Ask Michael Cacy to define his career and initially he will tell you that he is a freelance professional illustrator ? and has been for most of his life.

Press him further and he reveals that he is also a fine artist. Dig deeper still, and you discover that he is also an accomplished musician and lead singer who has his own five-piece band in his home base of Portland, Oregon.

In fact, Mr. Cacy is a man of many parts: he is internationally recognised as a leading authority on air brush techniques, about which he writes a web column, Cacy?s Corner, (the current edition of which features artist-in-residences and refers to Bermuda) and magazine articles, and also conducts workshops around the world.

His background includes agency art direction, graphic design, motion picture and television art direction, and illustration. He has received over 30 national awards, including the lifetime achievement awards.

Behind the beard and quiet charm of this multi-talented man also lies a deep affection for Bermuda, which he has been visiting for approximately 20 years, and especially its history.

?I am totally enchanted with the history of Bermuda, and I have really studied it going all the way back before 1609, and the fact that Shakespeare was inspired by the wreck that settled Bermuda; the era of settlement; the era of privateers, and the connections between the US and Bermudian history; the civil and revolutionary wars ? all of it is totally unique to me. I want to do some historical pieces while I am here, which I already have in my mind?s eye.?

Certainly, there is more than Mr. Cacy?s occasional footprints in Bermuda?s sands to remind us of his presence.

The illustrator also has many clients here, and few realise that such familiar logos as the black seal on Gosling Brothers? products and those for gift shops Cracker Box and Onion Jack, are among his creations, as well as a 184-foot mural of ?St. George the Dragon Slayer? in the Town of St. George, and a commemorative print for a Newport-Bermuda Race.

?So I have left my mark all over Bermuda,? he smiles.

Mr. Cacy was originally introduced to the Island by Scott Tucker, who had been regularly attending his courses in the US. When, one year, he could not attend, Mr. Tucker offered his mentor a ticket to Bermuda,

saying that he could divide his time between working in his studio and sightseeing.

?Not being crazy I accepted his offer, and I?ve been coming here regularly ever since. In fact, Scott and I have worked together on lots of projects over the years,? Mr. Cacy says. ?I have a lot of respect for him as a designer and photographer, and he is also a darned good artist.?

Like so many artists who come here, the Oregonian is particularly captivated by Bermuda?s legendary light.

?You have such beautiful light here,? he says. ?It is fantastic, day or night. I see the hard-edged shadows at night and I love it.?

On his current visit Mr. Cacy is wearing two hats: one as a fine artist who is busy preparing for two exhibitions of his work, and the other as a renowned airbrush expert who will conduct workshops for children and adults, amateur and professional alike, under the auspices of the Masterworks Foundation.

Currently working quietly in his temporary studio at the Arrowroot Factory, Mr. Cacy is relishing the rare opportunity to paint as the Foundation?s current artist-in-residence.

?I am thrilled to shift gears and be here painting a body of work specifically to go into a gallery,? he says. ?It is a wonderful change of pace for me. With the deadlines I am always up against as an illustrator, I rarely get a chance to paint for myself.?

Moreover, he is using media and techniques which he believes are not used or seen here.

?In coming to Bermuda I wanted to work in techniques that have been defining light and shadow,? he says. ?For instance, when I paint for fun, a lot of times I paint in watercolour, and I am very good at it. In fact, it is hard to keep anything I produce because it all sells. You have a lot of artists in Bermuda who work in watercolours, so I wouldn?t come here to do another body of work in watercolours. Since I work in so many different media, I can choose what I want.?

He is also using several different techniques on this trip, one of which is known as ?oil wash rub-out?, both for his canvases and also as part of his mixed media courses.

?Oil wash rub-out is a wonderful way to capture light, and it is also fun because it allows me to paint in reverse, so it?s a chance for me to use another part of my brain.?

Explaining this technique, the artist says he begins with an underpainting that is ?usually nothing more than a few calligraphic strokes over a drawing, usually in acrylic?. He then covers the entire canvas in a wash of thinned oil paint, after which he begins removing paint solely from the sunlit plains.

?It is as if the sun is coming out from behind a cloud, and all of a sudden it has a completely new light,? Mr. Cacy says. ?It is a technique that illustrators have been using for years but which I don?t see fine artists here using. Many times this is just an intermediate stage of a more involved piece.?

Citing the patina, stains, and grittiness in the textures of the light as some of the reasons why he likes this technique, the artist says, ?If we are going to see texture it should happen in the light, not in the shadow. In the light is where detail and pattern and texture are visible.?

He also likes oil wash rub-out because it leaves so much of the image to the viewer?s mind?s eye, which ties in with his preference for ?leaving things unexplained?.

Another technique Mr. Cacy has chosen is ?gouache/ink resist?, which he says is ?a very old one that probably local painters are not familiar with?. This, too, will be taught in his mixed media course.

?You paint everything except what is going to be black very thickly with gouache. Once it is dry the painting is covered in black India ink, which you let dry thoroughly. Then you take the piece into the shower or use a hose and strike the surface of the painting. Because gauche is water-soluble, the ink will skid off in skins, but will also remain in places where it can reach the unpainted surface. (The painting) can look like so many different things based on how the gauche is applied: a wood cut, block print, or stained glass. I have used it as period art evocative of the golden age of travel, or depression era poster art.?

With quite a number of paintings for his opening exhibition already completed, it is clear that Mr. Cacy?s imagination is as versatile as the techniques he uses. Certainly, his interpretation of Bermuda?s flora, fauna, architecture and cultural aspects is bold, vivid, highly skilled, occasionally quirky and unusual, and far removed from ?the little pink cottage? syndrome.

A man who likes to work from mid-morning until far into the night, Mr. Cacy promises to give viewers plenty to think about when his first exhibition opens at the Masterworks Gallery on Front Street on February 20. (His closing exhibition will be on April 21 at the Arrowroot Factory).

Meanwhile, he is also busy preparing for the airbrush workshops, which he has taught all over the world, including the Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, Britain and Europe. While, collectively, these will be for adults and children, it is Masterworks? desire to ?hook? young people on art at an early age that is the main impetus behind this facet of Mr. Cacy?s visit.

The expert is thrilled that, being so well-known to and respected by Medea, a major airbrush supply company in the United States, when he approached them for some support, they provided gratis all of the equipment and supplies required for these workshops.

?Medea is supplying virtually everything except the air ? paint, hoses, regulators, you name it ? which is a very significant donation,? Mr. Cacy says. ?All that has to be returned are the air brush heads. This means that the participants will not have to pay a dime for the necessary materials and equipment, and I think that is wonderful.?

The artist/illustrator believes that, in the age of electronic art, it is a sound move to teach air brushing to youngsters.

?Electronic art has had a huge impact on art in general, and while young artists probably need to be familiar with both traditional and electronic media, they still need a foundation as a base, and kids today are right into airbrushing. They pick it up almost intuitively. The processes in computer programmes, such as Photo shop and Illustrator, are exactly the same as the processes required to produce an airbrush painting ? layering, masking, and most importantly, the manipulation of an almost infinite palette.

?The young artist who has created in traditional media has a distinct advantage over someone who only knows how to produce artwork electronically because he has a better understanding of what is going on.?

Noting that the techniques illustrators and fine artists use are similar, Mr. Cacy suggests that perhaps the difference is that ?illustrators work on a purchase order, and successful artists work on commission?.

?It all means you are going to get paid for what you do, which is a good thing if that is how you are going to make your living,? he says.

He admits, however, that many illustrators are frustrated fine artists who aim to become fine artists in retirement, while others ?switch hit? between both worlds. In fact, many fine artists were also illustrators, including Andy Warhol, Diego Rivera, and Winslow Homer. In his own case, Mr. Cacy never wanted to be a gallery artist.

?Part of my fascination as an illustrator is understanding the power of the media. It is exciting to me to know that when I do a piece millions of people outside my realm are going to see it because I am so well known internationally as an illustrator, whereas a fine artist may only get exposure to however many people walk into a gallery.?

The Oregon native also plays several musical instruments, and is rhythm guitarist and lead singer in his own band, ?Mutts on Fire?. He also writes music and has written songs about Bermuda.

?I come from a family of singers, and as a high-school student I was playing rock ?n? roll on the road, and making good money, which paid for part of my college education,? he says.

Later, he was surprised to find that his musical training was an asset to his art career when, while still at art college, he became a motion picture art director for Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).

?I never figured out until much later that it was the background in both music and visual media that qualified me for that.?

Which is why Mr. Cacy is keen to enthuse young Bermudians about art and art technology. After all, the Island?s motto is: Quo Fata Ferunt ? Whither the Fates Lead Us.