Rodney Matthews

Rodney Matthews was born in 1945 and grew up in the rural south west of England. After his 'A' levels he went to Bristol Art College. He had already been taught to draw, by his father - who was always drawing Walt Disney characters all over the walls of the house! At a young age, Rodney fell in love with both the fantasy world of Disney and the natural world around him. Much of his work is a fusion of these two perceptions.

Being a devout Christian, he often paints Biblical scenes, such as Lament for the Weary, Fear No Evil, Fall Babylon Fall and Peace at Last.

Since graduating from art college he has been a freelance artist, except for a short spell with an advertising agency at the beginning while he was still building up his contacts in book cover illustration. He has painted covers for many SF and fantasy books, ranging from Stephen Lawhead's Paradise War to the fabulous painting of Lord Jagged for Michael Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time books.

Rodney has painted album covers for bands such as Thin Lizzy, Magnum, Asia, Praying Mantis and Rick Wakeman. A later venture was the animation project for children, of his own design, called Lavender Castle. He also plays drums on a CD which has his painting House on the Rock (another Biblical painting) for its cover.

Strangely, in all these years very few limited edition prints of Rodney's work have been produced, but in 1990 he was commissioned to produce four "Alice in Wonderland" paintings for four large limited edition prints (S/N 750).

Rodney is still working as an artist, and lives in Wales with his family.

Rodney's work on the Web
At the March Hare's Table
The Knave on Trial
On the Croquet Ground
Painting the Roses

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