It would be easy to think that, ever since our caveman ancestors started doodling on the walls of their homes, nature in all its diverse forms, has had a powerful hold over artists.

Of course that's not always been the case. One only has to look at, say, Renaissance paintings to see nature relegated to playing a supporting role while religion or portraiture stole the limelight.

Happily things have changed and while Growing 9 may not be so formal and close knit a group as to have any kind of manifesto or be called a school, most of the artists, in this exhibition at least, take their inspiration from nature.

Founder member Kris Jensen's work stands out for its fluidity and light. Using broad, free strokes her style owes more to the Impressionist School than any other group.

Her series of studies of roof tops in bright sunlight, using subtle pastel tones is reminiscent of Monet's studies of Chatres Cathedral. In paintings such as `Watching, Waiting' Jensen uses a bright palette but still manages to refrain from being twee. A close inspection of `Colours At Flatts' reveals strong use of primary colours and brave, disjointed brush strokes which, when seen further back, produce a harmonious whole that captures the shimmering atmosphere of Bermuda beautifully.

By contrast Elmer Midgett contributions, also in oil, have a static, sombre quality.

There is little attempt on Midgett's part to trick the eye, to try and transform the canvas into a three dimensional space.

Instead, working predominantly in muted greens, greys and blues, with just the occasional splash of colour to relieve the eye, his plant studies in works such as Dappled Wall, Reaching Rose and Quoins seem more concerned with geometric shapes and composition, perhaps influenced by Midgett's early work in stained glass.

There is very little use of shadow, giving his canvasses a flat quality and yet, because of his strong sense of colour, central objects surprisingly seem to jump out from the canvas.

Judith Vance Gardner and Marion Watlington-Vorley both submitted studies of plant life with different results.

Watlington-Vorley's naturalistic series of palm trees in water colour, seen from unusual perspectives, show an increasing mastery of technique in the medium -- delicate and fragile.

By contrast Vance Gardner's collection of palm studies, seen in extreme close-up and executed in a mixture of Gouache and oil pastel, take on an almost abstract quality. The artist has spent the last couple of years engrossed in botanical studies and describes the works as "scientific'' but allowing the viewer to see them in a different aspect.

It is difficult to study abstract paintings without having some insight into what the artist is attempting to convey. Sheilagh Head, in a break with her conventional style, submitted three abstract oils entitled `Midsummer Night's Dream', `Arborial Light,' and `Lost Atlantis'.

Did I understand them? No. Did I like them? I don't know. Would I like to have one of them hanging on my wall? I don't think so. Then again, perhaps I wasn't meant to.

"I did it for me really,'' Head explained.

"This is how I used to paint in the 60's. Although I paint the spirit rather than strictly representational views, I feel an urge to get away from a tightening effect that can happen from time to time.'' Mmmm. Stick to what you do best Sheilagh, why get rid of a winning formula? Along with paintings and collages there were also several sculptures submitted by Judith Farum which explore movement and dance, and examples of jewellery using contrasting natural materials, by Betsi Griffith.

What's interesting about the group's latest show is that, while the majority of them take the beauty of nature as their source of inspiration and, in most cases, the uniqueness of this Island's nature, they can turn out works of such diversity -- each artist depicting nature from a different perspective, individual perspective.

If you fancy seeing any of the works on show you'd better hurry -- the exhibition closes today.

ARTIST ART REVIEW REV