Zachary Marshall gets a lot of joy out of being creative.

He is an oil painter, a sculptor and, for years, played the electric guitar in bands.

On Friday, he is giving Bermuda the chance to see another side of him. What Labyrinth? I Live Here! is a collection of watercolour and ink paintings inspired by ideas he knew he could not capture quickly enough in the large-scale oil paintings he creates on canvas.

“I can make ten watercolours within a day. Oil painting is a slower process, maybe I'll get one oil painting in a week or two,” he explained.

The layering process, along with the time required for each layer of paint to dry, is what slows things down.

“I can really progress ideas much, much quicker in this medium than when I work in oil painting because of the nature of how slow it is. There’s a lot of waiting for layers to dry so you can move on to the next phase of the painting,” he said.

“You can get burnt out if you're so focused on one art object so I like to have this other station, if you will, to allow [my mind] to work in different ways when it's getting exhausted in the oil.”

He named the exhibit What Labyrinth? I Live Here! because it sounded “catchy”.

“Meaning is important but I think that art can have a sort of poetry to it as well. [The title] is just an added layer of poetry to the piece.”

The sentiment likely stems from his passion for music, his years playing in bands, and the dedication he poured into recording original songs.

“I kind of think about my art making in a similar sort of way. So any text can be lyrics or something like that,” Mr Marshall said.

His watercolours depict “a world coming into being; a Genesis”.

“It's a very hostile world but the characters in these paintings don't know otherwise because this is just the world [they were born into]. They don’t know that the realm in which they live is a mysterious and desolate place, where there could be anything around the corner.”

Although “narratives are important” to the creative process, his are “very loose”, Mr Marshall added.

“There's not a text or anything behind the work but I do think about themes like mythology. What I'm interested in depicting is allegory. How do I conjure or capture something like Prometheus in a painting without explicitly pointing to any particular story? What does the essence of those kinds of narratives look like?”

Mr Marshall studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and has shown in galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Bermuda and Spain.

The collection of 28 pieces will be his first solo exhibit at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

As described by the gallery: “In this collection of watercolour and ink paintings, Marshall creates psychological spaces in which he investigates themes of identity and belonging. He draws inspiration from memory and experience, as well as art history, looking closely at the works of the Baroque and neo-expressionism of the late 20th century.”

Mr Marshall enjoyed drawing from a young age, with cartoons serving as “a major influence”. His work then typically leant towards animation, concept art, illustration, or sci-fi fantasy; however, when he started painting, he adopted “a more academic approach” to strengthen his talent.

“I still look at a lot of animation as an illustration for inspiration,” he said. “In high school, I got more interested in fine art and oil painting. The freedom that kind of painting provided was more in line with what I wanted to do with my art. I didn't want it to be in a cartoon, I wanted it to just stand on its own as a piece of art.”

As a full-time artist, Mr Marshall considers himself “fortunate” to have friends with “the same passion in life”.

“I’ve had many opportunities through my close relationships,” he said. “Opportunity comes when you are part of something that's important.”

As an extension of his exhibit, Mr Marshall will host an artist talk at Masterworks later in the month.

“I'll definitely talk about the watercolours and give a bit more of an in-depth explanation as to what I'm doing in that practice; but the talk will be more focused on my overall practice and the kind of work that I do outside of this one facet of my art,” he said.

“I'll show a slide show with my oil paintings and my sculptures – just so people can get a good idea of what I do – and also provide images of paintings that have inspired the work that I'm making.

“This one will be my first one as a more mature artist. This is definitely more representative of what I do.”

He has worked on the pieces for between three and four months and is “excited” to share them with friends, family and people here who might not be familiar with his work.

“I’m excited to see it presented in the gallery space. I've only really seen this work in my little briefcase that I keep these paintings in. I can look at them one at a time and shuffle through them, but to see them all on display like that is something I’m looking forward to,” he said.

It is also a “homecoming” of sorts. For much of the pandemic Mr Marshall was living in Los Angeles. Travel to Bermuda was “difficult”.

“Now that I live in New York, it's easier. It's good to reconnect with the island in a way that's different than just coming to see family and friends.”

• What Labyrinth? I Live Here! opens in the Rick Faries Gallery at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art on January 10 and runs until February 4. Zachary Marshall will host an artist talk at the gallery on January 23. Register here:masterworksbermuda.org/artist-talk-with-zachary-marshall/