She doesn't remember the precise moment in her childhood that started her love for birds of prey, but Brenda Lyons remembers growing up with a passion for falcons and hawks that spilled into her artwork. Never content to merely read about them, she tried to create fantastical worlds with them in pencil and paint. At the library, she drew inspiration from books filled with the paintings of John James Audubon, the ink drawings of Peter Parnall, and learned everything she could from books on their anatomy and behavior.

In 2007, she traveled to Montana to attend Rocky Mountain College. Starting in the Equestrian program, she soon switched to art, and spent several months in Ireland, traveling to Germany and Italy, finding a bit of otherworldy beauty in those countries. In 2009, she graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration, and has been living as a full-time artist since.

Brenda has volunteered with sick and injured birds of prey at Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation and Education since 2010. The falcons, hawks and owls at the center are often the inspiration for her paintings and masks. At the center, she has helped rehabilitate raptors, train educational birds, and educate the public in programs.

She is the author and artist of "Winged Fantasy: Draw and Paint Magical and Mythical Creatures" from IMPACT Books. Her paintings and masks have won numerous awards, and she has shown at a number of art shows and conventions across the country.