Bachelor of Art, cum laude, Missouri Southern State University

Gallery Painter 1990-Present.

Illustrator in Private Practice for 23+ years.

Adjunct Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, 1993-1999, 2015-2016, 2018-2022

Producer and Host of Podcast titled "EveryDay Artist", 2018-2021

Website Operations Specialist, Vin Solutions / Cox Automotive, 2015-2016.

Full Time Faculty Member / Co-Director of The Illustration Academy, a seminar program for Illustrators, 1995-2014, 2017-2019

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 Apple iPhone / iPad Developer 2011-2016 (no longer involved in mobile development)

Member of the NASA Fine Arts Program, 1992-1994

Two years after receiving his degree, Brent was represented nationally in Kansas City, Los Angeles, and New York City, and was an illustrator in private practice for over 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.

Brent is currently teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute and The Illustration Academy, as well as producing a podcast titled "EveryDay Artist", which can be found on this website, or by searching for "everyday artist" on iTunes, the iPhone Podcast app, and most podcast apps.

BA in Art, cum laude, Missouri Southern State University

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

Currently showing images at the Eva Reynolds Gallery, Kansas City Metro Area.

2022 Group Show, Eva Reynolds Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2021 Group Show, Eva Reynolds Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2019 Contemporary Figurative Show, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2017 Group Show, Sager-Braudis Gallery, Columbia, Missouri

2017 Group Show, The Blue Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2016 Group Show, The Blue Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2011 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas

2010 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2009 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2009 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas

2008 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2008 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas

2007 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2007 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas

2006 Group Show, Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2006 Group Show, American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2006 Group Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas

2006 Two Man Show, Hallar Gallery; Kansas City, MO

2005 One Man Show, Hallar Gallery; Kansas City, MO

2005 Opening Show, Poppy Gallery, Columbia, Missouri

2004 Landscape Show, Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas

2004 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2003 Small Painting Show, Leftbank Art Gallery, St. Simon’s Island, GA

2003 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2003 Illustration Academy Faculty Show, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA

2002 Small Painting Show, Leftbank Art Gallery, St. Simon’s Island, GA

2002 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2002 The Grand Nude Show, The Hobbs Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2001 One man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2001 The Grand Nude Show, The Hobbs Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2000 Two man show, Leopold Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

1999 Illustration Academy Faculty Show, Stocksdale Gallery, Liberty, Missouri

1998 Illustration Academy Faculty Show, Stocksdale Gallery, Liberty, Missouri

1998 Communication Arts Annual

1997 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Los Angeles

1997 Communication Arts Annual

1997 Two Man Show, Spiva Art Gallery, Joplin, Missouri

1996 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Murray Feldman Gallery, LA

1995 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Murray Feldman Gallery, LA

1994 Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, Murray Feldman Gallery, LA

1993-1996 Americans in Space; Traveling Exhibit, NASA, National / International Tour

1992 Art in the Woods Competition, Overland Park, Kansas

1991 First Annual Kansas City Competition, Kansas City, Missouri

1989 Ninth Annual Small Painting Exhibition, Wichita, Kansas

1989 Society of Illustrators, S of I Gallery, New York City

1989 One Man Show, Mid American Gallery, Overland Park, Kansas

1988 Society of Illustrators, S of I Gallery, New York City

1987 Spiva Alumni Show, Spiva Art Gallery, Joplin, Missouri

1987 Society of Illustrators, S of I Gallery, New York City

iPhone / iPad Application – Color Teacher, 2012

iPhone / iPad Application – Krazy Kaos Wallpaper, 2012

iPhone / iPad Application – My Pic Clock, 2012

iPhone / iPad Application – Ask A Computer, 2012

iPhone / iPad Application – Brent Watkinson Images, 2013

iPhone / iPad Application – Brent Watkinson 2.0, 2014

iPhone / iPad Application – Empty Nest Calculator, 2014

E-book: Understanding and Using Color by Brent Watkinson, 2004/updated 2011

E-book: Composition for Artists and Photographers by Brent Watkinson, 2005

E-book: How to Photograph Your Artwork by Brent Watkinson, 2005

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.