"Excited and a little bit overwhelmed" is how Dr. Marion Watlington describes her feelings on the eve of her first solo exhibition, which opens in the Rick Faries Gallery at the Bermuda Museum of Art tomorrow evening.

"It is a huge milestone for me, and a goal I set myself two or three years ago," she says. "I approached Masterworks because I knew it was opening this new gallery and I thought my botanical art and the Botanical Gardens would be so perfect. Things got delayed for a bit, but here we are finally."

But then Dr. Watlington is used to dealing with delays and also knows that all good things come to those who wait, including herself.

For as long as she can remember, she has had a keen interest in art and, as a schoolgirl, decided that she wanted to become a professional artist — until her family heard of her plan, that is.

"The whole family said 'No, you must do something like nursing, teaching or secretarial and be able to earn your living until you meet a man and get married'," she recalls.

So, Dr. Watlington set aside her dream of becoming a professional artist and trained as a nurse instead. Once married, she then decided to go on to medical school and become a doctor, but always, in the back of her mind, was the desire to be an artist.

"For 20 years I was always buying art supplies knowing that some day, somehow I would be a painter," she says.

Finally, when she returned to Bermuda in the 1990s, Dr. Watlington decided it was time to follow her dream while continuing with her profession. She readily admits that, in the beginning, it was a struggle to release the creativity within her, but now that she has succeeded she feels "very blessed".

Indeed, the artist is no stranger to Bermuda galleries, having participated in group shows for some time, and her meticulously executed paintings are much admired and sought-after by art lovers.

Hard as it may be to believe when viewing her work, Dr. Watlington is self-taught, but says she reads many art books, talks with her artist friends, and has taken a weekend course with other local artists.

Watercolour is her favourite medium, but she is also interested in exploring other media, including pastels, and is in touch with professional artist Sharon Wilson, whose pastels are well known, with a view to learning more.

It will come as no surprise to those familiar with her work that the artist's favourite subject matter is botanicals and zebras.

"I love my zebras. They are a kind of mystical, magical animal to me — a bit like the unicorn — and they have always intrigued me," she says. "I first became inspired to paint them during my first safari to Kenya and Tanzania in 1996. I felt like I was getting in touch with some childhood make-believe. They are a truly beautiful animal in the wild, and so unique. I love the patterns and the stripes. Each one is different. Apparently the babies recognise their mothers by the pattern of the stripes — at least that is what I have heard. Although they are part of the horse family, zebras cannot be trained or used by man. It's been tried, but they are totally uncooperative."

Zebras even come into the medical world.

"In diagnostic medicine there is this saying, 'When you hear hoofbeats don't look for zebras, look for horses — in other words, look for the common things first, so always in the back of your mind as a doctor is, 'Is this a zebra or a horse I'm looking at?'" Dr. Watlington relates. "Every once in a while in training you get a unicorn, and then you are the professor's darling — for a day or two."

Palm leaves are another favourite subject, and again it is the stripes which first attracted the artist, who is also fascinated with their various shades of green.

"Green is one colour in our simple world of red, yellow, blue and green," she says. "Within green there are so many shades and hues that I really have fun taking green on green on green and making a painting come out of it. Botanicals represent a return to nature, which I think is so important in today's world with the Green movement and saving the planet. We take nature for granted, so hopefully my paintings will stimulate people into appreciating the nature around them."

Still an active medical practitioner, Dr. Watlington has learned to balance her professional life with her painting in a way that satisfies both disciplines. Working part time, she practises alternative medicine, which includes counselling patients on wellness strategies leading to better lifestyles, and possibly weaning them off some of their multiple medications. Then she turns to her art, and paints "a lot".

"I have become much more disciplined in the last year," she says. "I paint four or five times a week wherever I like — in my garden, in the kitchen — and I often sketch in the wild, not just palms but bananas and a lot of different things. I also take clippings of the way they look, as well as pictures."

To prepare for her first solo exhibition, Dr. Watlington has been painting "night and day" for quite some time. As a result, she will show 27 paintings, mainly watercolours, but also some acrylics.

As delighted as she is to be fulfilling her childhood dream, she finds that painting also adds another important dimension to her busy and sometimes stressful life.

"It is a wonderful way for me to get in touch with my balance and inner peace," the charming and talented artist says. "We all have strengths in different ways in our creativity, and I think to find that in yourself is a gift."

• Following tomorrow's opening reception, Dr. Watlington's exhibition will continue through June 17. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar.