Brenda Lenaghan RSW was born in Galashiels in 1941. She studied at Glasgow School of Art between 1958-63, before joining Bernat Klein in Galashiels, who were manufacturers of Tweeds for the great fashion houses of that period, including Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. She subsequently took up a variety of posts teaching in schools in Glasgow. In 1984, Lenaghan was elected a member of the Royal Society of Watercolourists.