Biography
Being included when her mother taught outdoor sketching classes was the beginning of Brenda’s lifelong love of exploring and depicting nature. Her mother was an artist and art teacher, initiating her art education from early childhood. “She introduced me to looking at the world with the eyes of an artist, noticing colors and teaching me drawing skills,” Howell relates.
In college Brenda’s interests were wide-ranging, leading to a B.A. in Sociology. Studying art at various institutions, she still continues the adventure. Enjoying a career in Illustration, Geological Drafting, and Graphic Design, she moved to the South Rim of Grand Canyon and worked there for several years in order to further explore her muse. Hiking the trails, sketching, and observing the seasons was the experience of a lifetime. Becoming attuned to the natural rhythms of the Canyon’s changing light and atmospheric nuances helped develop her intimate knowledge of Southwestern landscapes. Howell left Grand Canyon in 2003 to pursue painting full time.
Brenda is nationally known for her paintings, winning awards from Oil Painters of America, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, American Women Artists, Salon International, and Art Renewal Center. She was invited for a solo show at Pearce Western Art Museum in Texas and was also chosen by the National Park Service as Artist-in-Residence at Badlands National Park. She was featured in Southwest Art magazine’s Artist to Watch in 2013.
Of her work, she says “When I paint out in nature, I am there to learn. I approach the experience with a sense of wonder. I want the feeling, excitement, and love of a place to come through in my paintings, whether outdoors or in the studio.” Maintaining a home and studio in Northern New Mexico amongst rocky cliffs, Howell is represented by Huey’s Fine Art in Santa Fe.
