With a flourish of vibrant colour, England-born artist Alice Coutet (Cedenio) unveils her new collection of Bermuda-inspired art tonight in the Rose Garden Gallery in the Botanical Gardens.

As part of the Masterworks Foundation?s ?Artist in the Garden? series, Ms Coutet?s pieces range from charming Bermuda Cottages to wildly colourful abstracts, and will be on public display for three weeks ending Saturday, September 30.

A truly impressive collection, Ms Coutet strays from her signature style of detailed precision painting to experiment with new techniques inspired by a recent trip to New York?s famous art museums.

?I got a lot of inspiration from those paintings?, she says of the exhibits, and especially of the works by her favourite artist, Georgia O?Keefe.

This may be true, but inspiration for her work comes mostly from her now-Island home. Moving here from England in 2002, the artist finds that she ?can never run out of things to paint in Bermuda?.

At the end of the year, Ms Coutet will be visiting her parents? native home of Mauritius where she hopes to gather further inspiration from the culture and beauty of the French-speaking island.

She hopes her next show will comprise pieces influenced from her Mauritian adventure ? much like her time spent living in Australia, which produced aboriginal-inspired art showcased in this upcoming exhibition.

Ms Coutet?s talent has evolved past just a hobby, but she still finds painting fun. Her husband Jaime is her biggest supporter. ?He makes me paint?, she laughs. ?He encourages me a lot ? and I do it for myself too because I love it?.

In fact, her first love is photography ? her impressively large stock of photographs is proof of this. It is from her portfolio that she selects the images she will paint next.

?Without bright colours, the painting is just boring?, she says of her primary criteria for creating art from a photograph. ?It has to be bright and sunny to show lights and darks. There needs to be contrast.?

Ms Coutet?s preferred medium is oil, though most of her paintings are acrylic.

Thus far the artist has had a very successful year, winning both the People?s Choice Award and the Quick Art Competition in May?s Butterfield Bank Art Festival held in the Botanical Gardens.

Coutet?s upcoming show will be her second Bermuda exhibition .