By Charles Zuill

The Masterworks Foundation's artist-in-residence programme is now in it's tenth year. To date, about 40 artists from as far away as Russia, Bulgaria, Jamaica, Spain, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada and the US have participated. The benefits of this programme are many but one that is especially beneficial to the general public is the fresh and unique ways in which these artists see Bermuda.

Many things that we take for granted, are magical and new to someone from elsewhere. Recall, Bermudians, the first time you left the Island. My first trip away was a memorable one and I still remember many small details that people in that locale probably overlooked. I remember new and different smells, as well as new sounds that surrounded, especially the call of birds. The cry of the bluejay still rings in my ears.

I also recall plants that were so foreign to me. It was a new and magical world that I was discovering and I was captivated. Much the same is happening when visiting artists in Bermuda. The plus, for us, of course, is the new and slightly unfamiliar Bermuda we see through their eye, a Bermuda we often overlook. These artists are helping us see afresh, just how enchanting Bermuda really is.

The latest Masterwork's artist-in-residence, Richard Tait, comes to us from England. He is currently exhibiting a selection of Bermuda paintings he produced during his three months residency. What seems to have especially attracted him are small details to which we often turn a blind eye, such as light filtering through palm fronds, or reflecting light on the sea at night, or during the day.

When I met Mr. Tait at the exhibition opening, he spoke about the challenge of depicting a kind of light that was new to him; the glare of Bermuda's summer light would undoubtedly be a considerable challenge. I was only recently noticing just how washed-out colours appear under the intense light of summer. At the same time, he seems to have been attracted to the in-between hours, such as sunsets and dusk. A number of his paintings depict the silhouette of palm trees and buildings against a brilliant sunset. He also depicts stormy Bermuda. Additionally, the theme of two paintings is towering cumulus clouds.

Another fascination for Tait seems to have been the clarity of the sea along the coast and the life within tide pools, including the light reflected on the surface and projected onto the shallows beneath. In attempting to depict this phenomenon, in several instances, he has resorted to using gold paint and indeed, the reflective quality of gold, does resemble bright light. Although stylistically, very different, his work reminded of how Botticelli, the Early Renaissance Florentine painter, used gold leaf, to highlight the edge of ripples in his "Birth of. Venus''.

While at the exhibition, notice the small, but exquisite graphite drawings of trees.

The exhibition continues through September 13.