Krysta Bernhardt

Krysta Bernhardt is a multi-talented artist, educator, and publisher based in southeastern Pennsylvania, passionate about inspiring creativity in others. She creates art that explores themes of light and darkness, joy and despair, and the shared human experience.

 

Even as the world burns and the impermanent parts of us melt away, there still lives a small, colorful spark of gentle beauty.

The word 'Masquerade' written in stylized white text on a black background.

Portrait

Women spend so much of their lives trying to live up to unattainable standards of beauty, when underneath everything, we are all just a bag of bones.

Pencil

A pencil sketch of a woman's profile with half of her face as a normal portrait and the other half with a melting skull appearance, with red lipstick and detailed hair.

Sunshine In My Eyes

Honestly, I drew this during the first Trump administration and this is how I felt (and currently feel) the majority of the time. Even when the sun is shining, the weight of the world often feels like I am melting out of my own skin.

Pencil

A pencil drawing of a woman's profile with a skull overlay on her face, with flowing hair and melting features.
A man standing in front of a large pothole filled with water, with a work truck and road construction site in the background.
A mural of a large eye painted on a red brick wall with the words 'I CARE WHY' written below, with the 'Y' partially obscured.

The Walls Have Eyes

This piece is drawn from a reading of Orwell's 1984. In our ever more Orwellian society, with cameras basically attached to the ends of our arms, around the clock security cameras and Ring doorbells, it increasingly does feel like the walls have eyes.

36"W x 24"H Acrylic

A colorful painting of a person's face with eyes closed and mouth open, surrounded by yellow, orange, and brown daisies, with a bright sky in the background.

I Am in Them and That is Eternity

From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them, and that is eternity.” ― Edvard Munch

49.5 W x 37.5 H x 2" D (with frame) Acrylic