Rod McGehee was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, in 1953. He has lived throughout the west, including Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Idaho. His education includes study at the Rhode Island School of Design and further study with the Taos artist, Ray Vinella. McGehee focuses on the American southwest, but he also paints scenes in Europe and anywhere else his travels take him.

His painting style is done in a looser, painterly fashion that suggests rather than copies. He uses color and composition to evoke his own feeling rather than producing a literal rendition of the scene before him. His subject matter ranges from landscapes and seascapes to intimate interiors.

Rod McGehee currently resides in the hill country of Texas.