Beatrice Berner is a Swiss painter whose life and work are guided by a deep connection to color, intuition, and inner stillness. Born in Switzerland in 1958, she has developed an artistic path that blends technical knowledge, spiritual sensitivity, and a lifelong fascination with the emotional power of color. For her, painting is far more than a visual practice. It is a way of being, a way of listening inwardly, and a way of bringing beauty and peace into the world.
A Childhood Vision That Shaped a Life
One of the most meaningful origins of Beatrice Berner’s artistic journey lies in a dream she had as a little girl. In this dream, she walked through a large forest and arrived at a clearing with a big tree. At the foot of the tree, partly covered with earth, she discovered a wooden treasure chest. Curious and excited, she dug it out and opened it. Inside were gemstones of every color, shining and sparkling in a mesmerizing way. She felt a sense of absolute bliss.
In the dream, she heard words that stayed with her for life. The message was that this was her wealth and that colors would be her friends. She also heard that she would spread beauty and peace. When she woke up, the feeling of bliss remained, and the sparkle of colors felt deeply imprinted in her soul. From that time on, painting became a natural part of her life. This early vision still resonates in her work today, where color carries emotional and almost spiritual meaning.
Education and Artistic Development
Beatrice Berner’s path includes both educational training and artistic study. She attended a teacher training college, which later supported her ability to share knowledge and guide others creatively. Her sensitivity to color led her to study color consulting, deepening her understanding of how colors influence mood, perception, and atmosphere.
She also took painting lessons with Murielle Argoud and studied at the Assenza Malschule, the Visual Art School in Basel. Over many years, she explored a wide range of techniques and mediums. She worked with watercolor, silk painting, and oil painting before eventually focusing mainly on acrylic painting from 2005 onward.
This broad experience gave her the freedom to choose materials based on expression rather than limitation. Acrylics, with their versatility and layering potential, became especially suited to her intuitive and process driven style.
Life in Rheinfelden
Beatrice Berner lives and works in the medieval town of Rheinfelden, close to Basel and located on the border between Switzerland and Germany. The historical atmosphere and human scale of the town provide a supportive environment for reflection and creativity. The surrounding region, with its natural beauty and cultural richness, subtly influences her artistic mood.
Rheinfelden is not only her home but also a place where she actively contributes to the artistic community. She is the initiator of “Offene Ateliers Rheinfelden,” or Open Studios Rheinfelden. This initiative allows visitors to enter artists’ studios, experience art where it is created, and engage directly with artists. It encourages dialogue and makes art accessible in a personal way.
Sharing Art Through Teaching
Teaching is an important dimension of Berner’s work. She has served as a course instructor for acrylic painting at Lachenmeier Farben in Bern and, since 2012, has run her own painting school in Rheinfelden. In her classes, she does more than teach technique. She invites students to trust their perception, to experiment, and to let go of fear.
Her philosophy is that everyone can paint. Art, in her view, is a human form of expression and self-discovery. Many of her students experience painting as relaxing and liberating, sometimes even transformative. By creating a supportive environment, she helps people reconnect with their creative instincts.
She also organizes ART PARTIES and team events where painting becomes a shared activity. These events focus on enjoyment, connection, and the experience of creating without pressure. Painting in a group can open new perspectives and reduce the fear of making mistakes.
Painting as Inner Practice
For Beatrice Berner, painting is closely connected to meditation and self awareness. She sees it as an opportunity to become still and to reconnect with her inner world. The canvas becomes a space where thoughts can quiet down and feelings can take form through color and gesture.
Her painting process often begins in a very spontaneous and energetic way. She starts with a strong need for color, applying paint freely and sometimes chaotically. Layers are added, scraped away, reworked, and transformed. Gradually, a sense of harmony emerges. What begins as intensity evolves toward calm and balance.
This movement from chaos to order reflects life itself. In her work, she can experience freedom and adventure, but also silence and contemplation. The act of painting becomes like breathing, a rhythm of expansion and release.
Meaningful Materials
Berner uses a variety of materials that add depth and symbolism to her work. Alongside acrylic paints and chalks, she incorporates homemade earth pigments and ashes from Vedic fire rituals. These elements connect her paintings to nature and to ritual traditions associated with transformation and renewal.
Earth pigments carry the memory of the landscape. They root the artwork in something ancient and tangible. The ashes from fire rituals suggest change, purification, and the cycle of creation. By integrating such materials, she gives her paintings an additional layer of meaning beyond the purely visual.
“Yellow Flower” and the Language of Color
A notable example of her approach is the work “Yellow Flower,” measuring 70 by 100 centimeters. Created with acrylic, earth pigments, and ashes from a Vedic fire ritual, the painting reflects her deep relationship with color. Yellow often evokes light, warmth, and vitality, and in her hands it becomes a vehicle for emotion and presence.
Berner typically begins her works in an abstract way, focusing purely on color relationships. During the process, forms may emerge that feel like landscapes or flowers. These are not planned in a strict sense but grow organically out of the interaction between materials, movement, and intuition.
“Yellow Flower” can be seen as an echo of her childhood dream, where colors appeared like precious gems. It captures a sense of radiance and quiet joy, inviting viewers to feel rather than analyze.
A Lifelong Dialogue With Color
At the center of Beatrice Berner’s art is her enduring dialogue with color. Her goal is to relive and share the bliss she once experienced in her dream. Each painting is an exploration and an offering, a way to communicate beyond words.
Through exhibitions in Switzerland, her teaching, her community initiatives, and her personal practice, she continues to bring color into people’s lives in meaningful ways. Her work encourages slowing down, sensing more deeply, and allowing beauty to have an effect.
Her artistic journey shows that color can be a language of the soul. It can comfort, energize, and connect. In Beatrice Berner’s world, painting is not only about creating images. It is about creating moments of harmony, presence, and quiet happiness that linger in those who experience her art.
