Brent Caldwell is a self-taught artist. In addition to his love of artistic expression, he is also a credentialed scientist, holding degrees in physics, chemistry, biology, and currently studying for a PhD in computer science. He regards his pursuit of art as an intellectual challenge rather than a career path. He is also an accomplished chess and scrabble player.
Brent Caldwell's art career began at the age of about 3 when his mother bought him a chalkboard. Although obviously children's drawings, he quickly gained the attention of the adults in the family with his imaginative line drawings including attempts at perspective. He believes that we all start out as artists, except that at some point we are encouraged to set art aside in favor of "more important and productive things".
Someone seems to have forgotten to tell Brent Caldwell this. By the second grade, Brent art was entering regional scholastic art contests. In the third grade, he received an "F" for a surrealist crayon drawing. His senior year of high school, he was invited to design the cover of the high school poetry club journal, and his architectural drawings won a top award at a state level competition. Today, some of his airbrush works are often mistaken for photographs.
Into adulthood, he often asks his mother "did you have any idea what you were starting when you got me that chalkboard?"
