About the Artist:

I feel lucky to have been born into a family of artists, and to have received training from an early age by my father, Don Berger (renowned for his large, impactful floral oil paintings, exhibiting internationally). My paternal great-uncle Edgar Rupprecht was an artist and professor at the Art Institute of Chicago. My maternal grandmother also painted extensively in oils.

Raised in the interior of British Columbia, I have divided my life between Canada and England. I moved to Oxford in 1991 and began a life-long passion to study Britain's history and depict it through art. Sources of inspiration were classical stone architecture and the rich history represented in centuries of paintings. Long hours were spent in many of Britain's art galleries, including London's Tate and National Galleries, studying the works of painters such as JMW Turner, John Singer Sargent and JW Waterhouse. The latter's style of depicting mythical and literary subjects in naturalistic detail heavily influenced my style of art.

An important movement that these artists initiated was to get painters out of the studio and back into nature, as the best way to successfully depict the natural world in their art. I therefore spent endless and happy hours sketching and painting in the botanical gardens of Oxford, the hills of Wales, Gloucestershire and Cumbria. Of particular interest were the ancient pre-Christian holy sites, stone circles and burial dolmens.

Subsequent to my father's early instruction, I have since used the classical tradition of copying the Masters to develop my training. Examples such as Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott and John Singer Sargent's Fumée D'Ambre Gris unlocked studies in composition, the Golden Mean and the use of colour. I have attempted to translate these observations into my original oil works.

I am currently studying History of Art at UVic and am thankful to have some super profs who are inspiring me greatly.