About the Artist

My Name is Rod Smith, and I am a professional fine art painter, designer, and tutor. I live on the east coast of Scotland, but have also lived and worked in Edinburgh, Matamata in New Zealand, and Brighton.

As an artist, I love colour and am drawn to the changes of the seasons that inspire me here in Scotland. And I love the lifestyle, luxury, sunny warmth, and calm of French Marinas, especially the Côte d’Azur. I feel deeply excited to capture the beauty, elegance, and grace of these French marinas, which make me feel alive, enriched, and deeply satisfied as an artist. The quality of light there inspires me, and I love the way that the French live and work.

As a designer, I create large ornate overmantle mirrors and bespoke tripod lamps. The mirrors can be inspired by antiquity and architectural details. I love the grace and flow of Art Nouveau and find this style truly inspiring and beautiful. The Rococo Bibliothèque inspired one of the mirrors I made in St. Sauvant, near Bordeaux. It is richly ornate, with a large shell at the top and leaves that cascade along the sides, bringing the design together gracefully and elegantly.

As a painter, I use acrylic with varnishes, shellacs, and glazes, which add depth and quality to my paintings. I also create bespoke frames for them, which then adds to the value and quality of my work. When making the frames, I use time-honored techniques, such as sizing and silk at the corners, and gesso sifted and warmed many times to achieve the results I require. I then hand-paint the frames to suit the paintings, as I realise that a frame can make or break a painting.

As far back as I can remember, I have been drawing, painting, and making things. I am asthmatic, and when I was ill as a child, I used the many days in bed to draw, paint, and create. This was before school, and when I was once in school, I absolutely loved the afternoons that were set aside solely for Art.

My portfolio was one of the top ten in the year at Duncan of Jordanstone, and I had a solo exhibition at Dundee and Angus College.

I have also exhibited at many local galleries and others, and now I am working towards marketing and selling my work independently and globally. I feel it is really important to build relationships, respect, and rapport with collectors so that they get to know the artist and can connect, relate, and build.