Margret Bering, born and raised in Cologne, Germany, came to the United States in 1968. She studied tole painting for five years with Antoinette Cox in Carmel, California, where she lived for 24 years. Margret started painting watercolors in 1990. She took a painting to the local frame shop, and talked to the owner of the shop, who taught art at Monterey Peninsula College. He encouraged her to keep her unique style and not be influenced by teachers who might wish her to change her style.
Margret entered her first art contest in 1994. She was very disappointed to learn that she did not win a ribbon. As she walked out the door with her three paintings, the organizer ran after her and exclaimed that she had won the grand prize, an exhibition at city hall in Seaside, California. She sold her first painting during this exhibition, and many people encouraged her to continue painting in her original style.
The focus of Margret’s second exhibition, held in May, 1995 in Ueberlingen, Germany, was local historic houses. The paintings were very well received by the residents of the small towns surrounding Lake Constance, and Margret sold most of them.
Margret’s daughter purchased a historic home in Gillespie Park, a neighborhood in Sarasota Florida in 2000. The neighborhood association recruited Margret to paint two dozen homes which have been used in a neighborhood website (OGPNA.com), and in two versions of Gillespie Park fund raising calendars. Margret also painted two signs which are planted in the front yards of the Gillespie Park golden shovel and golden hammer award winners.
Margret currently resides in Sarasota, Florida and has residences in Versailles, France, and Bodman, Germany. She specializes in watercolors of historic homes, landscapes, gardens and cityscapes. She has been commissioned by many clients to paint their homes. Due to her European background, Margret especially loves to paint the homes of people who are passionate about historic houses and have put their energy into restoring these landmarks. She notes that the historic preservation programs in Germany, Italy, France, and the rest of Europe are very strong, and have resulted in cities with beautiful, impressive historic cores.
