Category: Past Work

A peaceful beach painting with a seagull in the foreground.

SOLD: This painting has been sold to an art buyer in Texas.

Customer Feedback

“I have a guest room with lighthouses, but I wanted something really special. I love the beach scene with the seagull because it looks so peaceful.” — Roberta Bernard, Crosby TX

About Seagull and Beach Painting

Title: Seagull Beach
Size: 6″ w x 6″ h
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description:  A beach painting with a seagull sitting on top of a post in the foreground and ocean waves gently rolling into shore in the background, all against a partly cloudy sky overhead. Beautiful and soothing, this seaside artwork is a must-have for any beach lover and will be a perfect addition to your coastal-themed home or office decor. Composed by hand on quality stretched canvas and signed by American artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

The composition of this seaside painting consists of a sandy beach, gentle ocean waves, and a seagull in the foreground. The aquatic color scheme has both a soothing and calming effect on its viewer.

This oil painting measures 6″x6″. Its small size makes it perfect for tight places with limited space. (See “Small Paintings for Small Spaces” for more info.)

I hand-painted it on gallery-wrap canvas. This allowed me to paint on the sides or edges of the canvas. What this means is the canvas wraps around the support bars and is stapled at the back instead of the sides. This gives the painting a modern look and it can be hung on the wall without having to be put into a frame. Most of the paintings I do today are composed on this type of canvas.

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UPDATED: 07 July 2022

An alternative rock band commissioned this painting, titled The Beautiful Infinite. This painting was used as the cover for their new album of the same name.

SOLD: This painting is a commissioned work and has been sold.

Customer Feedback

“It looks absolutely stunning. You’ve beautifully captured the concept we wanted.” — Steven Sisolak, MindSlicer, Bloomington, IN

About The Beautiful Infinite Painting

Title: The Beautiful Infinite
Size: 12″ w x 12″ h
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description:  A painting of a starry night with a silhouette of a man holding a balloon drifting away into the infinite beauty of the night sky and outer space. Hand-painted on gallery wrap stretched canvas and signed by fine artist Teresa Bernard. This painting is ready for display as is, or if you like, it can be framed to give it more of a finished look.

Artist Comments

The Beautiful Infinite is a commissioned painting that I did for the band members of MindSlicer, an alternative music group. They contacted me because they liked my artistic style and especially my space art paintings. The band wanted to know if I would be willing to create a painting for them to use as the cover for their upcoming album.

My Assignment

Compose a painting that emphasizes the infinity of space with thousands of visible stars and galaxies. It needed to be colorful and vibrant to balance the colder night sky with equal parts of warmth.

In addition, the composition needed to include the silhouette of a person standing on the bank of a river or the edge of a precipice. This person holds a balloon and is partially floating up into the air as if the balloon were trying to carry him off into the starry night sky.

Art Commissions

Teresa does commission paintings. If you have a special painting in mind and you want to make it a reality just like the band members of Mindslicer did, contact us for more information.

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UPDATED: 07 July 2022

A close-up of an orange tiger lily blossom in a painting. The composition focuses on the blossom’s center.

SOLD: This painting has been sold to an art buyer in California.

About this Painting of a Tiger Lily

Title: Tiger Lily Blossom Close-up
Size: 6″ w x 6″ h
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description:  A painting featuring the close-up of an orange tiger lily blossom. The composition zooms in on the center of the blossom. Because the image wraps around the edges of the canvas, this small painting will not require a frame. Hand-painted on stretched canvas and signed by visual artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

I bought two dozen small 6″ x 6″ canvases one day simply because they were on sale. Yes, I know impulse buying isn’t always a good thing because it can lead to buyer’s remorse. However, it worked out perfectly in this case. I’ve discovered that I enjoy doing smaller paintings like this one.

I needed to decide what I was going to paint on these small canvases now that I had them. Flowers were one of the ideas that came to mind. They seemed like a good choice because a single blossom would fit nicely on this size canvas. This Tiger Lily painting is one of several flower compositions I’ve done on these small canvases. The artwork depicts a close-up of the blossom’s center.

Your Feedback

♦ “It’s lovely. Technically tho, it’s a “small painting” not a miniature. A miniature must be 25 sq. inches or less and 1/6th scale. You should try doing something like that, you paint so well. There are international miniature shows in Baltimore and Florida each year along with others in England, etc.” — Carol Michaletz, The Art Gallery, MeWe

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UPDATED: 09 July 2022

Three giraffes are depicted in this oil painting. This piece is part of the Adventures in Africa series.

SOLD: This painting was a commissioned work and has been sold.

Customer Feedback

Hi Teresa, we received the paintings. They’re beautiful! Thank you very much. Our eldest will love the giraffes. — Glenn Callan, San Diego CA

About this Painting of Giraffes

Title: African Wildlife — Three Giraffes
Size: 18″ w x 24″ h
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description: A realistic composition of three giraffes on the open planes of the Serengeti. The adult giraffes are posing in a group with a blue sky overhead. Hand-painted and signed by Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

African Wildlife — Three Giraffes is one of several paintings I was commissioned to do for an art collector. My customer wanted to present this particular painting to his adult daughter as a Christmas gift since she loves giraffes.

I found this painting to be a challenging one since I had never painted giraffes before. Before putting my paintbrush to the canvas, I gave a lot of thought to how I would approach it. It required studying giraffes from every possible angle, paying special attention to their spots if you want to call them spots, that is. They are more like splotches. I observed that no two giraffes are identical in their “spots.” I also paid attention to the color of their splotches. Even though the giraffes are similar in color, I wanted each one to stand out, so I made the brown splotches slightly different in color for each giraffe.

After the painting was completed and delivered to my client’s home, he contacted me to tell me how much his daughter loved it.

Other Paintings in The Adventures in Africa Series

The giraffe painting shown above is one of five African-themed paintings commissioned by an art collector. The following links will take you to the other paintings in this commissioned group.

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UPDATED: 26 July 2022

A leopard is depicted in this African wildlife painting. This piece is part of the Adventures in Africa series.

SOLD: This painting is a commission and has been sold to an art collector in San Diego, CA.

About this Painting of The African Leopard

Title: African Wildlife — Leopard
Size: 18″ x 24″
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description: A realistic African wildlife portrait of the leopard. The leopard is sitting in front of a camouflaged background. This painting is hand-painted on gallery wrap stretched canvas and signed by artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

An art collector who is passionate about Africa commissioned this wildlife painting of a leopard. He wanted me to create a portrait of a leopard for his personal collection of African art. I composed this artwork using a reference photo provided by my client. It’s one of five paintings he commissioned from me. However, before I began working on this painting, I did some research about leopards. Here is a little of what I learned about this big cat.

About Leopards

Leopards are graceful and powerful big cats closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China. They easily adapt to a wide variety of habitats, altitudes, and temperatures, from high mountains to deserts to rainforests. The largest of the species are named after the regions where they’re found, like the North African leopard and the Persian leopard. These big cats have a varied diet and enjoy different kinds of grub. They will eat bugs, fish, antelope, monkeys, rodents, deer; pretty much any prey that is available!

Other Paintings in The Adventures in Africa Series

An art collector commissioned five African-themed paintings, including the leopard painting shown above. The links below will take you to the other paintings in this commissioned series.

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UPDATED: 26 July 2022

A waterfall painting of Zimbabwe’s magnificent Victoria Falls. This piece is from the Adventures in Africa series.

SOLD: This painting is a commission and has been sold to an art buyer in San Diego, CA.

About this Painting of Victoria Falls

Title: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Size: 30″ x 24″
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description: A realistic waterfall painting of the famous Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. This painting is composed by hand on quality stretched canvas and is signed by American artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

Victoria Falls is the third one in a series of five paintings about Africa that I was commissioned to paint. It resides with others in a private art collection owned by a couple from San Diego, California.

This painting was both fun and challenging to do. Water isn’t an easy subject to paint. Yet, looking at this painting, the viewer senses the movement and power of these mighty falls; all that raw power being unleashed as a myriad of gallons of water coming over the falls crashing downward. I feel successful in conveying that message.

Some Interesting Facts About Victoria Falls

Often when I’m commissioned to do a painting for a client, I like to research the subject that the painting is to be. I find out some pretty interesting stuff that way. Here are some interesting things I discovered about Victoria Falls.

• • Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is considered the world’s largest waterfall. The falls are located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Every year tourists from around the world trek to the falls to experience its magnificence and wonder.
  • The falls were named after Queen Victoria of Great Britain by a Scottish missionary. However, the local tribes would call the waterfall Mosi-o-Tunya, which translates as “the smoke that thunders” because of its noise and water splashes. The noise Victoria Falls makes can be heard 24 miles away. Spray and mist from the falling water rise to over 1,300 feet high and can be seen from 31 miles away.
  • Opposite the waterfall is a basalt rock entirely covered with tropical forest. That forest’s ecosystem depends on this waterfall.
  • The functions of the falls are not limited only to being an attraction for millions of tourists; it is also very important economically. For example, this waterfall supplies energy to several cities in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Other Paintings in The Adventures in Africa Series

The waterfall painting above is one of five African paintings commissioned by an art buyer. The links below take you to the other paintings in this commissioned collection.

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UPDATED: 26 July 2022

A painting of Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the African plains. This piece is part of the Adventures in Africa series.

SOLD: This painting is a commission and has been sold to an art collector in California.

About this Painting of Mount Kilimanjaro

Title: Mount Kilimanjaro Rising
Size: 30″ x 24″
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description: A realistic African landscape painting of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania rising above the planes of Africa. This composition is hand-painted on quality gallery wrap stretched canvas and is signed by fine artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

This painting is named “Mount Kilimanjaro Rising.” Originally, I planned to call it “Mount Kilimanjaro Rising Above The Serengeti,” after the lyrics of a popular Toto song, “Africa.” This is how it goes…

“…As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti…”

I used to love that song as a teen, and I still do. However, as I began my research on Africa, specifically Mount Kilimanjaro, I discovered that it is not located in the Serengeti, a vast nature reserve and safari destination. Instead, Kilimanjaro is located several hundred miles away in Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. So I decided to call this piece Mount Kilimanjaro Rising, which I believe is a more appropriate title.

Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak and is snow-capped year-round. As one observes this painting, the viewer has the sense the mountain is floating above the clouds.

This particular work of art isn’t the first time I’ve painted this splendid mountain. I was also commissioned to paint it several years ago from a photograph taken by my customer (not the same one as this painting) while they were on a hiking expedition up Kilimanjaro’s north face. That painting is called “Scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro.” Follow the link to see it.

After researching and creating all of these artworks of Africa, I find myself wanting to explore the African continent on my next vacation. I love to travel and see what all the world has to show me! When I’m asked where my favorite travel destination is, my reply is always “anywhere I’ve never been  before!”

For more information about this famous mountain see this website about Kilimanjaro National Park.

Other Paintings in The Adventures in Africa Series

Mount Kilimanjaro Rising shown above is one of five commissioned paintings by a private art buyer in San Diego, CA. The following links are to the other paintings in this commissioned series.

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UPDATED: 26 July 2022

An oil painting of the African elephant on canvas. This artwork is part of the Adventures in Africa series.

SOLD: This painting was commissioned and sold to a California art collector.

About this African Elephant Oil Painting

Title: African Elephant on The Serengeti
Size: 18″ x 24″
Support: Gallery Wrap Stretched Canvas
Description: This realistic style painting depicts an African bull elephant on the Serengeti, a wildlife preserve and safari destination. This painting is hand-painted on quality gallery wrap stretched canvas and signed by American fine artist Teresa Bernard.

Customer Feedback

Teresa, our favorite elephant just arrived. My wife and I absolutely love it. So much more special in person. Fantastic! We can hardly wait to see the next two. Thanks again. — Glenn Callan, San Diego CA

Artist Comments

This African elephant painting is the first one of five commission paintings I painted for a client who lives in San Diego, California. He first contacted me about another elephant painting that I had painted several years back called Raging African Elephant. Since that one had already sold, he commissioned me to do the one above. While I was working on this painting, this same client commissioned more paintings of Africa.

Some Interesting Facts About African Elephants

• • The word “elephant” comes from the Greek word “elephas,” meaning “ivory.”
  • Elephants are the largest of all land animals and have an average life span of 50 to 70 years. There are only two distinct types of elephants — African and Asian. Of these two varieties, African elephants are the largest. The African variety has larger ears than its Asian cousin. Their ears look like the African continent and are used to radiate heat away from their body. Asian elephant ears are smaller and rounded.
  • African elephants prefer to stay in herds of 12 to 20, and most of them live in the Savannah. Both the male and female African elephants grow tusks. They can grow to more than 12 feet tall and weigh up to about 7 tons (14,000 pounds).
  • Males are called bulls, females are cows, and a baby is called a calf. When a calf is born, it can weigh 200 pounds and stand 3 feet tall. Gestation is about 22 months. The females are highly social and take excellent care of their offspring.

Other Paintings in The Adventures in Africa Series

African Elephant On The Serengeti shown above is one of five paintings commissioned by a private art buyer in San Diego, CA. The links below take you to the other paintings in this commissioned series.

Your Feedback

♦ “Excellent realism! Looks like a photo! As an amateur sketcher, I can appreciate the exquisite attention to detail…indeed, it is worthy of the title; ‘fine art'” — Dann T Mann, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, MeWe

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UPDATED: 26 July 2022

A nighttime painting of the Delicate Arch formation in Utah’s Arches National Park.

SOLD: This painting has been sold to a private art collector in Minnesota.

Customer Feedback

Hi Teresa, I received the painting today. I love it. It’s beautiful. My husband and I have a couple of other paintings by you. We love your work. — N. Schiller, Apple Valley, MN

About this Painting of Delicate Arch

Title: Night Sky Over Delicate Arch
Size: 6″ w x 6″ h
Support: Gallery wrap stretched canvas
Description:  An original oil painting of the Delicate Arch formation located inside Arches National Park, Utah. Its nighttime setting includes the vastness of outer space as a backdrop for the arch.

This painting does not require framing because it is created on gallery wrap canvas, which allows the artist to paint around the edges. Hand-painted and signed by artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

Delicate Arch is depicted against a night sky in this painting. It is a natural geological formation inside Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. The arch stands 65 feet tall and spans 45 feet wide, and is the park’s largest free-standing arch. It is the most visited of all the 2000 geological formations within the park and receives visitors worldwide. The arch has gone by many names over the years, including “Cowboy’s Chaps,” “Schoolmarms Bloomer’s,” and “Old Maid’s Bloomers,” as well as the more mundane “Salt Wash Arch.” In 1934, the arch was given the name “Delicate.”

Delicate Arch was formed by a gradual wearing away of the sandstone by weathering and erosion. The other arches in the park were formed in the same manner. It is the most famous of all the arches in the national park and has become a symbolic icon for Utah.

You can find more information about the arch by visiting this website.

Anyone who has visited this national park would probably agree it looks like the terrain of some faraway planet. I had the opportunity to visit this marvelous park in my younger days, and it was a fascinating place that I want to visit again someday.

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UPDATED: 27 July 2022

An original oil painting depicting the historic event of Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s first walk on the moon’s surface.

SOLD: This painting has been sold to an art buyer in Pennsylvania.

Customer Feedback

Hi Teresa! We love our new painting! We wanted you to see it framed and hanging in our home. We love it. — The Engles, Harrisburg, PA

About this First Lunar Walk Painting

Title: First Man on The Moon
Size: 24″ w x 18″ h
Support: Gallery wrap stretched canvas
Description: A lunar landscape painting depicting the first man on the moon. This painting is a tribute to Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the surface of the moon.

This astronaut painting doesn’t need a frame because it is painted on gallery wrap stretched canvas and the composition extends around the edges of the canvas. Hand-painted and signed by fine artist Teresa Bernard.

Artist Comments

The First Man on the Moon painting is a tribute to American Astronaut Neil Armstrong.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to land a spacecraft on the moon. However, it was Armstrong who took that first step onto its surface. A third crew member, Michael Collins, was alone orbiting Earth’s Moon in the Command Module Columbia awaiting their return.

Neil Armstrong was the commander of the Apollo 11 lunar mission. In this historic mission, Armstrong became a global hero the instant he made that “one giant leap for mankind” with a small step onto the moon’s surface. The crew of Columbia took a TV camera with them so the world could watch as they spent about 2 hours on the lunar surface collecting soil samples and conducting a few experiments. While they were there, Armstrong and Aldrin took photographs, unveiled a plaque to commemorate their flight, and planted the United States flag.

I was a young girl the day Armstrong walked on the moon, and I don’t remember much about it except for watching the footage on TV. From that day forward, he was one of my heroes and an inspiration to me.

Neil Armstrong passed away on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82. This painting was completed just a few months before his death.

About The U.S. Flag “Waving On The Moon”

An admirer of this painting asked about the flag. He wanted to know why it appears to be waving since  “… the flag would be straight and flat in space because there isn’t any wind. ”

I replied, “Yes, you are correct, and I had considered that when I was composing this painting.” I did some research on the matter before I started my work. This is what I discovered:

• • The NASA photo I used as a reference photo has ripples in the flag.
  • The flag pole itself has a crossbar at the top, which prevents the flag from drooping down.
  • Armstrong used a twisting motion to plant the flag pole into the ground causing the flag to wave back and forth. And since there is low gravity on the moon, what is set in motion tends to stay in motion for a very long time. When the photo was snapped, this created the impression the flag was blowing in the wind.

You can read more about Astronaut Neil Armstrong on NASA’s website: Neil A. Armstrong.

To find out more about the Apollo 11 mission, visit NASA’s website: Apollo 11 – First Footprint on the Moon.

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UPDATED: 27 July 2022