Yvonne Bernard was born in 1943 in Kingston, Jamaica. She and her siblings were raised by a doting grandmother,after her parents had moved to the United States; but when her grandmother passed away in 1960, Yvonne's parents sent for their children to join them in Chicago. Yvonne met and married a young man whom she met in Hyde Park's thriving West Indian community. While settling into her role as a wife and mother, Yvonne began to explore many avenues of creativity—some out of necessity and some out of sheer curiosity.In 2000, Yvonne found her eyesight was deteriorating and, after many invasive surgeries for glaucoma, she decided to return to a medium she had always loved: oil painting.

Though never having received any formal training in this area, the works of the Renaissance period had always been of great interest to her.Yvonne began studying Asian ink painting from the world renowned Kean Sea Park in 2004. Today, she is a member of the Seniors Artist Network and the Hyde Park Art League. Yvonne draws her inspiration from her family members as well as her travels around the world. Set in the Old World era, which produced such greats as Whistler, Cezanne, and Van Eyck, most of her oil works are inspired by and named after her husband, children, siblings, nieces, and nephews.