Born in 1953, Glenn Rudderow has lived most of his life in the Southern New Jersey communities he captures on canvas. His work reflects his passion for the Delaware Bayshore’s landscape and people.
While in high school, Glenn studied painting with Pat Witt at the Barn Studio of Art in Millville, NJ, 1969-1972. He went on to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1972 to 1976. He was influenced by, and studied with, Louis Sloan, Ben Kamihira and Morris Blackburn. He received numerous awards as a student and in 1975, he was awarded the coveted Cresson European Traveling Scholarship by the Academy, for three months of study in Europe. In 1978, he was awarded the Greenshields Memorial Foundation Grant (Montreal) for independent study in Spain.
In 1977, Glenn moved to Gandy’s Beach, along the Delaware Bay, to immerse himself in the wetland environment that was his subject matter. He later moved to the historic village of Dividing Creek, where he painted and lived for fifteen years, continuing his study of the wetlands and adjacent woodlands, such as Hansey Creek, Turkey Point, and the Berry Meadows south of Port Norris. In 1994 he moved to Hopewell Township, where his vision was drawn to the old farmhouses and farmlands that comprise Western Cumberland County and Salem County, as well as the marshes and wetlands of these counties.
Rudderow has exhibited nationally at venues including: the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; the National Academy of Design, NY; the American Watercolor Society, NY; the Noyes Museum, NJ; the Springfield Museum of Art, MO; the Delaware Art Museum, DE; the Butler Institute of Art, OH; the Arnot Museum, NY; the Woodmere Art Museum, PA; the John Pence Gallery, CA; and the Sherry French Gallery, NY. His work has received numerous awards including:
- the New Jersey State Council for the Arts Fellowship
- the American Watercolor Society Award for Excellence
- the Watercolor USA Award for Excellence,
- the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Post Award
- the National Academy of Design, Award for Outstanding Portraiture
- the Philadelphia Watercolor Society Award for Outstanding Landscape.
My paintings reflect the cycle of the seasons, the forever changing light, the harmonies sung by plants, animals and insects, in their interactions with the water, land and air. I try to capture the feelings that suggest the lives and spirits of the people that move through these harmonies.
Glenn Rudderow
He taught portrait painting, life painting and antique cast drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1986 to 2002.
Glenn is one of four artists featured in the New Jersey Network documentary entitled, Bayshore Artists, A Sense of Place released in October 2001. In November 2005, New Jersey Network released the film, Reflections of a Bayshore Painter: Glenn Rudderow. Produced and directed by LouPresti of NJN, and Jane Galetto of Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River, it received an Emmy and was shown on more than one hundred PBS television stations across the country.
