Born in northern B.C., Rod moved to the Okanagan at a young age. The surrealists influenced his earliest paintings. He then discovered the works of the impressionist's school which has taken him to his current artistic interests which include a keen interest in experimenting with colour and the physical qualities of paint. Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven have also had a profound influence on his work.

"Painting becomes tedious when the ultimate goal of the painter is to recreate the external work. I have always felt that the painting exists only within its own borders. This allows the curious mind of the artist to say -What if I did this?"

Rod's work is now collected worldwide and he is committed to painting images that have a strong Canadian cultural influence. Whether this is expressed through his bold landscapes or his more recent whimsical images of children at play.