Brenda Philips

While Brenda Philips has spent her life blazing her own trail as an artist, her predestination for creativity may have been set long before she was born. “In the 1980s, the French were renovating Giverny, the home and Garden of Claude Monet,” she says. “A lawyer called my aunt and told her they were researching his genealogy. My great grandmother’s name was Monet with a bloodline going back to the French Huguenots and the revolutionary war. We were confirmed to be Monet’s distant descendants.” In 1970, Brenda moved to St. Augustine from Fort Walton Beach to attend Flagler College. “In the late 90s, I studied at Florida School of the Arts, UNF for ceramics before coming back to Flagler to study sculpture and art history with Enzo Torcoletti,” she says. Also mentored by the late, great Florida painter, Emmett Fritz, Brenda has grown through the ranks to become one of St. Augustine’s most sought after oil painters. “In the early 2000s, I became active in local galleries and surrounding areas like Gainesville, Boca Grande, and Georgia,” she says. “I sold my paintings at art fairs in the plaza and other events around St. Augustine.” During the economic downturn of 2008, Brenda experienced a lull in the sales of her work. However, the economy eventually regained and the art industry recovered. “Original paintings are very popular again,” says Brenda. “It fills people’s souls to have art in their homes.” Brenda’s inspiration comes mostly from the natural world around her. “For years, I’ve walked at dawn to the marsh in my neighborhood bordering the Intracoastal Waterway. The sky, the clouds, and light radiate unique forms that most people never experience,” she says. “I like to create a fleeting moment in time.” A Plein Air Painter in her younger years, Brenda now spends most of her creative time in her studio. “My painting style is Impressionist Realism,” she says. “I try not to put every element in focus on the picture plane so the eye can move naturally around the canvas in harmony.” A celebrated local artist for nearly four decades, Brenda has developed a healthy local and global following. While creative grandeur has followed her bloodline for centuries, her artistic adeptness is better attributed to her own dedication and parental support. “My mom and dad nurtured my creativity long before we heard from the Giverny estate’s attorneys,” she says. “The link to Monet is more a historical side note. Though, it is always a compliment when somebody compares my work to his.” Today, Brenda is a longstanding and valued member of the High Tide Gallery family. “I joined in 2006 when it was called ‘Mullet Beach’,” she says. After a seven year hiatus, Brenda rejoined High Tide in 2019. The gallery’s recent move to St. George Street has been positive for her. “The large open space floods with light,” she says. Brenda is now solely focused on creating. “I think of myself as retired because I only show in one gallery,” she says. “I enjoy concentrating on my oil painting.” She closes with a quote from the great British artist, David Hockney. “I believe my next painting will be my best.”