Brenda York

As far back as I can remember, I have drawn and painted faces. In fact, there is much evidence pointing to the fact that I spent an inordinate amount of time drawing Sister Mary Francis in 3rd Grade instead of paying attention to her in math class.

All my paintings start out as tiny little sketches in my Moleskine sketchbook. I do tons of 2” thumbnail sketches every week, so when it’s studio time I always have plenty of starter ideas to work with. All of my paintings come from my imagination but I find plenty of inspiration in real life—it’s stranger than fiction!

My most recent work is acrylic, collage and graphite and my color choices are mostly instinctual. I almost always start with complementary colors—I love the tension that occurs with colors that are opposites on the color wheel. In the final stages of a painting, I will try to repeat colors and I often use glazes to pull together a composition and create harmony. I always paint on black gessoed canvas—color is just so much more vibrant and rich than painting on a white surface.

And the math that I daydreamed through in 3rd Grade now shows up in my paintings as “pretend equations” and symbols scratched into the backgrounds or drawn on top of the paint. Sister Mary Franci...

Brenda York has over 30 years of experience in the visual arts. She graduated from Arizona State University with a BFA in design and painting and has continued her education at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, La Jolla Athenaeum, and Idyllwild Arts. She has also taught painting and marketing for visual artists in Southern California.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018
New Work, Ashton Gallery, San Diego, CA
2013
Lovers And Strangers, Idyll Awhile Gallery, Idyllwild, CA
2012
Fairy Tales And Other Lies, Via Fine Art, San Diego, CA
2011
Fairy Tales v2, Distinction Gallery, Escondido, CA
2010
Long Story Short, Museum of the Living Artist, San Diego, CA
New Work, Cygnet Gallery, San Diego, CA
2009
Heads Above, Seacrest Village Gallery, Encinitas, CA
2007
Moonstruck Chronicles, Indigo Gallery, San Diego, CA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024
Members’ Exhibit, Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Healdsburg, CA
2023
2023 Salon, Triton Museum Of Art, Santa Clara, CA, 2nd Place Mixed Media
Bright Side, Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Synchronicity, SIP Art Space, San Marcos, CA
2022
Turning Tides, BFree Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Humanity, ArtFluent, Online
2021
NOW, Oceanside Museum Of Art, Oceanside, CA
Obsessions, Ashton Gallery, San Diego, CA
Deck The Walls, Ashton Gallery, San Diego, CA
2020
20/20, Twenty Women Of Vision, Fresh Paint Gallery, La Jolla, CA
2019
New Currencies, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA
Tap Exhibit, Ashton Gallery, San Diego, CA
2018
Home & Harvest, Ashton Gallery, San Diego, CA, First Place
Seventeen on Being Seve...