Artist Profile

Bill Russell

San Rafael, California

I produce abstract and figurative paintings, that are metaphorical and narrative work, that tell a story, inspired my own psychology or the world.

The abstract work is emotive and sourced intuitively from the sound and feeling of jazz music, emerging mostly in lyrical forms, in a process that’s improvisational. I begin by playing Miles or Coltrane, then I apply paint onto paper, canvas or wood panel…without any predetermination.

The narrative work comes from my training and experience as an illustrator, and from a desire to share what I see, know and share about the world....to tell the stories, empathetically, about people and nature. I make pictures that contain metaphors and archetypes about Climate Change and the Anthropocene.

Bill Russell is a multi-disciplinary artist. For 40+ years, Bill’s creative life has included fine art, illustration, visual journalism, teaching and design. He has shown his work in a variety of settings including Stanford University, SFMoMA Artists Gallery, Marin MoCA, California College of the Arts in San Francisco, Sofie Contemporary in Calistoga and Reactor Gallery in Toronto, Canada. His paintings can be found in private collections throughout the Bay area and in Canada.

Born and raised in Canada, he went on to earn his degree from Parsons School of Design in New York. For eight years Bill was an adjunct professor of Illustration at CCA. In 2010, he completed an Artist-in-Residence at Recology San Francisco and in 2017 a residency at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley.