Brent was born in 1947 in Alberta, and was raised on a prairie farm with a view of the Rockies on the western horizon. After completing an MFA degree in painting at Brigham Young University, Laycock returned to his native Alberta, Canada, to establish his career as a visual artist. This career has now spanned three decades, and his paintings have been exhibited and collected throughout the world. Brent and his wife, Kathy, have raised five children.

Laycock works mainly in watercolour and acrylic and explores landscape themes from his southern Alberta surroundings and travels abroad. His uniquely personal style still reflects the reality of the landscape interpreted with loose, lyrical brushwork. In addition to the landscapes, he also enjoys painting dynamic, close-up floral compositions.

Brent Laycock was selected for membership in several of the most prestigious Canadian art organizations such as The Alberta Society of Artists, The Society of Canadian Society of Artists, the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Each of these organizations has often included his work in their juried exhibitions.

His early career included working as an graphic artist for the Calgary Board of Education and for Freeman/Yipp Advertising Ltd. During those early years, he also maintained a private fine art studio practice, which eventually became a full-time occupation in 1981. He has pursued a busy exhibition schedule with various commercial and public galleries in Canada and the USA and is now represented in many public, corporate and private collections.

His watercolors are among the group of Canadian paintings that were presented to Her Majesty's Royal Collection at Windsor Castle in 1986. In 1991, the Albert Government presented one of his watercolors to Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

Some interesting creative milestones have been the commissions to paint images for two Canadian postage stamps, and to create indoor and outdoor murals. His work has been included in many books and publications, including the cover of Reader’s Digest.