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Every wall in the house features at least one vivid, surreal landscape. Vibrant flowers jump out against fiery red and soft peach back-grounds, contrasting with the rainy afternoon weather outside the home’s large, lake- front windows. Most of the pieces feature the same basic style, but for the artist, each of them holds an individual story.
Jeannette Berndsen, a Hernando, Florida artist, originally from Rozendaal, The Netherlands, gains inspiration from true life to paint the otherworldly landscapes called “graphic impressionism”.
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"Everything I see is an impression and I work it out in a graphic way. It is cheerful, positive, playful. This is my playground.” said Jeannette, gesturing to the art covering the walls of her in-home studio. “I play around with my fantasies.”
Fantasy may explain the whimsical style of her work, but all of it is grounded in reality.
She regularly enjoys painting works based on ideas people give her.
For last year’s “Taste of Inverness” festival, the city gave area artists a theme for which they would create something that would reperesent the festival. Since the theme was the 1930s, Berndsen created a portrait of people dancing the Charleston, with the people being represented by colorful S-shapes intertwined in the classic 1930s dance.
"I like challenges. They make me think a little, then it is fun making it.” she said. “What I do is work, but it is a passion,” she said.
Jeannette, who grew up in the Netherlands and returns regularly, said she and her husband fell in love with Citrus County Florida for its quiet and beauty, both of which she uses to her artistic advantage. “The nature is beautiful here. I can show my work anywhere. It doesn’t matter where I live.”
Indeed, Jeannette has works of art in all parts of the globe, from galleries in her native country to Sweden, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, USA, etc. One of her pieces was part of a contemporary art exhibit at the Caroussel du Louvre in Paris.
All of Jeannette ’s work is for sale, and she encourages people to visit her home to fully grasp the concept of art.
"I think you must see to know,” she said, noting that many of the paintings come to life in the dark, using a special layer of iridescent paint. “Put down the lights, put down the curtains and it’s just magical.”
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