Rodney has many works for sale arranged in sections throughout the site. Please click on the portfolio link to view more works.
The work centres around two distinct disciplines, painting and sculpting, both intellectually complementary. Rodney succeeds in transmitting a spiritual analysis that touches our profound sensibilities. This is accomplished with a purity of line and simplicity of form, which transcends a wide range of textures and subtle balanced colours, always searching and aiming towards the light. This shows us at what point the artist attains the depths of the human soul. From this strength of expression flows a force and wisdom... Although someone not liking categories he works in two parallel ways "Abstract" & "Abstract Symbolism". A theme that started in1980, -"Human Emotions"- evolves symbolically around our everyday lives. This encapsulates what is essential to us, the family, our children and the people close to us, and hopefully, the planet. The oval recurs incessantly in his work and it passes by a multitude of transformations. The egg form symbolising the beginning of life… The ecological content in his work is a reminder of our overall responsibilities to our environment now and in the future. This has become a matter of great urgency. It is well summed up in the painting, “Prise de Conscience Pour la Planète” (4m x 1m95). He has been criticised for what seems, at first look, to be an inconsistency in method and effect when comparing one painting with another? This is not surprising for as he says, “it’s the subject that is important (Human Warmth or more simply Human Feelings) and that is as you know far from being monotone”. He is also quoted as saying, “Our multiple moods cannot possibly be depicted with one palette”. So with that in mind, using colour to set the mood and texture to give it depth each work, painting or sculpture, has its proper life. Portraying, symbolically the facets of our human existence, sometimes joyful, sometimes sensual, sometimes sad but staying within the confines of the overall theme.
SOME FAVOURITE QUOTATIONS “All art should have a certain mystery and should make demands on the spectator… Everyone thinks that he or she looks but they don’t really, you know.” HENRY MOORE. "The earth does not belong to man; it is man that belongs to the earth." SITTING BULL "After the last tree has been cut down, after the last river has been poisoned, after the last fish has been caught, only then will you understand that money cannot be eaten." WHITE CLOUD "Because when I say successful I mean he plays well and he likes what he's playing. That's success." ANDRE PREVIN talking about his rock guitarist son
Rodney Goodwin Salter
Born in the
In 1961 he started on the long professional learning curve as a “Lithographic artist” with the printers, James Townsend & Sons. In effect it was a graphic studio and at that time all originals were hand drawn, including, all lettering and illustrations as well as the technique of lithography. Rodney would hand-draw original designs, lettering and illustrations including such iconic images as the “Babycham” leaping chamois. During this period he spent time at the “Exeter College of Art” under the tutelage of Alan Fishwick, for fine art and Ruth May Woods for lettering and calligraphy. Finally, at the latter part of this very rounded training he attended for some months the London College of Printing, at the Elephant & Castle. This lasted for almost eight years.
Frustrated by lack of freedom to create Rodney moved out of the drawing office and into the workshop. Having thoroughly researched techniques used by wheelwrights, carriage builders and blacksmiths, he set up, “Woodbeer Perriton” to build bespoke horse-drawn carriages. He also trained Hackney Horses winning many championships. The artist’s eye for purity of line was paramount. His artistic creativity would come into play, so much so, that he would refer to the, “équipages élégants” (elegant turnout) as sculpture in movement… Many of these are still in use, including two which carry dignitaries at the
This experience gave him the necessary grounding, although diverse, to at last return to his hearts desire, pure art… Rodney sees his lack of formal art college education as an advantage for he, as a free thinker, is not constrained by any boundaries of training. Self expression and originality is manifest in his work.
*a final word on mathematics; in later life he went on to design and construct projects needing complicated technical calculations. Putting into action the adage, if you want to, you can… Summing up, it was more a case of maths, as a subject, didn’t interest him…
"This race and this country and this life produced me, he said. I shall express myself as I am. ».... James Joyce..
WORKS of ART in private collections: Germany, United Kingdom, Holland, Austria, Belgium, France, Denmark, U.S.A., Canada, Chile,