Portraiture may seem a fairly traditional art-form, but for the latest Masterworks Artist-in-Residence, Peter Zokosky, it represents a "strange, new direction".

As part of its artist-in-residence programme, Masterworks regularly brings down established artists from abroad for three month stretches, to give workshops, share their knowledge with the general public and also to give an exhibition at the end of their stay.

Until recently, Mr. Zokosky, an art instructor at the J.P. Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, was well-known for his figurative pieces about animals.

His 2007show 'The Order of Primates', at the Koplin Del Rio Gallery, in Los Angeles, was all about chimps. In his work 'Ape and Model' a chimp paints the portrait of a nude model.

"Some of my previous works were metaphorical paintings," he told The Royal Gazette. "They are based on the natural world. But they are altered and very subjective.

"The last group that I did I was really interested in predator prey, and animals eating and living off one another. It was about the balance of life and death."

His show opening at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art tomorrow will be a marked thematic change for him.

It will contain portraits of local people he has painted in oil during his residency over the last two and a half months.

"I did some portraits in the past," he said, "but very few, actually. I came here with a blank slate, although I knew I wanted to try and do portraits. I find people fascinating. I think a good portrait is a remarkable thing."

Mr. Zokosky, originally from Longbeach, California, said although he finds Bermuda landscapes beautiful, he has mostly resisted the temptation to concentrate on them.

"If I had another three months here I would probably do more portraits," he said. "A portrait is a subjective view of who a person is," said Mr. Zokosky. "Often times I like to think it transcends what they would like to project. It encapsulates a kind of authenticity."

He said in the last three months he has tried to unlock something in his subjects, that they may not always feel comfortable projecting.

"So many people are concerned about their appearance in a way that is very superficial," he said. "Painting can record that, but comment on something else about the person that is very mysterious and captivating."

He said somone did not have to be a fashion-model to have "an extraordinary beauty".

"Take Rembrandt, for example," Mr. Zokosky said. "Very few of his models are what would be considered attractive, but there is this magnificent quality in his sitters.

"I think that is something that I try to understand and capture, and really pay tribute to. I don't do portraits of people I don't like or don't respect."

Some of his models were picked through happenstance, some were approached, and others volunteered.

As a result, there is a wide range of people in the show including a maintenance man, a post office lady, a child that came to his studio on a field trip, a sea salt type, and also more well-known visages such as Tom Butterfield founder and director of the Masterworks Gallery and artist Manuel Palacio, among others.

"I drew a lot initially when I got here to ease into things," said Mr. Zokosky. "Then I started painting. Mr. Zokosky heard about the Masterworks Artist in Residence programme through a friend who was on the board of the J. P. Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

"She suggested I go to Bermuda and spend three months painting," said Mr. Zokosky. "I said where do I sign up?"

While in Bermuda, Mr. Zokosky was a judge for the prestigious Charman Prize, along with Molly Eppard assistant director of the Hollis Taggart Gallery in Manhattan, and Susan Menconi, of Menconi & Schoelkopf. The $10,000 prize was awarded to Graham Foster.

"I think the three of us took it really seriously," said Mr. Zokosky. "Knowing that all you have to go on is the work in front of you. I think in a way it was perhaps easier for an outsider."

He said as an outsider, not knowing the artists involved, he was able to use a fresh approach when helping to pick the Charman Prize winner.

"I very quickly determined that it wasn't about what I liked best, but what fulfilled the contest criteria and what were good solid works of art, regardless of my personal taste," he said. "One has to step outside of the idea of what would I want to hang on my wall at home. There was some really good work, and a lot to choose from."

And he said that many of the submissions were "quite good".

"When we tallied everything up, all things considered I think Graham Foster entered a really strong piece," he said. "I have been a judge in the past. I have come to realise it is not the final say on a work of art.

"All you are doing is giving an opinion at a given point in time. I started to feel a sense of responsibility. The winner is always encouraged by the win, but I hate the idea that it could be discouraging for those who don't win. For every winner there is always going to be be 174 who don't win."

Mr. Zokosky's show will open tomorrow from 5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Masterworks Gallery at the Botanical Gardens in Paget. The show will run until April 2.

For more information contact Masterworks at mworks@logic.bm or telephone 236-2950.