Bernice van Zyl specialises in oil paintings and her work ranges from murals, portraits, wildlife, and family paintings. She says she loves everything to do with wildlife and conservation. “I visit schools to teach children how to handle reptiles,” she told the Herald. The young mother of two boys, Logan and Liam, says she spent the first eight years of her life in Cape Town but grew up in Pretoria.

She also lived in All Days before moving to Phalaborwa in 2018. She is married to Gustav van Zyl, a pastor at the Phalaborwa Dutch Reformed Church. The pair has transferred their love for wildlife to their children. As a result, they have many pets in their houses such as snakes, reptiles, and birds.

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She says her love for animals comes from her father who had a farm in Nelspruit which they visited over weekends and where she was taught animal behaviour and body language. When she is not busy with her art, she home-schools their eldest son, Logan, who has autism. She says he is a clever boy who loves planets and space, while her youngest, Liam, loves animals and is also a budding artist.

On Fridays she hosts art training sessions at the church where she teaches painting. For more information on her work, email her at bernice.vanzyl.za@gmail.com or Whatsapp her on 082 697 2344.