Brenda Councill moved to Jacksonville in 1962, when she was six years old, and she grew up in Mandarin. She began painting at an early age when she was only seven she already had an exhibition of her paintings featured at the Jacksonville Museum of Arts and Sciences (now MOSH.) At 11 years of age she designed and supervised the installation of her first piece of outdoor sculpture. In 1976, her work appeared on NBC’s Today show in a Gene Shallit segment.
Brenda’s interest in historic preservation led to a series of award winning drawings featuring historic landmarks, including many in Mandarin. The late Charlie Brown praised the collection, saying “I have seen many, many pencil drawings in my long life, but never anything to compare with a magnificent drawing by Brenda Councill.” In the early 1980s, Brenda opened a studio to publish limited edition prints. In 1987 she opened a second studio in New York which was followed by a number of solo and group exhibitions displaying her paintings and sculpture. Corporate collectors of her art include AT&T, DuPont, British Airways and Credit Suisse.
Brenda currently resides in North Carolina, where she focuses on public art like large- scale murals, particularly domed ceilings, and sculpture. She created one of the South’s largest painted ceiling domes at the Core Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, North Carolina. That work drew the attention of Martha Stewart, who climbed the 100 feet of scaffolding to meet Ms. Councill. The mural was also featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Other of her massive murals may be found at Appalachian State University in North Carolina and Presbyterian College in South Carolina.
To learn more about Brenda’s current projects: www.councill.net