MASTERWORKS' final solo exhibit opens tonight at its Front Street gallery ? for artist Jackie Stevenson, preparing to showcase her first collection of works, the event will be decidedly bitter-sweet.

"It's my first art show, but it's also the end of Masterworks Gallery," said Ms Stevenson, the final exhibitor in Masterworks' Artists Up Front . . . Street series this season.

"It's really sad. And then I think, gosh, I got in by the skin of my teeth. What will happen with young artists now? Where are they going to go? And it's a real shame because I believe art represents the soul of a place. It's something that needs to be developed."

The Artists Up Front . . . Street series was started by the Masterworks Foundation ten years ago as a means of encouraging new talent. The programme was hugely successful for artists ? not only did it enable them to host an exhibit at a relatively low cost, it guided them through that process.

The charity was informed this year, however, that it would have to find new accommodation by January as its landlords were in need of the space. To date, the search continues although the gallery has a roster of artists interested in displaying their work with it next year.

According to Ms Stevenson, when one considers the recent closures of two venerable institutions ? the Windjammer Gallery and the New Heritage House Gallery ? art lovers have been sent a clear message.

"I think people should be encouraged to buy Bermuda art," she said. "Generally, I believe that the people who do buy here are the exception, not the rule. For some reason people think they must buy from overseas when there's lots of talent here."

Though tonight marks her first exhibit, Ms Stevenson has been honing her artistic skills since a child.

"If I think about it, art has been a running theme," she said. "Art is something I've always enjoyed. What I think is a problem for most people ? especially here in Bermuda ? is it's not really taken seriously as a genuine job.

"But what pops into my head is just how pleased my grandfathers on both sides of my family would be. Both of them were artists, but artists alongside their regular jobs. So it would have been really cool if they could have been here for my first opening."

Ms Stevenson was born in Toronto, Canada, although her father's work as a foreign correspondent required that the family live overseas. On reaching college age, however, she returned home to study at the University of Toronto to pursue a degree in English Literature. "What I really used to love to do on a nice, sunny Saturday was to go out with my sketchbook and go drawing; to get lost in the city, drawing," she said. That realisation led her to abandon the University of Toronto for the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD).

"I decided to become a serious artist.

"But then I realised that the only good artists in the class were the ones bent over, geek-like, into their art work. My feeling then was that I could never be that devoted."

With graphic art the only apparent option, Ms Stevenson returned to the University of Toronto and completed her degree in literature.

"And then I went and worked in journalism," she said.

"It's funny how you end up doing what your influence is at home (but) I really enjoyed it, mainly because every day's different."

then, after marriage and kids, Ms Stevenson took a second look at art. "I had a part-time job but wanted to be at home more with my children," she explained. "And that's when I got the idea of doing a children's television programme."

The show was called . Ms Stevenson completed a pilot and turned to a local production company for help with the finishing touches.

"The set was going to be a cave where the skink lived. The idea was that the skink had found these bubble gum wrappers with little cartoon strips on them and put them in his nest. So I was drawing this great big cartoon strip and one of the (people involved) said to me, 'You're a really good artist'. It was almost like, yeah . . . yeah, I am.

"It's so funny because the programme didn't take off, but from that I realised that this is what I really enjoy; this is what I should get back to."

The odd art class at the Bermuda College followed. And then, with College credits piling up, Ms Stevenson decided to complete her associate's degree in Art & Design.

"I thought I'd better nail this in the head, that I should just devote a bit of time to getting all the subjects needed. And I did. So it's sort of been a continuing theme. Because I like drawing, I started off with pastels ? sort of like coloured drawing.

"We have some really good artists here who are very generous with their information and learning. So I've been making little forays all this time. I did classes with (noted Bermudian artist) Sharon Wilson, who's absolutely fantastic but you can't really do pastels outside.

"I really wanted to do oils and so I've since joined (the) Plein Air group (at the Bermuda Arts Centre) which is just fabulous. It's amazing. When you're outside it's very hard to judge what you're actually doing.

"You can step back and look and see what you want to do, but it's actually when you get it home and in an indoor environment that you actually appreciate just how much you've captured. When you're outside it's just so overwhelming."

by her attempts, Ms Stevenson decided that it was time to finally show her work. "I've shown pieces of my work at the Arts Centre at Dockyard and at the Bermuda Society of Arts, but never a collective body," she said. "It's pretty exciting to see it all together although I realised in doing this, just how all over the place I am.

"But in a way it's because, not having gone to a really formal art college where you actually take a foundation course where they really expose you to everything, I've had to (learn all that) along the way."

The end result is 40 original pieces ? oils, possibly a mosaic, glimpses of architecture and portraits ? which may be seen on display at Masterworks' Front Street gallery through December 2.

"I think what will be interesting about the show is it's a variation of work," she said. "There are some portraits. There are some life drawings. There's old Bermuda architecture. So it's very varied. What's also interesting about it in a way, is that it shows the path of an artist just finding themselves.

"It's taken a long time for me even to admit that I do art. So it's sort of a big step but it is exciting. I kind of feel as if it's a natural progression although it is a little nerve wrecking. But," she concluded, "the house is getting overwhelmed with paintings."

q The Masterworks Gallery is located at 97 Front Street, on Bermuda House Lane in Hamilton. Opening hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, telephone 295-5580.