Graham Foster admitted being so consumed by the mural that his sculpting work has been on the back burner for the past four years.

"Now that the mural is finished I'm looking forward to getting back to welded steel sculpture," he said. "It's been four years since I last picked up a welding torch."

He first began welding at The Museum School in Boston in 1992 and was totally hooked on the flames.

"There's something primordially satisfying about using flame and force to create something from such an unyielding material as steel," he explained.

"When I returned to Bermuda in 1995, I didn't have the resources to continue sculpturing, so I turned to painting, developing a surreal Bermuda style, the culmination of which is the mural at Dockyard.

"In 2000, I began welding again, creating a series of 'Frankenstein fish', realistic steel fish covered in warts and spines looking as though they'd been dredged up from the depths of some abyss."

The Tribal Art from Africa and the Pacific Rim, which had an incredible expressive power, then influenced him.

"I tried imagining what these tribes might have created had they had access to welding equipment, incorporating cowrie shells, shark teeth, skulls etc."

But as Graham jumps from sculpture to painting, he always wanted to and now has found a way of combining his two loves.