Aficionados of prolific professional artist Christopher Marson's work will find a feast of plenty awaiting them tomorrow evening when his new exhibition opens in the Rick Faries Gallery at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art in the Botanical Gardens.

No less than 60 paintings, in oils, acrylics and watercolours, will grace the walls of the new facility, ranging in subject matter from Bermuda landscapes to buildings in the landscape, seascapes, and a few of the west coast of Canada.

The work was all done on location, apart from a few larger pieces, for which the artist used his small location studies as reference.

"Sizes range from eight inches by six inches up to two feet by three feet, which is large for me," Mr. Marson says. "Viewed as a group, there seems to be an emphasis on evening and morning light – which is a change from the work that I used to do, mostly at midday."

Noting that the new body of work has been executed primarily in opaque media – some oils and more acrylics – the artist reveals that, during a cross-country trip to Canada last summer, he discovered a new Australian acrylic with which he has particularly enjoyed working.

"It dries a lot slower than most acrylics, and gives a softer, more oil-like appearance. In fact, some of the acrylics look so much like my oil that I have, on occasion, had to smell a painting just to be sure whether it was oil or not," he says.

"The primary advantage for me is that it allows me to combine my watercolour and oil techniques in one painting. I can paint from dark to light and back again without worrying about picking up colour from lower layers. The paintings are also getting more colourful."

Mr. Marson's last solo exhibition at Masterworks was a year ago in the humbler Rose Garden Gallery, and he is looking forward to the new location.

"The Rick Faries Gallery has more space and higher ceilings, and should be a treat."

The opening reception is from 5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thereafter, the exhibition will continue through May 13. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar on page 37.