Russell Strand, fine artist.
Russell Strand, fine artist.
Russell seeks to share the wonder he experiences as light and shadow play upon rarely celebrated scenery. What he find most interesting within landscape subjects is when forms show a balance between natural and human influence: when the passage of time and the growth of flora dance with the beautiful necessity of established, evolving infrastructure. Weather and decay do their work on buildings and equipment. People mend them. The grass and trees persist. In the midst of these factors, something harmonious reveals itself to him as he drives around discovering landscape subjects. He is fascinated by the variations of relationships between natural and human influence, between light and shadow, and between different forms within a scene: some tense, some peaceful, some ominous, some hopeful. He enjoys emphasizing and relishing the relationships between forms much more than celebrating the forms themselves.
Russell has experimented with visual art since early childhood and has created representational works on canvas for eight years. At an early age, his mother would take him to enjoy hours of observation in unusual industrial and natural sites. Living on Oregon's North Coast, he is inspired by interactions between the natural world and the built environment. Painting, to Russell, can be a catalyst for unity. When he paints in public, he enjoys strengthening his connection to the landscape through conversation with friendly passers-by. He loves leading workshops in the community where differences and similarities in observation are shared, developed, and celebrated. As he discovers and synthesizes the visual world, he is often reminded: Art is everywhere and it is for everyone.
Russell's work has been featured in the Eugene Mayor's Art Show, the Hoffman Center for the Arts, the Bay City Arts Center, and the North Coast Squid Magazine. He has led several painting workshops at the Hoffman Center for the Arts and the Bay City Arts Center. He is currently represented by J. Pepin Art Gallery in Portland, Oregon.