Meet The Artist

Artist Biography of Teresa Bernard

The art career and biography of fine artist Teresa Bernard, a realism painter of oil paintings.

A Lifetime in Art

Oil Painting Artist Teresa Bernard
Fine Artist Teresa Bernard

Texas-born artist Teresa Bernard began painting in her pre-teens under the instruction of her father, Royce G. Phillips. Her dad, a professional artist himself, introduced Teresa to the world of fine art and oil painting. (Read more about her early art background here.)

Royce Phillips was an oil painter who also taught art classes in their hometown and the nearby surrounding communities. He instilled in Teresa the love of fine art by teaching her how to draw and paint. Sadly, her father passed away in 1976 during her senior year of high school. She left home after graduation to attend college in order to further her studies in the fine arts and prepare for her career in art.

Formal Art Education

After graduating high school, Teresa attended college in Pasadena, California, where she continued her studies in the fine arts. There she studied art history and the “Old Masters,” color theory, acrylic painting, oil painting, drawing in several mediums, 2-D and 3-D design, perspective, and art composition. While attending college there, Teresa also studied commercial art, graphic design, production art, typography, photography, and other design-related subjects in addition to her fine art classes. This was when Teresa decided to pursue a career in graphic art, creating artwork for print media.

Years later, Teresa acquired web design skills by taking some online college courses in HTML, JavaScript, and DHTML. Since then, ongoing independent studies have allowed her to gain skills in working with ASP, cascading style sheets, shopping carts, WordPress, the Internet, and social media marketing, as well as search engine optimization.

Graphic & Web Design Education

  • Pasadena Community College, Pasadena CA
  • Platt College, Eagle Rock CA
  • Oregon Polytechnic Institute, Portland OR
  • University of Illinois, Online Studies
  • Tyler Junior College School of Continuing Studies, Tyler TX

Fine Art Instruction

  • Royce Glen Phillips, Private Instructor, Bronte and Robert Lee TX
  • Pasadena Community College, Pasadena CA
  • Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News VA
  • Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, Hampton VA

Professional Design Positions

Teresa’s commercial art career spans over three decades. During that time, she has held positions as:

  • Desktop publisher and advertising designer for a trade publication and five community newspapers
  • Graphic designer for several print shops
  • Graphic designer in the marketing department of a prestigious hospital
  • Art director of an international magazine
  • Website designer/developer and search engine optimization (SEO) specialist for several Internet development companies
  • Webmaster for an online retail store and eBay store
  • Advertising design assistant for a major retail grocery chain
  • Graphic artist for a specialty printing and silk-screening company

Oil Painting: Her True Passion

Although her professional career has kept Teresa very busy through the years, she still loves oil painting in her spare time. She exhibits her paintings online, at art shows and fairs, and sells them wherever she can. Teresa has made a name for herself as a fine artist, and, thanks to the Internet, she has sold her paintings worldwide. Her dream is to eventually retire from commercial art and make her true passion, oil painting, her career.

UPDATE:  Teresa is now retired from commercial art and lives on a small horse ranch in East Texas with her husband, Robert. Although she may be retired from the workforce, she has not retired from her art. Teresa devotes a lot of her time to her oil paintings and paints almost every day. She shares her newly completed paintings on her website and social media.

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Additional Information

Artist Interview

Artist Statement by Teresa Bernard

More About the Artist

My Oil Paintings Index

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