About Brenda
I'm an oil painter, a Certified Ross Instructor, and the owner of Geek Brush Studio in Chelsea, Michigan. Oils are my home base, including landscapes, florals, and wildlife, but I also work in watercolors, charcoal, and mixed media. I like following the paint wherever it wants to go.
I didn't follow a straight path to get here. I grew up in North Liberty, Indiana, worked in my family's flower shop as a teenager, and eventually made my way to Eastern Michigan University, where I earned a degree in English. I spent years in administrative roles before landing at Washtenaw Community College as an English composition instructor, a position I held for over seven years.
Painting found me sideways. During the pandemic, I started leading painting sessions over Zoom for family and friends as an excuse to stay connected when the world felt very small. What I didn't expect was how much the act of painting itself would change me. The quiet focus, the permission to make mistakes, and the surprise of watching something take shape under your hands did something I hadn't experienced in a classroom.
I got serious. I traveled to Muncie, Indiana, to earn my certification in the Bob Ross wet-on-wet oil painting technique at the original studio where The Joy of Painting was filmed. In 2022, I founded Geek Brush Studio. It started as a mobile operation, moved to a basement space on Main Street, and now operates in a street-level storefront at 108 East Middle Street in downtown Chelsea.
The studio is a reflection of what I believe: that art is for everyone, that creating something with your hands is genuinely good for your mental health, and that "geek culture" and fine art aren't opposites but rather neighbors. I paint Hyrule landscapes with the same oils and techniques as a mountain meadow, and my students do too.
Beyond the studio, I volunteer on the Sounds & Sights Festival committee, where I chair the Main Street Masterpiece competition, the annual public vote on artwork in the Chelsea Art Alley. I also created and curate the Chelsea Art Alley itself, a 24/7 outdoor gallery in the pedestrian corridor behind the studio. Chelsea has always been an arts town. I'm just trying to make it a little more so.