A Brief Synopsis

Rod mainly paints naturalistic landscapes although a quick visit to his website at www.bluebullfrog.net will show that he also paints cats, still life and abstracts as well as drawing celebrities.

Rod first started painting in 1982 after being inspired by a television series featuring the then-famous art copyist Tom Keating who, in the best traditions of art demonstrators, made it look easy.

Although he has had no formal art training, Rod’s work quickly found its way into art exhibitions and for a number of years his paintings could be seen on the walls of the Cotford Hotel in Malvern alongside those of one of his pastel painting heroes, Aubrey Phillips.

Rod’s artistic development was considerably helped in the 1970s by a period spent as a product manager helping to develop and market a colorimeter which could precisely match and identify colours. The in-depth study of the science and theory of colour and colour perception which this project entailed has subsequently proved to be invaluable in his work as an artist.

Recently retired from a long career in Marketing based in Malvern in Worcestershire, Rod now paints full time in watercolour, acrylic and pastels, the choice of medium largely being dictated by the subject matter.

He is a committee member of the Wokingham Art Society and is also a member of the Crowthorne and Sandhurst Art Society and the Sunningdale Art Society.

He is also a past member of the Worcester Society of Artists.

Influences: Corot, Constable, Edward Seago, Edward Wesson, Trevor Chamberlain, John Yardley and, more recently, John Hammond.

Rod’s other interests include photography, walking ( a constant source of inspiration for a steady stream of new landscape paintings), swimming (one mile every morning at the Bracknell Sports Centre) and playing blues harmonica.

See a selection of his work on www.bluebullfrog.net

Contact him on rmj@thingy.com