Note Type
Antony Hayton, Exhibit DirectorNote
Rodney Demps (1953-2020)
Tangerine Rio Mar circa late 1970s
Oil on Upson Board
Image size 24" X 36"
Rodney Demps was interested in art from a young age, he took high school art classes at Lincoln Park Academy from art teacher Zanobia Jefferson, the same lady who had taught Alfred Hair. She took him to meet A. E. Bean Backus, “I started my artwork at Lincoln Park Academy in a class of seniors (8th graders),” Demps said. “My art instructor’s name was Miss Zanobia Jefferson. She carried me uptown one day to meet Bean Backus and I used to go see him from time to time. I used to watch him paint. I was learning to paint with oil because at first, you know, it’s messy. The more you do it, it gets cleaner and cleaner.” Through Backus, Demps met Alfred Hair, who taught the teenage Demps how to build frames and, eventually graduated the clearly talented young artist to painting the skies. “I painted a lot of Florida scenes. I used to paint the sea, the ocean, I used to paint in my grandmother’s backyard, underneath the mango trees, and I sold a lot of paintings.”
After Hair passed away in 1970, Demps continued to paint for a few more years before returning to school. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Health, Physical Education, and Fitness, followed by a Master of Education in 1980. Subsequently, he spent two years serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Throughout his life, he carried his identity as a Marine—not just as an artist—with him. Rodney Demps' body of work is distinctive and is celebrated for its ethereal surrealism. This rare early landscape on Upson Board showcases Hair's influence in speed painting, combined with Demps' unique surrealism. The painting emphasizes light, movement, and color.
Rodney Demps’ body of work is unlike the other artists. His early landscapes display Hair's influence, but with his painterly skills, he added an air of surrealism to their light and movement. This rare early work on Upson Board displays Hair's speed painting techniques applied to Demps' surrealism and vivid astounding use of color.