Artists Statement "I love to paint, and what I paint is my response to what I see in the world. I am an optimist at heart and my response to the visual world tends to be a positive one. Each painting may be viewed as the starting point of a story, a mood or a sense of place, all to be further developed by the viewer. I consider each painting an invitation to enter the scene and explore its possibilities."BioLight and depth. These two simple but elusive concepts are woven throughout Rodgers Naylor's oil paintings and are always foremost in his mind as he paints. Rodgers' landscapes reflect his love of exploring the world's natural and cultural wonders, which may be near or far and seen in any season, in any weather and at any time of day. Usually, the things that spark his desire to paint are found in the everyday settings that we tend to hasten past in our busy days.The light in Rodgers' paintings may be, for example, the warm sunlight of late afternoon, the diffused light of a mist or a snowstorm, or the electric lights of a city street at night. In any case Rodgers wants the painting to convey the source and nature of light in the scene or subject.Rodgers studied drawing at The Atelier in Minneapolis and painting at The Art Students League of Denver. The Atelier provided a rigorous approach to accurate drawing while at the Art Students League he learned a loose and painterly style of painting. These influences remain strong. Rodgers paints both in the studio and en plein air and continues to draw and paint the figure from life, a practice he considers essential to maintain his skill. Although many works are done in the studio, it is the foundation of plein-air and life work which makes the studio painting possible. Even the studio work is generally done “alla prima”, i.e. in one painting session. Rodgers grew up on a farm in Maryland and has since lived on the east coast and in the Midwest before moving in early 2001 to Colorado, where he now lives with his wife Ellen and their two cats.Education:BA, Geology, Carleton College, MinnesotaMBA, University of Virginia, CharlottesvilleArt Studies: The Atelier, MinneapolisThe Art Students League of Denver