Benita Brewer is a visual artist residing outside Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in northern Indiana, earned a BFA from Indiana University and MFA from University of Cincinnati. After several years of working as a graphic designer and photographer, she became an Assistant Professor at Purdue University - Fort Wayne and taught visual and multi-media design. Since 2010, Benita has been a full-time artist, specializing in water-color and acrylic painting. She is the former Executive Director of the Illinois Watercolor Society, former Membership Chair for the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and a signature member of the National Watercolor Society.

Benita was awarded an Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artists' Grant and a Purdue University Faculty Research grant. While living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she participated in the Creative Capital Development Program co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. She was also a member of the  state-sponsored Oklahoma Arts Leadership program which focused on developing projects that assist with community revitalization, education, and overall quality of life through art. Over the years, Benita’s work has been exhibited nationally.

Selected Exhibitions & Invitations

• 55th Watercolor West Juried Exhibition, international – juried, Newport Beach, CA, 2023

• Watercolor Society of Alabama Annual National Exhibition, national – juried, Fairhope, Al, 2023

• Watercolor 2023, Norris Cultural Arts Center, regional – juried, St. Charles, IL, 2023

• Rockies West National Watercolor Exhibition, national – juried, Grand Junction, CO, 2023

• Transparent Watercolor Society of American, national – juried, Kenosha, WI, 2022

• Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, national – juried, Old Forge, NY, 2022

• Awards Juror, North Carolina Watercolor Society Members’ Show, online, 2022

• Awards Juror, LaGrange Art League, 2022

• Demo Artist, Addison Art Guild, invitation, Addison, IL, 2021

• Missouri Watercolor 2020 International Exhibition, national – juried, Barcelona, Spain, 2020

• Watercolor 2020, Norris Cultural Arts Center, regional – juried, St. Charles, IL, 2020

• Awards Juror, LaGrange Art League, 2020

• Patterns of Influence, one-person exhibition, Elmhurst Art Museum-Guild Gallery, Elmhurst, IL - 2019

• LaGrange Methodist Church, one-person exhibition, LaGrange, IL - 2019

• 76th Annual National Exhibition, Watercolor Society of Alabama, national-juried, Talladega, AL - 2017

• Elmhurst Community School District 205, 2-person show, Elmhurst, IL - 2017

• 96th Annual National Watercolor Society International Exhibition, international-juried, San Pedro, CA, (Signature Status awarded) - 2016

• MOREcolor, national-juried, Dennis R. Neil Equality Center, Tulsa, OK - 2014

• Art in April, Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, OK - 2014

• Fall Is In The Air, 2-person show, Graceful Arts Gallery, Alva, OK - 2013

• Watermedia 2013 - Montana Watercolor Society, national-juried, Bigfork, MT - 2013

• FiberWorks, state-juried, Hardesty Arts Center, Tulsa, OK (Award of Merit) - 2013

• Alpha Rho Tau, local-juried, Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, OK (1st Place Award) - 2013

• Green Country Watercolor Society, local-juried, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, OK (1st Place Award) - 2013

• MOREcolor, national-juried, Dennis R. Neil Equality Center, Tulsa, OK - 2013

• Still Point V, international-juried, Still Point Art Gallery, Brunswick, ME - 2013

• Tikkun, curated, Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, Tulsa, OK - 2012

• Birds of a Feather, two-person show, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, IN - 2010

• Permanent Collection, Marion VA Medical Center, Marion, IN - 2010

• 13th Annual National Show, national-juried, Gallery West, Alexandria, VA - 2010

• Show Some Emotion, national-juried, Sixth Street Gallery, Vancouver, WA - 2010

• Midland Arts Association 2010 Spring Juried Art Exhibition, national-juried, Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX - 2010

• Rome Art Coterie’s National Art Exhibition, national-juried, River City Bank, Rome, GA - 2010

• Southworks 2010 Juried Art Exhibition, national-juried, Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation’s Center, Watkinsville, GA - 2010