Brent Nelson (Born in 1950) grew up near Pinto along the Potomac River but was born in Cumberland, Maryland. He currently resides in Columbia, Maryland in his recently built log cabin on Dan's Mountain. He lives with his wife, Kathy on the family's farm. Here is where he maintains his painting studio. Nelson also guides for Ken Penrod's Life Outdoors Unlimited as he is a United States Coast Guard Licensed Captain. The artist shepherds clients on both the Deep Creek Lake and the Tidal Potomac River in Western Maryland pursuing both smallmouth and largemouth bass. Nelson started to embrace the outdoors while he was living in Pinto and he spent many summer days hunting on the mountains above and fishing in the family’s farm ponds. His talent was noted by his parents, teachers and friends. So at a young age of 14, he was enrolled in oil painting classes.
While still studying, he won in many art contests and completed a number of commissioned works of art. To help improve his artwork, he joined Goshen College and obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree. This made his client base to expand and he turned his focus on graphic design and commercial art. After Nelson married Kathy, they went for their honeymoon in Italy, that’s where he picked a piece of paper, easel and a brush and began to paint watercolors. But it was in 2006 that he got serious about his painting and studied watercolor under Sterling Edwards who was his mentor. His art has been influenced by other artists such as John Lovett, Joseph Zubukvic, Alvaro Castagnet, and Nicholas Simmons.
