We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Bernheisel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
I think that being creative, creating art isn’t always fun. I’ve had people say to me, it must be wonderful to do what you love. It is but it can be incredibly difficult, especially the days you go into the studio and you have no ideas or you’re feeling unsure of what you’re creating. When your art becomes your business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of hoping to create what people will love. That can take away the spontaneity and intuitiveness of the work. When I’m feeling like that, I take that day to just paint for me, what I want to paint, and my authentic style comes back. Sometimes a good studio clean up will do the trick but the point is that not every day will produce. It has helped me to accept that and be ok with it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work is, for the most part, colorful and expressive, energetic brushstrokes and lines. I love to paint big and use a variety of media paint, pastels, graphite, spray paint, inks. My work is always evolving and changing because I like to experiment and try new methods and types of media. I try to be as unique and authentic as possible. What I am most excited about lately is that I have a new studio that is outside of my home! It’s a wonderful bright large space, 900 sq feet, and is in a great part of West Palm Beach called the warehouse district. I’m looking forward to being open to the public and maybe hosting other artists for shows and other activities. A proud moment would be seeing my work in Serena & Lily, that was huge! I would say I am most proud of my ability to push through fear of not being good enough. I like to think of myself as a recovering perfectionist. I’ve learned to shoot for 85% and that there is beauty in imperfection.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love Palm Beach! I spent a lot of time here with my grandparents when I was growing up and always wanted to live in this area. Some of my favorite places to shop are the same places I used to go with my grandmother, The Church Mouse, Devonshire, Elephant’s Foot, so many great spots for vintage furniture along Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. The Via’s along Worth Ave are full of wonderful spots, Pizza Al Fresco is a favorite. The Norton Museum of Art then across the street to Hive, fabulous bakery cafe and shopping. And of course the Palm Beach Artist Collective gallery at Studio 1608!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
That’s a long list!! First would be the other artists I got to know from attending workshops when I was just beginning to explore abstract painting, which was 2016. They were all so encouraging of my work and helped me see that I could pursue this as a career, as well as free with advice on all aspects of the business. Some have become my good friends! Also, more recently would be the Palm Beach Artist Collective. I was fortunate enough to be asked to join as an original member in May 2022 and that has really helped my career more than anything. The collective is part of Artist Collective.org and Palm Beach is one of five cities in the collective, so we all benefit as part of the larger organization. Katie Barbatsuly, our director in Palm Beach, does a fabulous job of promoting our work locally and online.
Most importantly, my two daughters and my sister, they’ve always believed in my ability to be a professional artist, even when I didn’t!

Website: elizabethbernheisel.com

Instagram: @bethbernheiselart

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