91原创 painter Bernard Major is inviting audiences on a journey around the world 鈥� and one the perks of his tour is that it can be done on a post-Christmas budget, without leaving 91原创.

Major鈥檚 upcoming exhibit, titled Home and Abroad 鈥� presented by the 91原创 Arts Council 鈥� will hang inside Township of 91原创 Civic Building from Jan. 11 to Feb. 28.

Major, a relatively new member of the LAC, admitted he was a little taken aback by the sheer amount of wall space he would be required to cover over two floors inside Township Hall, but a search through his studio turned up 42 paintings which he will hang on both the second and fourth floors of the building.

The vast majority are works done in oil and all but one were completed before he was awarded the show.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of work, but I鈥檓 enjoying it,鈥� said the artist who works out of a converted barn on his South 91原创 property.

He regularly has several other local painters (known collectively as the Artists of Bernie鈥檚 Barn) over to work in the studio, but for this show, he is going solo 鈥� for just the fourth time in his career.

Although the show is titled Home and Abroad, there is a heavy emphasis on the latter, he explained, with the vast majority of the paintings depicting his travels to Egypt, Venice, the Caribbean and England.

鈥淭hose four themes make up the bulk of the work. There鈥檚 also a large abstract in there, which I don鈥檛 do often,鈥� he said.

The two new paintings 鈥� one of a Merritt, B.C. ranch scene and a Christmasy watercolour of his studio/barn 鈥� comprise the 鈥渉ome鈥� portion of the exhibit.

One of his Caribbean pieces, titled Where is My Purse? has been sold to a woman from Illinois who saw her own grandmother in Major鈥檚 subject, but it will be a part of the exhibit, nonetheless.

鈥淪he agreed to leave it here until after the show, which was nice of her because I鈥檇 already done the brochure (which features the painting),鈥� Major laughed.

The artist recently returned from a trip to China, where he was struck by the dichotomy of the country 鈥� a place where past and future co-exist in rather jarring fashion.

The large cities, like Shanghai, are incredibly modern and progressive, he said, while in the countryside farmers are still using oxen to pull plows.

Major plans to recreate scenes from his latest travels, but for that project he will step away from his traditional oils.

鈥淚 just got the urge to do a series of watercolours and see how it works out,鈥� he said.

鈥淲ith watercolours you can get a really strong contrast, but at the same time, it鈥檚 delicate. The light bounces through the paper and comes back at you.鈥�

Those pieces won鈥檛 be done in time for the Township Hall exhibit, but Major is encouraging people to come out and view the works that will be on display for nearly seven weeks. The venue is surprisingly good, considering its not technically a gallery, he noted.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who thought of it, but it鈥檚 a really fantastic place for an art show. It鈥檚 easy to hang paintings and get them positioned nicely. And the lighting鈥檚 not bad either.

Still, the fact his show is being held in the civic facility underscores the need for a dedicated public display space, said Major.

It鈥檚 good the space exists, he said, 鈥渂ecause otherwise where do you go to see original art? This (LAC initiative) might be something that leads to an exhibit space.鈥�

The Township of 91原创 Municipal Building is located at 20338 65 Ave.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, Jan. 11 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.