Documentary work, candid portraiture, travel and the landscape are on-going themes in Kent Tompkins’ work. His work reflects images within indigenous and cross-cultural settings.

From his home base in Ridgway, CO, he travels extensively, often combining photographic work and facilitating spiritual retreats. Kent has resided on Navajoland where he developed a national model of culturally relevant educational materials for Native youth. Also at the invitation of Native elders, Kent photographed and documented sacred areas and created national traveling art exhibitions of this art, including co-directing a five-year project known as Dine’tah-Hajiinei. Kent has received extensive spiritual training from various Native American elders.
 

Ansel Adams invited Kent to his home and mentored him on many things, including the nature of love, honoring one's right timing, relationship with ourselves, others and the landscape, expanding one’s awareness in documentary settings and dong one's best to share with others the concept of, "The one who knows nothing, knows everything." Kent has also received grants  from the Arizona and Colorado Commission on the Arts and regional arts council sources. He also managed the photography studio at SummerVail Art Institute. His formal educational background includes undergraduate degrees in special education and sociology - with an emphasis on working with talented and gifted students, and a graduate degree in counseling. Kent is both a licensed professional counselor and certified clinical hypnotherapist. He is committed to bringing the beauty of Nature into view while assisting others’ in their self-discovery and original growth beyond the commonly revered shamanic visions.

Kent is currently completing a book of documentary images and stories from his stay on Native American ground. His work is collected privately and sold through various galleries. He has taught at an art institute, in colleges and in public school programs for gifted and talented students in many cross-cultural settings. Please see resume.

Additional aspects of Kent’s work include stock images, audio-visual productions, commercial digital photographic services, website design and the facilitation of photographic workshops and spiritual retreats.

Connie Massingale, a Cherokee woman and one of Kent's friends stated regarding his work, "To represent another culture accurately and respectfully is a delicate undertaking at best ...

To be asked by members of that culture to do this assignment is the highest of honors ~ and speaks of deep trust and mutual respect.

Kent Tompkins, in co-habitating with native cultures over many years, has gained true understanding, patience and deep personal growth on this unique road.

He has earned this honor by walking a tenacious, but not always easy path.

I know personally of the other side of much of the beauty depicted in this story ~ the moments of physical discomfort, the moments of being pulled between two cultures, the moments of being literally brought to one’s knees by the power and spiritual truth of ceremony, and the humility that Native American perspective calls forth from our humanness.

Kent has succinctly presented precious aspects of native culture in his work ~ through images with soul, and words with heart.

Rather than saying that this work is the earned result of many experiences with native people, I would more state that ‘the fruit was already in the seed.'

Thank you, Kent, for bringing this nourishment to all those who are hungry."