scotland. In the summer we get a lot of long evenings until 11 p.m., and towards the end of the day we get a golden light which is not dissimilar to Bermuda. Also, the island of Iona has beaches and water not dissimilar to Bermuda, but not as nice,? he says.

An award-winning graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, Mr. Healey was also a senior lecturer there for many years until 1997.

Currently, he holds the chair of Art and Design at England?s University of Lincoln, and like many correctly trained artists, he says the main problem with today?s students is ?trying to find people who can draw?.

?Drawing is the skeleton of art, and they should learn to draw in school,? he says. ?They need the basic visual grammar and then we can teach them the ?music?.

?Things that you recognise require skill, and people sometimes shy away from things that require skill, but before (an artist) can communicate any ideas they need the nuts and bolts.

?Drawing is a different kind of intelligence. We have often been brought up to think that reading is the number one form of communication, but sight is actually our primary sense. An artist once asked Matisse how to become a better artist, and he replied, ?Cut out your tongue?.?

This brings Mr. Healey to the subject of conceptual modern art, and his belief that paintings should be self-explanatory and therefore enjoyable.

?You should not have to explain a painting,? he says. ?You either feel it or you don?t. The trouble with a lot of conceptual modern art is that it requires people to explain it to you, which makes it very exclusive. Why should you have to have a caption??

Represented by two London galleries, Ainscough and Thompson?s, Mr. Healey is proud to include ?an anonymous buyer from Downing Street? among clients worldwide in whose private collections his works are found. His paintings also hang in the European Parliament, Royal Mail, and the Glasgow School of Art.

A further, surprise honour came his way last week when Mrs. Cherie Blair, wife of the British prime minister, accompanied Lady Vereker at the official opening of his first solo exhibition here. Delighted with its overwhelming success, the married father of two says: ?I really like it here, and I hope to have a show each year.?

?Mike Healey? officially continues through April 23 but may be extended for a further week. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar or ( 295-2615.