delightful work of Bermuda flowers and various Bermuda scenes is purchased by thousands of tourists each year.

Ms Holding has developed a rapport with tourists over the years and she is a major attraction on Front Street, Hamilton during Harbour Night evenings. "I like meeting tourists and get great enjoyment from chatting to them. It all goes with what we are doing,'' she said.

Morecambe, England, is the birth place of Ms Holding who developed an interest in arts and crafts from an early age of about five. She did a painting of an 18th century laughing cavalier which won a ribbon at the village country fair about age seven.

"In retrospect, I believe I was born to become an artist. I started painting by number when I was five or younger and always had a passion for colouring.'' Ms Holding comes from a long line, three generations, of hoteliers and restaurateurs.

"My mother and father and grandparents were very lively and outgoing and enjoyed dealing with people. I was brought up using manners and learned the art of conversation naturally from my parents.'' Following in the footsteps of her ancestors, Ms Holding was educated in hotel management. She arrived in Bermuda in 1968 and pursued a career with the Hamilton Princess.

She met her husband, Mr. Joseph Tee, married and had two lovely daughters, Elizabeth and Caroline. While she was staying home taking care of their girls she turned again to her childhood hobby of arts and crafts in 1975.

"I just wanted to get out of the house so I started painting recreationally.

I was 28 years old and took a few art classes from Sister Theophan at Mt. St.

Agnes School. I joined the Bermuda Society of Arts and attended night school at the Bermuda College.'' At this time Ms Holding was painting Bermuda flowers in oil on 5x7 canvases hung on velvet ribbons. A friend, Ann Walker Selley, encouraged her to sell these beautiful little works. She supplied her art to Bermuda Crafts and Wells' Art Gallery where they sold extremely well.

A couple of years passed and Ms Holding took a watercolour work shop from Professor Carl Schmatz of Amhurst University in Massachusetts. "Dick was such an inspiration to me and really fired up my imagination with watercolours and it has been watercolours ever since,'' explained Ms Holding.

The artist branched out into painting Bermuda scenes so sought by locals and tourists and today has a thriving business of retail art in St. George's, Hamilton and Dockyard. The Bermuda Press produces the retail prints.

Ms Holding creates and sells original art too. She has done originals for locals and people in many foreign countries such as Japan, Germany, England, Canada, Norway and the United States.

"My role in tourism is promoting Bermuda and capturing it's natural beauty.

First I promote Bermuda and then I promote Carole Holding the artist.'' Thinking in global terms, Ms. Holding's work is becoming more and more international. Her exhibitions include numerous Bermuda locations, Artexpo Coliseum, New York City and Houston Festival USA.

Recently a travel agent used her Bermuda Lawn Chair print in their advertising. Also Julia Bell, a prestigious American greeting card company, has contracted with Ms Holding to do Bermuda floral note cards featuring Bermuda Hibiscus and Frangipani.

When Ms Holding was asked about her thoughts on tourism in Bermuda she expressed the following ideas: Our hotels are in the process of preparing themselves for the global travel market of the future and this is important if Bermuda is to compete and maintain success as a top holiday destination.

We cannot sit on our laurels of being a sleepy, relaxing, friendly island in the sun. People expect more these days. They travel all over the world and stay in four and five star hotels. They eat the delicious gourmet food which is graciously served. Bermuda has to be on an equal with all this to achieve what other resorts are achieving. Tourists have told me that for the prices they are charged some of the facilities here are a bit substandard.

It is important that retail service to tourists be consistently pleasant and servile. We should all be courteous to the tourists.

We need island music like the Talbots and the Steel Bands used to play. This should be played in the hotels after dinner and at the various clubs. Tourists talk to Ms Holding a lot on Harbour nights and the questions they ask most frequently are: Where is a good place to eat? "I ask them what they like and make recommendations accordingly such as Tom Moore's, Newstead's Seafood Buffet, Pickled Onion and Waterloo House.'' They ask about tours and accommodations.

They ask about Ms Holding's art. "I explain that I always paint on location and never from a photograph. I feel this is the only way to capture the spontaneous quality of watercolour.

"I do most of my scenes in the cooler weather like September onwards. I draw everything and then colour. My style reflects true representation of what I am viewing. I try to capture Bermuda's light and colour.'' Ms Holding wishes she had been formally trained as an artist like her younger daughter, Caroline, who studied at St. Martin's College in London, Parson's School of Design and The Rhode Island School of Design. "Caroline has recently returned to Bermuda and signs her abstract art by an old family name, Troncossi,'' advised Mrs. Holding.

Mr. Tee, an accountant, is the financial manager of the family business, Carole Holding Studio Print and Craft Shop. They share office space in the Hamilton store.

"We are compatible opposites and I am very fortunate to have Joseph, my husband, to manage the money situation. I make the art decisions and we market and advertise with joint decisions.'' The most recent retail print came out October of '97; it is Flatt's Village portrayed in a vibrant array of pastels.

Artist Carole Holding splashing with watercolours