![A studio with artwork hung up on the walls, an easel and other objects](https://bowarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_5660-Bernie-Clarkson-1-1-1920x688.jpg)
Studio holder at our Old Manor Park Library studio site Bernie finds inspiration from where she’s from.
I originally trained as a fashion designer and also taught but decided to retrain as a painter and completed a degree and Masters working mainly in oil paint on canvas. I love the materiality of oil and have recently begun to use oil pastels and charcoal as they allow me to work quickly.
![](http://bowarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_5713-Bernie-Clarkson-scaled.jpg)
My work was initially figurative and has evolved into landscapes, seascapes and the occasional abstracted figure and I’m very inspired by the north eastern coastline where I’m from.
– Bernie Clarkson