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Curriculum Vitae / Career Information

Artist's Statement is at the end.
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Quick Overview
Graduated 1982, Bachelor of Art, Cum Laude, Missouri Southern State University
Gallery Painter 1987-Present.
Illustrator in Private Practice for 23 years.
Adjunct Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, 1993-1999, 2015
Full Time Faculty Member / Co-Director of The Illustration Academy, a seminar program for Illustrators, 1995-2014
Full Time Faculty Member of The Art Department, a global online and on-ground Art School, 2010-2014
Faculty Member / Co-Director of The Visual Literacy Program, an online community and library of art information, 2009-2014
Licensed iPhone Developer 2011-2015
Member of the NASA Fine Arts Program, 1992 - 1994
Complete Information Below
Biography
Brent Watkinson received his BA at Missouri Southern State College in 1982. After working as a photographer for a year, he began interning and working as an illustrator. Two years later, Brent was represented nationally in Kansas City, Los Angeles, and New York City, and was an illustrator in private practice for twenty-three years.
In 1992, he was invited to become a member of the NASA Arts Program, and has since completed two paintings for NASA's permanent collection. A few of Brent's clients include: American Express, Contadina Products, Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Geffen Records, NASA, Putnam Publishers, Science Magazine, Sony Music, U.S. Pentagon, William Morrow Publishing, Time/Warner, The Franklin Mint, Doubleday/Bantaam Books, and Random House. His work has been in the Society of Illustrators New York, the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, and Communication Arts. His digital work was featured in an article in Step-by-Step Electronic Design Magazine.
In the recent past, Brent has been a part-time instructor at the Kansas City Art Institute, and full time faculty and co-director at The Illustration Academy, as well as The Art Department. The Illustration Academy is a seminar program, based in Kansas City, but also based three years in Richmond, VA, at Virginia Commonwealth University, and five years in Sarasota, FL, at Ringling College of Art and Design.
Brent also was a computer programmer for a national company, writing web applications and algorithms for businesses in 2015-2016.
A licensed Apple Developer from 2011-2016, Brent had a total of eight iPhone and iPad apps in the Apple App Store.
Brent has written several computer programs using code to produce images that are a type of cooperation between “human and computer”. The programs run based on inputs from Brent, but the computer is given permission to inject random elements of code and math to produce results that cannot be replicated by the human or the computer on their own.
He now paints for galleries full-time.
Education
BA Cum Laude, BA in Art, Missouri Southern State University, 1982
Teaching Experiences
Fields of Teaching: Illustration, Painting, Painting for Illustrators, Figure Drawing, Career Mentorship, Photography, Studio / Career Development, Color Theory
Adjunct Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, 1993-1999, 2015
Full Time Faculty Member / Board of Managers of The Art Department, a global online and on-ground Art School, 2010-2014
Faculty Member / Co-Director of The Visual Literacy Program, an online community and library of art information, 2009-2014
Full Time Faculty Member / Co-Director of The Illustration Academy, a seminar program for Illustrators, 1995-2014
Guest Lecturer, Highland Community College, Highland KS, 2004
Guest Lecturer, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, MO, 2003
Guest Lecturer, Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg MO, 1999
Guest Lecturer, Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg MO, 1998
Professional Experiences / Activities / Honors; Organizations; Dates
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Communication Arts, 1998
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Communication Arts, 1997
Feature Article about my digital works, Step-by-Step Electronic Design, 1997
Creative Director / Consultant, Strauss-Peyton Interactive, 1997-1998
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles, 1996
ARTemis Award, Romance Writers of America, 1996
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles, 1995
NASA Fine Arts Program, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1994
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles, 1994
NASA Fine Arts Program, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1992
Certificate of Design Excellence, Print Regional Design Annual, 1991
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Society of Illustrators, New York, 1989
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Society of Illustrators, New York, 1988
Juried Finalist- Annual Competition, Society of Illustrators, New York, 1987
Certificate of Design Excellence, Print Regional Design Annual, 1991
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Exhibits and / or Publications; Dates
2011 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas, 03/11
2010 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 06/10
2009 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 06/09
2009 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas, 10/09
2008 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 11/08
2008 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas, 10/08
2007 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 11/07
2007 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas, 10/07
2006 Group Show, Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 06/06
2006 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 11/06
2006 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas, 05/06
2006 Two Man Show, Hallar Gallery; Kansas City, MO, 02/06
2005 One Man Show, Hallar Gallery; Kansas City, MO, 12/05
2005 Opening Show, Poppy Gallery, Columbia, Missouri, 11/04
2004 Landscape Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas, 10/04
2004 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 05/04
2003 Small Painting Show, Leftbank Art Gallery, St. Simon’s Island, GA, 11/03
2003 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 05/031
2003 Illustration Academy Faculty Show, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, 06/03
2002 Small Painting Show, Leftbank Art Gallery, St. Simon’s Island, GA, 11/02
2002 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 05/02
2002 The Grand Nude Show, The Hobbs Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 08/02
2001 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 10/01
2001 The Grand Nude Show, The Hobbs Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 08/01
2000 Two man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 06/00
1999 Illustration Academy Faculty Show, Stocksdale Gallery, Liberty, Missouri, 06/99
1998 Illustration Academy Faculty Show, Stocksdale Gallery, Liberty, Missouri, 06/98
1998 Communication Arts Annual, 06/98
1997 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Los Angeles, 02/97
1997 Communication Arts Annual, 06/97
1997 Two Man Show, Spiva Art Gallery, Joplin, Missouri, 10/97
1996 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Murray Feldman Gallery, LA, 02/96
1995 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Murray Feldman Gallery, LA, 02/95
1994 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Murray Feldman Gallery, LA, 02/94
1993-1996 Americans in Space; Traveling Exhibit, NASA, National / International Tour, 1993-1996
1992 Art in the Woods Competition, Overland Park, Kansas, 10/92
1991 First Annual Kansas City Competition, Kansas City, Missouri, 10/91
1989 Ninth Annual Small Painting Exhibition, Wichita, Kansas, 09/89
1989 Society of Illustrators, S of I Gallery, New York City, 02/89
1989 One Man Show, Mid American Gallery, Overland Park, Kansas, 10/88
1988 Society of Illustrators, S of I Gallery, New York City, 02/88
1987 Annual Fall Painting Show, Dunnegan Gallery of Art, Bolivar, MO, 10/87
1987 Spiva Alumni Show, Spiva Art Gallery, Joplin, Missouri, 2/87
1987 Society of Illustrators, S of I Gallery, New York City, 2/87
1987 Annual Fall Painting Show, Dunnegan Gallery of Art, Bolivar, MO, 10/86
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Other Publications / Projects; Dates
iPhone / iPad Application – Color Teacher, 2012, 2014
iPhone / iPad Application – Flip-Match, 2014
iPhone / iPad Application – My Pic Clock, 2012, 2014
iPhone / iPad Application – Brent Watkinson 2.0, Gallery and Utilities, 2014
iPhone / iPad Application – Empty Nest Calculator, 2014
iPhone / iPad Application – Personalized Artist App 2.0, Gallery and Utilities, 2014
iPhone Application – Brent Watkinson Gallery, 2013
iPhone Application – Ask A Computer, 2012
iPhone Application – Krazy Kaos Wallpaper, 2012
E-book: Understanding and Using Color, 2004 / updated 2011
E-book: Composition for Artists and Photographers, 2005
E-book: How to Photograph Your Artwork, 2005
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Client List
A-H Scherring (Pharmaceuticals)
AT&T & The Olympics
American Airlines
American Express
Avon Books
Carnation Foods, Inc.
Contadina Products
Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
Commerce Bank
Crown Royal
Dole Fruits
Doubleday / Bantaam Books
Federal Reserve Bank, USA
Five Brothers Pasta/Bertolli
Franklin Mint
Geffen Records
Gevalia Kaffee
Home Savings of America
K.C. Chiefs Football
K.C. Royals Baseball
Kansas Lottery
Lee Jeans Company
Lipton Foods, Inc.
MacMillan Publishers
McDonalds Corp. HQ
MGM / United Artists
NASA
Private Bank / USA-Switzerland
Putnam Publishers
Paper Jack Books
Random House
Remington Arms Company
Science Magazine
Smithsonian Institute
Time / Warner
Tylenol
Tyson Chicken, Inc.
Samuel Adams Brewery
Sony Music Company
Stetson Hats, Inc.
United Missouri Bank
U. S. Pentagon
U. S. Sprint
William Morrow Books
 
 
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Artist's Statement
I endeavor to create images that look as though they were done by hand. It is important to depict the human sense of touch and imperfection. When I get comfortable with certain tools or mediums, I tend to change them to items that I cannot control as well. It forces me to think more about the mark making process, and leads to a bit of randomness, frailty, and chaos that is appealing.
There are many drawing, paintings, and photographs that look “perfect”, but they are often uninteresting to look at. Good, conscious, image-making is more about producing something intriguing to look at, than about being drenched with perfection or photo-realistic rendering.
An image that looks good from across the room, and then looks almost completely different when viewed closer is what I try to achieve. The abstract qualities of essentially “tricking” the viewer into believing that a painting is a beautiful meadow or hillside, when in fact, it is a carefully constructed puzzle of values, colors, and marks. The illusion of the meadow is more interesting than the actual meadow.