Bio

Since March 2020, Brenda has been going on daily walks through her neighborhood and nearby woods, giving treats to dogs and horses met along the way while taking lots of photographs of things she finds beautiful: the light through the trees and the overwhelming varieties of greens and blues. It was only recently that she started painting from these images in addition to her first artistic love, the figure. 
Before 2023, she taught at Cornish College of the Arts before entering the field of nonprofit leadership in 2000. From 2018 to 2022, Brenda served as part-time executive director for the Maple Valley Creative Arts Council, which provided her the fertile ground to bring a collaborative dream to life - Paint By Tunnels, a community mural program in partnership with the King County Department of Parks & Natural Resources and the City of Maple Valley, and the program’s inaugural mural artist. During this time, she also served on the City of Maple Valley’s Public Arts Commission which installed two major public art projects and several wrapped utility boxes. 

Born in 1967 and raised among engineers, this Southern California native defied generations of tradition by choosing Art. However, tinkering and problem-solving are in her blood and inherent in her work, personally and in the community. Brenda’s work can be found in private collections, journals, publications, and a tunnel on the Cedar to Green Rivers Trail in Maple Valley. She has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1999 and in Maple Valley Heights for fourteen years with her boat-building sweetie, Ike, and cat, Madison. When not in the studio, you can find her helping out in the boat shop (if not on the water!), working on perfecting her pie crust, or out in the woods.

CV

Upcoming:
  • July 20, 2024 - Newcastle Commons Art Fair
  • November 8-10 - Best Of The Northwest Fall Art Show
Shows & Exhibitions
2024
  • Best Of The Northwest Fall Art Show, Magnuson Park, Seattle
  • Newcastle Commons Art Fair, Newcastle, Washington
  • 15th Annual “Abstracts” Online Exhibition, Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery
  • All Things Considered Online Exhibit, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
2023 2022
  • ArtWalk Refresh, Group Show, Maple Valley, Washington
  • GEMS Juried Exhibit, King County Fair, Enumclaw, Washington
  • Hello Summer!, Juried Group Show, Gallery North, Edmonds, Washington
  • Maple Valley Arts Fest Juried Show, Maple Valley, Washington
2021
  • ​The Great Annual NW Art Exhibit, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, Washington
  • Maple Valley ArtWalk, Group Exhibit, Maple Valley, Washington
  • Juried Exhibition, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington
2020
  • Fourth Biennial Visual Impressions, Ryan James Fine Arts, Kirkland, Washington
  • Frolic, Shadow Lake Nature Preserve, Maple Valley, Washington
  • Maple Valley ArtWalk, Group Exhibit, Maple Valley, Washington
  • Juried Exhibition, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington; Kathleen Frugé-Brown, Juror
2019
  • Paint By Tunnels Mural, Cedar to Green Rivers Trail, Maple Valley, Washington
  • Juried Exhibition, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington; Suzanne Gardner, Juror
  • Maple Valley ArtWalk, Group Exhibit, Maple Valley, Washington
  • Group Exhibition, Lake Wilderness Lodge, Maple Valley, Washington
2018
  • Juried Exhibition, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington; Barbara Newton Benetti, Juror
  • Maple Valley ArtWalk, Group Exhibit, Maple Valley, Washington
  • Solo Exhibition, Maple Valley Creative Arts Council, Maple Valley, Washington​​
Honors & Awards
2023
  • Third Place, 6th Annual Women Artists Online International Juried Exhibit, Fusion Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • Second Place, 2023 Human Form And Figure, San Fernando Valley Arts & Cultural Center, Encino, California
  • Fourth Place, ​[Fusion Art] 8th Annual Waterscapes Online Juried Exhibition, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2022
  • First Place, GEMS, King County Fair, Enumclaw, Washington
2021
  • Best of Show, The Great Annual NW Art Exhibit, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, Washington; Elizabeth Pollie, Juror
  • Juror's Choice Best of Show Award, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington; Cory Peeke, Juror
2020
  • Juror's Choice Award, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington
2019
  • CPRS, Inc. Purchase Prize, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington​
2018
  • Juror's Choice Award, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington
  • CPRS, Inc. Purchase Prize, Maple Valley Arts Fest, Maple Valley, Washington​
Grants & Fellowships
2022
  • Artist's Relief Grant, 4 Culture, King County, Washington​
Public Art
2019
  • Mural Artist, Paint By Tunnels, a mural project on the Cedar To Green Rivers Trail in Maple Valley, Washington Project Lead and Artist
2018-2022
  • Project Manager, Paint By Tunnels, the Maple Valley Creative Arts Council's annual community mural project on the Cedar To Green Rivers Trail in Maple Valley, Washington
2018-2022
  • Commissioner, Public Arts Commission, City of Maple Valley, Maple Valley, Washington
Reviews|Articles|Features
2000
  • "CoCA's mixed bag," Matthew Kangas, The Seattle Times.
1999
  • "Banishing The Demons," The Argonaut, University of Idaho.
1997
  • "Women Artists Featured At New Gallery," The Argonaut, University of Idaho.
Academic Appointments - (Click here for Student Work)
1999-2000
  • Visiting Instructor, Cornish College Of The Arts, Seattle, Washington
1997-1999
  • Instructor, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
Education
  • MFA, University of Idaho
  • BFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • ​BA, California State Polytechnic University Pomona
  • Additional course work taken at the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California and at L'Academia de Bella Arti, Florence, Italy
Selected Public & Private Collections
  • Ted Lord & Chris Cooper Private Collection - Seattle, Washington
  • L'Academia de Bella Arti, Florence, Italy

Published Artworks

Ennui
Oil on muslin. 36"w x 50"h. 1998.
Cover image. 
"Once the Shore." Paul Yoon. Cover illustration. Sarabande Books. 2009
Untitled
Oil and charcoal on paper. 12"w x 14"h. 2000.
Cover image. 
"British Sociology Seen From Without And Within." Edited By A.H. Halsey And W.G. Runciman. Cover illustration. British Academy Publications. 2005.
Untitled
Ink on paper. 6"w x 4"h. 2001.
Cover image. ​"The Time Machine And The Invisible Man." H.G. Wells. Barnes & Noble Classics, New York. 2005.
Portrait of Lacan as a Young Man
Oil on canvas. 72"w x 72"h. 1998.
Illustration. Nouveau, Moderne Ou Contemporaine?. Marc-Olivier Dupin, Directeur General. Illustration. "L’ile Joyeuse," Journal Of The National Orchestra Of France. Spring 2000.
Untitled
Oil on canvas. 24"w x 36"h. 1998.
The Virginia Quarterly Review, Volume 81 – Number 4, University Of Virginia Press – Paintings selected to illustrate the following short stories: "Peacekeeper," By Alan Heathcock; "Smother," By Joyce Carol Oates; "Ina Grove," By R.T. Smith. 2005.

In The Community

Mid 2018, the City of Maple Valley hosted a For The Love Of Maple Valley event attended by community members. During this event, a group brainstormed the idea of creating murals in the five tunnels on the trail that runs through the City of Maple Valley. The idea was to create an annual community event. However, taking on five tunnels is a daunting task!

Located in the tunnel on the Cedar to Green Rivers Trail in Maple Valley under Witte Road just east of Maple Valley Black Diamond Highway, Brenda's 2019 mural speaks to the many nearby Arts organizations and businesses: Maple Valley Creative Arts Council, Dace's Rock 'N More Music Academy, Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, STEAMboat Studio, Voice In The Valley Music Studio, and From Page To Stage Theater Productions. Ms. Chrystie utilized the corrugated surface to depict letters of the alphabet in sound-wave form. The letters spell calls-to-action, when carried out in the tunnel, visitors experience echo and the amplification of sound.
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