2000 - Today
Bernal celebrates her six decades as an artist with various exhibitions of new work. The series “In Search of a Trade,” based on work by George de La Tour juxtapozed with indigenous and contemporary themes.
“The image of the girl came in the mail on an advertisement for a magazine. From there I investigated the ‘daytime’ work of de La Tour, traveling to France to see the originals in the Louvre”
She continued using Photoshop and other digital media using evolving techniques. Unconstrained by the cost of film and the physical limits of analog photography, digital methods allowed her explore new themes through experimentation and more frequent printing. The newly available desktop scanner allowed her to work on digital collages.
She joined the Digital Arts Club in Berkeley City College and took classes in printmaking at Laney College in Oakland.
“The frequent use of a camera brings with it a difficult selection of images. Being a good editor is just as important as being a good photographer.”