Check out Bernadette Rynish’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bernadette Rynish.

Bernadette, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I cannot remember a time in my life when art wasn’t something I did. Being creative has been part of who I am since day one. I come from a pretty creative family. Among my closest relatives, we have very talented visual artists, builders, makers, rock musicians, photographers, classical musicians and we even have an opera singer. Needless to say, doing your creative thing has always been encouraged and celebrated.
As a kid, I would spend hours drawing, coloring or reading; which worked out nicely for my young single mother. I could be easily and simply entertained. I was born and grew up in Tucson. When I was 4, my mom and I expanded our family, and we married my dad. He still wishes me a happy anniversary 40 years later because that 4-year-old was sure she was getting married too. Later on, my parents gave a brother and sister for my 5th and 6th birthdays. Getting siblings at that age is pretty cool because you know, instant fan club or captive audience; you decide.

I’ve been living in Arizona for my whole life. I don’t see that changing because I love it here. I went to school here doing and studying art the whole time. I learned that I have a passion for printmaking and painting while attending art school at the University of Arizona. During my school years, I got to experiment with ceramics, painting, drawing, you name it. I tried it, and I liked it all. These days I have mainly been painting with watercolor or acrylic, and I am getting back to printmaking.

I work in the home studio that I share with my talented daughter while my wonderful husband and amazing son do their creative thing in their shop just outside the studio door. Next to art, being an exceptional wife and mother are at the top of my list, and I love that they share similar passions for getting expressive and creating. Having an understanding and encouraging team in your corner is huge and I credit a lot of my recent work to having that support. I am forever inspired by them and the world around me.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I strive to encourage everyone to share their passion and to look for inspiration in everything they do. The art I make is constantly evolving because I know it is important to continually be challenged and grow. The one thing I always push to include in my work is emotion. I use art to move feelings for myself and my viewers. My recent work is filled with my love for the desert that I live in. I have been trying to capture the beauty and peace of the landscape, which is funny because I would never consider myself a landscape artist but I truly believe that beauty is found everywhere.

Art is so important to me and such a huge part of my life that I think it is important to include things from my heritage, lifestyle, and home. I love my Mexican folk art and the cultural traditions of my heritage; both have been influential in the majority of my work. These influences are seeing in everything from subject matter to the colors I choose. I am by nature a busy bee, and constantly on the go, doing something, thinking about one thing or another, and generally in constant motion. I spend time outdoors in order to maintain balance and sanity, sometimes I go for a run, or hike sometimes I garden but my one of my most favorite things to do is go camping. I love to get out and camp with my family, and I find some of my best ideas come from when I am unplugged and doing the simple things I love. I always find peace and inspiration there.

Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
I think being an artist is pretty easy, but making any sort of good living by making art it is very hard. I think it is becoming harder to become and stay relevant because much of the world wants things fast, loves them to be trendy and feels the need to be instantly gratified. On the flip side of that coin, I find that recently there are more avenues for artists to get noticed because media is so easily accessed. It takes less than a minute to put yourself out there in a post on social media. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you are going to get noticed right away, we all still have to put in the work and artists have to work hard to stay true to what their vision is. I think cities can provide affordable workspaces, venues, and feature lots of local artists in events or public spaces. I love how much art has been incorporated in and around the city recently. Using art on things like the power boxes around Tempe makes them more attractive, adding amazing sculptures to medians in our roadways in Mesa and Tempe and incorporating artwork on the freeways in Phoenix is a great way to allow artists to be seen by many and it reminds everyone how important art is in everyone’s everyday life. And I think experiencing art everyday encourages artists to keep doing what they are passionate about because it’s out there for everyone and not someplace you have to seek out. It is more natural and not curated in a gallery or museum.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I mainly show off my work on:
Instagram @bz.studios
My website https://www.belzanstudios.com/gallery
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BelZanStudios 

Contact Info:

• Address: I am in Tempe, AZ
• Website: https://www.belzanstudios.com
• Phone: 5204402100
• Email: belzanstudios@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bz.studios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belzanstudios
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bee_M_Cee

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.