Dean Walker is well-known for his pastel land and seascapes, but when his new exhibition – the only one this year, by the way – opens in the Rick Faries Gallery at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art tomorrow eveningviewers will notice a new direction in one third of the paintings, and this is because the artist has taken further his interest in figurative work and portraiture.

"I have taken an intensive workshop in the US with William Schneider, an award-winning pastel portrait artist and, like me, a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, and he has gotten me all inspired, so I will have a few new works in the show as a result of that – a young girl at the ocean, and a girl and child at the ocean, and I hope to generate some interest in people with some of the new work I am doing," Mr. Walker says.

Of the new direction, the artist explains: "Portraiture and figurative is something I have always wanted to get into. When I am doing landscapes I get away from drawing, and drawing is critical to being a good artist. When you do portraiture or figurative paintings you have to be able to capture the quality of the person who you are trying to draw, so I am forcing myself to be a good drawing craftsman. That is one of the reasons I wanted to go back into the figurative end of it."

Aficionados of Mr. Walker's striking land and seascapes, however, need not worry – they will not disappear. "I will also continue the beautiful relationship I have with Bermuda, and I will always be doing them," he assures.

The artist is a graduate of the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois and studied watercolour under the Master Watercolorist Irving Shapiro. A full-time graphic artist for 23 years, he exhibited his watercolours part time, for which he won numerous awards and competitions. In 1999 he switched to pastels, and is a frequent prize winner in art and pastel magazines. He also took first place in this year's Butterfield Bank Art Competition.

Mr. Walker is a Bermuda resident, full-time painter, and exhibitor in local galleries. His website is http://web.mac. com/dgwalker1 and his e-mail address is dgwalker1@mac.com

'New Pastel Works, 2008' opens tomorrow evening with a reception from 5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thereafter, the exhibition will continue through October 14. See the Bermuda Calendar on for further information.