Growing up in the Pacific Northwest left a lasting influence on Brenda’s work, inspiring the texture and atmosphere that define her style. Blending impressionistic techniques with contemporary abstraction, she works in oil and cold wax, building layered, tactile surfaces with depth and a soft, matte finish. The process of layering and excavating reveals traces of what came before, creating a sense of memory and presence.

In the early 1990s, while living in San Diego, Brenda revisited her early darkroom roots and built a photography business that lasted more than a decade. Her focus on natural light, shadow, contrast, and texture in black-and-white imagery strengthened her understanding of composition and form. Experimenting with photographic oils introduced color and eventually led her to oil painting and cold wax.

After returning to the Pacific Northwest she found renewed inspiration and confidence in sharing her evolving work.

Her subjects often return to vessels, landscapes, abstracted figures, and simple still lifes—each exploring vulnerability, memory, and the emotional depth of everyday life.