Big Mama’s Place, Circa 2000

Jay Russell  

Jay Russell has been drawing and painting all his life. Born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on October 16, 1963 he has always had a passion for Art. As a boy, his high school Art teacher and friend, Berkley Brean, was his mentor and guide. Russell received the Berol scholarship after high school and studied at the Ontario college of Art in Toronto where he graduated with honours. He then worked as a freelance illustrator with some success but little artistic fulfillment.

In 1993 he dedicated his life to Fine Art and has had great success in Canada. In 1995 he started to show and sell his work in the U.S.A. Strongly influenced by Van gogh, Matisse and Picasso, Russell's artistic evolution is staggering and ongoing. Greatly inspired by music, his other great passion, his subject matter is often drawn from the swing, big band, and jazz era. His lines have the roundness and harmony of swing music, his colours, the boldness of the sound of a big band giving his work the freshness and vitality of a jam session among friends.

Russell's eclectic technique includes painting on everything from canvas, to vintage auto parts, to mosaic 78 RPM records. He draws in charcoal, paints in acrylic and rich, thick, lively oils. His work has been described as 'Dynamic Impressionism'.