It may be a time of economic instability but Bermuda artist Sheilagh Head is throwing caution to the wind to open her first art gallery.

Mrs. Head opened the Windjammer II art gallery in the Hamilton Princess last month.

The gallery sells original works by Bermuda's artists. It will sponsor a rotation of shows by local and guest artists as well as unique public events, including 'Meet the Artist' receptions and food and art pairing dinners.

The inaugural show at the gallery features Diana Amos, Mark Boden, Stephen Card, Will Collieson, Geralyn Counsell, Rhona Emmerson, Sheilagh Head, John Kaufmann, Kok Wan Lee, Graeme Outerbridge, Otto Trott and Sharon Wilson, among others.

"I have never had an art gallery before," said Mrs. Head. "I am like a kid in a candy shop.

"It is a dodgy time to be opening anything. The Fairmont really have been nice to us."

She said there were few commercial art galleries left in Bermuda because rents in the City of Hamilton were too high for most local artists.

"At other similar tourist destinations practically every other building is a commercial art gallery," said Mrs. Head.

In the general, the hotel has work by a number of local artists permanently on display in different areas including Sheilagh Head, Otto Trott, and Christopher Marson.

"We had so much nice Bermuda artwork in the hotel, we had a lot of questions about buying it from our guests," said Fairmont Hamilton Princess general manager Jon Crellin. "For example, the guests were always asking about buying the Marson painting behind the reception desk."

He said the hotel management had talked a lot about what to do with the retail space on the ground floor of the hotel.

They liked the idea of an art gallery because it gave them an opportunity to work with the local community.

"The Fairmont really tries to be engaged with local culture," said Mr. Crellin. "We also saw it as a business opportunity, because there is a shortage of commercial art galleries in Bermuda."

He said the hotel management was aware that there weren't too many outlets for local artists to share and sell their work.

"The launch of Windjammer II was one answer to that," said Mr. Crellin. "And, just as important, it gave our visitors and the community a chance to interact with the artists and the work they produce."

So far, the gallery is off to a good start.

The Windjammer II had a "soft" opening attended by over 300 art patrons, leaving Mr. Crellin to ask Mrs. Head: "What do you call a 'hard' opening?"

"The hotel guests seem to really like it," said Mrs. Head. "We have had some good sales since we opened.

"One painting I hadn't even got the corners off or hung it before a guy had his credit card out. He said, 'don't say anything, my wife is over there. I am buying it for her for Christmas.'"

Mrs. Head operates the gallery with the assistance of art industry veterans Jean Gardner, formerly art curator with Butterfield Bank, and D'Anjou Anderson, formerly of Heritage House.

The gallery was named after the popular Windjammer Gallery, opened by artist Susan (Sudie) Curtis in 1980.

Diana Amos, Stephen Card, Mrs. Head and Otto Trott were among the original artists whose work was shown there.

Following the death of Susan Curtis, the gallery was operated by her daughter, Devon Moss, until the gallery closed in 2003. "We named the new gallery Windjammer II to honour Susan's achievement with the original gallery and did so with her daughter Devon's blessing and encouragement," said Mrs. Head. "This gallery, for many of our artists, is a tribute to her."

Mrs. Curtis' picture sits in a corner of the new Windjammer II. "Susan was a feisty lady," said Mrs. Head. "She had a dream of what she wanted the Windjammer to be. It was a dream I went along with until she died.

"Stephen Card was very involved in this new gallery and he showed in Windjammer also. When we were talking about what to call this, he suggested 'Windjammer II' and we both liked it."

Mrs. Head, educated at the Manchester College of Art and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Perugia, Italy, has already exhibited in New York, London, Madrid, Hong Kong and Luxembourg.

In 1997, she was admitted to the Copley Society of Boston, America's oldest art association. Two of her works were accepted for one of their major annual shows.

The Copley Society of Boston, founded in 1879 boasts Monet, John Singer Sargent and James McNeil Whistler among their early exhibitors.

Mrs. Head has a home in Boston and frequently spends time there painting.

She hopes to bring down some of her Boston painting friends to paint in Bermuda, and be available for meet and greets in the Windjammer II.

The gallery will be open daily, except Mondays. Opening hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5p.m.

The gallery will also provide packaging, insurance and shipping of artwork to locations around the world. For more information, call The Fairmont Hamilton Princess on 295-3000.