We have been hard-put finding the superlatives that would most aptly portray Elizabeth (Betsy) Mulderig, the prolific, multi-faceted artist, writer, cartoonist and puppeteer, among other things.

She's been busy receiving plaudits from near and far for her latest major work. It is a stunningly beautiful calendar commissioned by wealthy Paget resident Billy Williams to highlight the celebration of the 30th anniversary of his fixed income management company STM.

The calendar is likely to be a collector's item well beyond the days and months of 2009, for which it was specifically designed. It will get wide international circulation more than any of the eight distinctive corporate calendars she did over the years including Bank of Butterfield, BF&M Insurance Oil Insurance, Coral Beach & Tennis Club that have become keepsakes

"As we enter our fourth decade meeting an environment unfamiliar to us all," Mr. Williams said, "we think this calendar is an excellent way to mark the passage of the exciting days ahead for STM with Betsy Mulderig's bright and happy depictions of Bermuda life."

Hundreds of finely detailed images depict Bermuda scenes and traditions, such as weddings, kite-flying time, sailing, each with a whimsical touch.

"My art is folk-arty," Betsy, explained. "I try to infuse as much humour as I can."

She's also fascinated by Bermudian architecture, especially with its eyebrows, shutters and other features.

Betsy thinks Billy was attracted to her work because he has a similar quirky sense of humour as hers. There's a scene in the calendar of Billy's beautiful wedding in Bermuda.

She painted him and his wife Laura driving off from the church as two friends look on, Errol Williams (now deceased) holding his camera, and Kingsley Tweed. Billy had commissioned Errol to make the film he financed on the Theatre Boycott, When Voices Rise, and on Kingsley's life, Walking on a Sea of Glass.

The month of November is given over to Fat Man's Café. The restaurant in Devonshire is named after Kevin Minors, who is known as 'Fat Man'.

He's an accomplished fisherman and gifted entertainer, depicted playing his guitar as his catch of the day is cooked amidst a lot of colourful activity in the street. She has also worked into a kite-season scene the lady she calls her second 'mom', Ruth Harvey Davis, and sister Helen Benjamin.

Betsy was two years old when her father Francis Mulderig, the corporate lawyer for the founder of AIG in New York, was posted to Bermuda. She was schooled here, went to Boston University, and then to art school in New York, graduating cum laude from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

She explained: "My passion for drawing, colouring and painting is something I was born with. I have loved it for as long as I can remember. In fact, my mother reports that at age one I ate the crayons of my best friend, Moira Stott."

Extremely disciplined, she works in her studio on a tight corporate nine to five schedule daily, meeting a variety of deadlines.

In addition to painting, she's producing a reading programme for the Ministry of Education. She has written a children's book called Do-Boy Digs Bermuda andis collaborating with her friends Debbie Jackson and Hugh Watlington in putting together a puppet show for schools due to be launched in a month's time. It is based on her Do-Boy series, which has had many variations and offshoots since she first launched it at the Windjammer Gallery in 1987.

She does a comic strip in this newspaper (see Page 3) based on one of her children's books, featuring Tiny The Frog. Earlier this week Betsy was honoured by Premier Ewart Brown when he opened a display of her work now hanging in the Charles Lloyd Tucker lounge. It features her Onion series she created depicting prominent Bermudians as 'Onions'.

She also exhibits in a variety of art shows including the just concluded Bacardi Biennial Art show, her fourth in succession; and has her paintings displayed in the corridors of many local corporations.

Our photos show artist Betsy Mulderig with pages from her colourful 2009 calendar.