The first exhibition by a budding talented artist, Keith Balzan, is one of assorted works that truly bring out his character.

Mr Balzan is now a teacher of art but in his youth, in the not-too-distant past, he could almost be described as a rebel. He is both affable and moody but also an assertive man. His love for speed and fast bikes are traits that are very visible in his works.

The graphic art he studied forms the mainstay of many of his drawings and paintings. Mr Balzan attended the Malta School of Art and studied under the late Frans Galea and Paul Grech. But most of all, Mr Balzan is self-taught, experimenting with various media and textures.

Art critic E.V. Borg, who once taught Mr Balzan, notes that impressionists such as Picasso and Van Gogh have left an indelible mark on him. And his use of primary colours is a clear testimony of this.

The artist likes to get his hands dirty with paint every day, but it is not every day that he manages to produce something that sees the light of day.

"I neither have favourite subjects nor favourite styles. It depends what hits me at the time. I like to depict moods and daily life. Experiences inspire me more than landscape," he says.

Mr Balzan does a bit of commissioned work too but he does not like to be bound too much.

"If someone wants me to paint the Mosta Dome, I will try to do it in a way that I think will please the client, but it's the mood that I'm in when I paint it that decides what it looks like in the end. If they like it fine, if not, there's no problem. I will keep it," he said.

The exhibition is titled Genesis - Atmosphere And Mood. Is he over-emphasising the influence of his moods? Mr Balzan does not think so.

"I know that even my brush strokes depend on the mood I have. In fact I try to finish what I start because of this as I know that the day after the brush strokes would be different. I have a powerful painting which I started and left as I feared that if I tried to fill in some parts, I'd spoil it," he said.

In a critique of Mr Balzan's art, Mr Borg has sensed the effect of mood on his artistic works. "Keith's deep psychic analysis and reflection of life and the physical world around him surface in his highly particular and peculiar art. His art of moods is quite intellectual."

Mr Balzan likes to experiment with various paints and media and only uses them when he's happy with the result.

"Each medium can give a different effect. Enamel paint is thick and dries easily. Oil can give you time before it dries while acrylics dry almost immediately," he said.

In many of his paintings one can see a message, a strong statement: such as in Rural Rape, where one sees a typical Maltese village waking up to a rainy morning. TV aerials, satellite dishes, electricity cables and air-conditioning units fill the painting.

"It is the price that we are paying to enjoy life's commodities. The only nostalgic echo from the past is the freshly washed laundry hanging from a clothes line," he said.

Of another painting, Rural Rape 3, he says: "It makes you ponder: where is rural land gone? The human race is now building vertically, until even the village church spire and dome no longer remain the significant landmarks of Maltese landscape," he said.

The exhibition of some 40 of his works will be held at St James Cavalier between July 7 and August 15.

www.keithbalzan.com