Kathleen Bernard was born in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, the fourth child in a military family. Because her father was in the US Army, her family moved around during her childhood, which took her first to Michigan (her parents' home), then to Japan and finally to the Panama Canal Zone, where she lived until 1976. There she studied art in Junior High and High school under the direction of Al Sprague, an artist internationally known for his Panamanian-themed pieces. She received an international Penn Women’s scholarship to study art in the Canal Zone College, where she studied for two years. In 1976 she moved to the United States and began working as a picture framer. During this time, she also created and sold abstract acrylic paintings, some of which can still be seen in Houston. After she left her job to raise her three children, she took up pottery for several years. In 1995, she moved to Bellville and volunteered to teach art to students both in the public school and, later, in Faith Academy. She began studying watercolor in 1997 at the Glassell School of Art in Houston where she studied under Arthur Turner, renowned watercolorist. Kathleen believes that art should positively enhance your life; the creation of the art is half of the process, but no piece has fulfilled its purpose until it is shared with others. She also believes in creating art which exemplifies and magnifies the good and beautiful parts of life.    

Kathleen now paints and teaches at her art gallery & studio,  located on the square in downtown Bellville, Texas, in the heart of bluebonnet country.  “Holland St Gallery” 14 N Holland St