Tony Rodrigues is a young, local artist represented by spiller vincenty gallery.
WHAT IS HIS PREFERRED MEDIUM?
Acrylics are what he paints with most. To give his pieces a vintage feel, he applies a special varnish to each.
WHAT DOES HE LIKE ABOUT PAINTING?
“I enjoy the process of conceptualizing.”
IS HE GOING FOR A POST-MODERN NORMAN ROCKWELL LOOK?
“Everything I do is dated. It’s hard with the old imagery not to come off as saccharine, campy-retro or trite, but it lends itself more to storytelling. Children are a recurring theme. However, it’s more about how adults perceive their childhood struggles.”
WHAT IS THE CENTRAL THEME?
“I explore themes of fragility, struggle, labor in vain and skewed nostalgia. Stylistically, this is a return to an absence of color and use of shellac. The scenarios toy with ideas of dysfunctional development and glimpses of the past. My intention is to portray common memories.”
WHERE DOES HIS NAME COME FROM?
“My father is Portuguese.”
WHAT STIRRED HIS INTEREST IN ART?
Mike Wagner, a painter/draftsman and Rodrigues’ uncle, taught him how to wield a paintbrush at the age of 10. Rodrigues’ parents also took frequent trips to European museums.
WHERE DOES HE LIVE?
A Jacksonville native, he calls San Marco home. “I lived in Atlanta for several years. That’s where I started selling my work (through Lansdell Gallery).”
EXHIBITor
Rodrigues has been part of numerous solo and group exhibits in town and in Atlanta. Locally, he has shown at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and spiller vincenty gallery.
WHERE DID HE LEARN TO PAINT?
Atlanta College of Art is where he earned his bachelor’s degree in fine art. “I took mostly photography classes and did a lot of mixed media. That still carries over into my paintings. Most of what I do is pulled from somewhere else.”
WHERE DOES HE GET HIS MATERIAL?
Garage sales and thrift stores are the best sources for the timeworn publications he lifts from. Old textbooks, magazines and safety manuals provide him with tons of ideas.
“The psychology behind the pieces keeps it from becoming monotonous.”
WHO IS HIS MAIN INFLUENCE?
“In school, there’s the whole art history continuum, but my work is not directly impacted by one. I believe the most powerful work is something that stays with you, that you continue to think about.”
WHAT INSPIRES HIM TO CREATE?
“Traveling. Getting out of your normal environment is very inspirational.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING?
“Not letting my art become a hobby. Sales have been feast or famine. It’s hard to make a living solely in Jacksonville, so I’m represented in other parts of the country.” He has worked, and continues to work, part-time at various odd jobs to make ends meet. In between painting and working, he enjoys taking in an independent film or reading classic literature.
GOOD DOG
Rodrigues’ pet dog, Jack, is a certified therapy dog. His girlfriend, a social worker, takes Jack on her rounds to boost the spirits of the institutionalized elderly population. Not to be outdone, Rodrigues volunteers at the Cultural Council’s CANVAS program for at-risk youth and in the Art in Jail program for incarcerated youth.
— by Monica Tsai