ABOUT THE ARTIST

As young as five years old, I wanted to be an artist. However, as an adult, it took me many years to allow myself that title. My aspirations have always been true and have come from a place deep inside that is not easily defined or illustrated in material terms. The practice of art itself is a means to understand and communicate with the world outside my internal thoughts and desires. I am fascinated by time and how we mark time’s passing through photography and the objects we accumulate or castoff. Equally, I am drawn to the natural world - the one that lives parallel and in spite of human presence. I collect memories even when they are not my own. Through found photographs, images taken with my own camera, or in paint, I try to call attention to what is discarded or mundane. Beauty is a construct that can be broken and renewed. Daydreaming and wandering is my natural state, and curiosity drives me to create.

I once had a talented student tell me that he was going to be a farmer when he finished with art school. Saddened at the thought of him abandoning his art, I asked why. He said, “I am always an artist even when I am not making art”. At times when I am stalled or stuck, I remember this. When I find myself smiling ear to ear, but reluctant to feel free, I remember my favorite photo instructor who stated so simply, “Tina, It is supposed to be fun.” ​

Much of my art in recent years was prompted by a love of riding my bicycle, wandering and taking photographs in the San Francisco Bay Area. The bicycle naturally became a tool for art making that fueled thousands of pictures, dozens of paintings and a greater sense of self. Lately, I have done more wandering on foot than on two wheels. Both methods of movement have provided endless opportunity for seeing the art in all things.  
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​I was born in Nashville TN, have a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute. A few years ago, I relocated from the East Bay to Marin and moved my art studio from Oakland to San Rafael. During this pandemic, I have let go of my painting space and have focused primarily on my photography. It has been endlessly gratifying. California is my adopted home state, and my perpetual muse. I live here with my husband, filmmaker Don Bernier, and a funny cat named Arbus.​​