August 28, 1998 - Artist Rodney Cook

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth

Artist Rodney Cook Brings New Works to the Blue Moon

Baltimore artist Rodney Cook says that 1998 is an exciting year for him. Not only has he completed a successful one-man show of new watercolors of illustrated and tattooed faces at the Hoffberger Gallery in Baltimore, he has also just received a commission to design a 20 x 100 mural for Penn Station near the Amtrak passenger loading platforms.

For visitors and residents of Rehoboth, Rodneys recent watercolors will be on display through the month of September at the Blue Moon restaurant, 39 Baltimore Avenue. The show, titled "Big Jane and Little Eyelet," opens on September 4, with an artists reception on Sunday, September 13 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Since the 1970s, Rodney has specialized in both watercolor and mural painting. In 1975 Rod received federal grants to paint murals for the Mayors Advisory Committee on Arts and Culture. He completed four major mural sites, including the Baltimore Arts Tower. His mural career continues with numerous commissions from corporate sponsors, including a mural at the William Donald Shaeffer Tower and one for the Bank of Maryland.

In both media, Baltimore has been his prime subject for years, from straight forward street scenes to wide panoramas, from aerial views to monumental collages. Eventually, Rodneys urban landscapes expanded to the bountiful gardens from Cylburn Arboretum. Over the years his landscapes have become "backdrops for still lifes of childhood memorabilia and the common refuse of everyday living." Rodneys goal is to create poems of emotional depth and humor. His newest paintings use the face as a canvas to explore humor and emotion, tribal designs and historic symbols, emotional and decorative uses of color.

For more information about Rodneys new work, call him at 302-227-4070 or 410-243-0177.

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 8, No. 12, August 28, 1998.