Although he is constantly creating, it has been a while since Martin Hatfield Jr put his art on show.

Three distinct collections will go on exhibit next week at Rock Island Coffee; he’s excited about displaying the work.

“My son, Stratton, and I had our last show at Bermuda Society of Art in 2020. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly well attended because they were only allowing so many people into the gallery at the time,” he said.

“This really focuses on the stuff I've been doing since Covid.”

The artist used rug and fabric remnants to create his Fabric Collage Collection.

For Retro Palms, he took xeroxed copies of old Kodachrome photos and transformed them into screen prints before applying oil paint.

The sculptures that complete his exhibit might come as a surprise to anyone already familiar with him as an artist.

Mr Hatfield is pleased with the result.

“I've always been striving to do something different. I don't want to particularly be in that box where [people think] this is your style. My style is always changing. It’s more experiential,” he said.

Mr Hatfield studied fine arts and biology in university. In the 1970s he entered the textile industry and as part of what he describes as “a very creative move”, relocated from Kansas City to Bermuda to work as general manager of Tucker’s Tees, then the main T-shirt printing company on the island.

“My first move into manufacturing knitted T-shirts was in Hong Kong. The minimums were very high.

“I then spent six years in Egypt to learn the trade down to the details of weaving and knitting along with fine Egyptian cotton. During that time, I collected many unique fabric samples including camel blankets,” he said.

“After Egypt I began to work out of India where I have logged over 25 visits and where I expanded my work with textiles. Along the way, I found interest also in exotic wood exports and metal casting.”

The idea to hold his upcoming exhibit came after a good friend, Jodie Tucker, successfully showed her work at Rock Island last autumn.

Mr Hatfield thought it a great opportunity for him to introduce the public to his current efforts, which have taken more of a “contemporary direction” than his art has in the past.

About 20 pieces will go on exhibit at Rock Island. Mr Hatfield said he spent about a month on each collection.

“The Fabric Collage Collection was actually rather rapid. It was a bit of a process, but I'm pretty happy with the way it went. It was quite expedient.

“I worked on that for about a month. And then the Retro Palms, that likewise was another month but it was more here and there, not sitting around the table nonstop.

“I do try to stay focused on one theme at a time, but then I'll put it away; I put those Retro Palms away for years. But I’ve been working on it pretty nonstop since the Covid lockdown, since our last show.”

He was particularly pleased with how the Fabric Collage Collection “kind of came together”.

“I make so many frames and I've always had little pieces leftover. I took all the small pieces and put together about 20 little frames and then I said, ‘OK, I’ve got these frames I’ve got to put something in them.’ So I just started taking offcuts of wood or panelled boards and started this Fabric Collage Collection.

It helped that he had “been involved in the textile industry for so many years and collected rugs and all sorts of crazy things”.

It hit him that he could use that fabric to “create little scenes” which he sealed with shellac, covered with oil paints and put into the frames.

“They came out really nice. I’m trying to capture Bermuda and of course some of my travels – I try to give a feeling of some of those images as well,” Mr Hatfield said.

Although he has always “dabbled in casting and such” he has never shown any sculptures before.

Inspiration came from cement cast leaves that his son included in an exhibit at Rock Island many years ago.

“I had my mind set to cast the leaves in brass and aluminium, but the cost of sending the cement pieces to India [was too high],” he said.

“The only solution was to scan the leaves and 3D print, which cut down on weight and they were sent for casting trials.

“It has taken over two years to successfully develop this process but I am very pleased with the outcome.”

Humpback whales, sea turtle shells and philodendron leaves have benefited from “an exclusive patina” that resembles antique Chinese bronze.

“The sculptures are a really big part of this show. I've never shown any sculptures before. The new castings, these really beautiful, large 21-inch humpback whales, are really cool.”

• Martin Hatfield’s collections go on display at Rock Island Coffee, on March 8