Thomas Brent Funderburk (born 1952 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an awarded visual artist and W. L. Giles Distinguished Professor of Art at Mississippi State University where he has worked for over three decades receiving top academic honors for faculty, teaching and research excellence. He is known in the American art scene for his countless illustrated-lecture performances and workshops, as well as for many exhibitions of his complex, colorful watercolors and other visual artwork, which have taken place over the years at universities, galleries, museums and related centers across the U.S.. His art has been repeatedly featured in specialized art magazines. Funderburk is married to choreographer/dancer Deborah Funderburk. They have two sons, Wyatt and Jackson.