Mark A. Brennan
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
landscape painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
known for his work depicting Canadian National parks and wilderness areas.
Biography
Brennan was born in SwindonSwindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1968. He grew up on the West Coast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where he spent much of his time exploring the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. At 16 he joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, where he worked as a shipborne photographer and learnt to express himself creatively. At the age of 19 he emigrated to Pictou County in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, took up painting and painted his first landscape in the early 1990s at Perch Lake in Trafalgar, Nova Scotia
Trafalgar, Nova Scotia
Trafalgar is a Canadian rural community located inland from Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. It is not pronounced the same as Trafalgar England. Emphasis is on the first syllable traf'-el-GAR....
.
Brennan’s main artistic focus has been to record Canada's wilderness areas and National Parks, where he paints on location in oil. His work can be found in the Nova Scotia Government Public Art Bank Collection. A documentary film exploring his work and life as an artist is being filmed for the Canadian and British markets.
In October 2009 he was included in the book From Land & Sea, Nova Scotia's Contemporary Landscape Artists, published by Nimbus Publishing.