Rodney Symmons was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria in 1937. His early career in Pharmacy precluded him from painting full time, leaving him only his spare time to paint.
Rodney considers himself a traditional landscape painter and acknowledges the influences of the Heidelberg School, Lloyd Rees, Turner and Arthur Boyd in his works. With his great attention to the effects of light on the landscape, he manages to capture the essence of Australia.
Rodney moved to Tasmania in 1987 with the intention to paint full time, however this was hindered by other business interests. Despite this Rodney was major exhibitor in a number of exhibitions, including, Lakes and Rivers,Tasmanian Landscape and Still Life and Landscapes, with very successful results.
Rodney was also an annual entrant in the Wrest Point Art Award and Exhibition (now Hotel Grand Chancellor) Art Award. Rodney travelled to Italy, the Netherlands and France in 1991 and the following year held an exhibition titled, Images of Europe. While living in Tasmania Rodney was and still is, a regular exhibitor at the Strickland Gallery.
Rodney primarily painted oils while in Victoria, however in Tasmania his interest in the medium of watercolour increased and so in the last decade he has consciously developed his techniques with favourable results.
Rodney has received over twenty major awards including the Victorian Artists Society, Artist of the Year Award and recently Grand winner of the Wangaratta Art Show. In 2000 Rodney was awarded a prize at Camberwell Rotary and the Undine Award at the Victorian Artists Society.
He is represented in the permanent Collection of the Bright Art Gallery, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Korumburra Art Gallery, Ringwood Council Collection and the Victorian Artists Society. Rodney's oil and Watercolour paintings are enjoyed in many private collections around the globe and can be publicly viewed at Freycinet Lodge, Tasmania and Parliament house, Canberra. The trustees of the exhibition building, Melbourne, the Australian National Line and Art Bank, have also purchased his paintings.
After returning to Victoria in late 1997, Rodney is now successfully pursuing his painting full-time. He is a participating member of the Bushmen of the Bay, Victorian Artists Society, Peninsula Arts Society and the Australian Guild of Realist Artists.
Seaview Gallery has several new paintings at the gallery
Pulpit Rock Sold
122x122cm
oil on canvas