Brenda Silva is a 4th generation Provincetown native, born to a Portuguese fishing family whose history and heritage are a strong part of her life. Brenda’s work reflects the experiences that she has lived as a part of this artistic and fishing community.
Brenda was proficient in instrumental music and art as a young adult. In making a career decision, she chose to make music her primary career and taught in the Provincetown school system for 20 years.
Upon making a career change, Brenda found herself craving to be back at the easel, and with confidence as a self-taught artist, she started creating paintings of the historic port and the stories she sees through the renderings.
Brenda has been represented by the Cortile Gallery for more than ten years. She was honored to be chosen to paint a commissioned piece that hangs in the library in the American University in Bulgaria. She was sought out because of her history here and her knowledge of the local seaport.
Brenda painted the sign for the Pilgrim Bark Park on Shank Painter Road that depicts the Mayflower coming into shore with its dogs looking on. In 2012 she designed the t-shirt for the Portuguese Festival. Brenda paints nautical scenes, landscapes, and lifelike renderings of pets and horses.