Biography of William Russell
Originally from Canada, Bill Russell has built a 40+ year multidisciplinary practice as a painter, illustrator, visual journalist and writer. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, New York, he served as an Adjunct Professor of Illustration at California College of the Arts and as a staff artist at the San Francisco Chronicle. His residencies include Recology San Francisco, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, and the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, Toronto. Bill has presented solo exhibitions of his paintings at Sofie Contemporary, Calistoga; Stanford Art Spaces, Palo Alto; and Reactor Gallery, Toronto. He publishes new writing about art and visual journalism weekly on his Substack: Illustrated Journalism. He lives with his wife in a restored Eichler home in Marin County.
PHOTOS OF BILL RUSSELL
These are available for download.
LIFE OF AN ARTIST
In this video (courtesy of Spirit House Productions) Bill talks about his progression as an artist and about his painting The Deluge.
Solo Exhibitions:
2025 Icebergs, Green Room Social Club, Placerville, CA
2023 Winter’s Bloom, Sofie Arts Contemporary, Calistoga, CA
2022 Ice Show, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
2015 Stanford Art Spaces, Palo Alto, CA
2012 Siren Salon, San Anselmo, CA
2012 123 Bolinas, Fairfax, CA
2011 Recology Sketchbook & Prints, San Francisco A.I.R. Exhibition
2010 Hunters Point Open Studios, SF, CA
2008 Bay Area Sound Studios, San Rafael, CA
2008 Hunters Point Open Studios, SF, CA
2006 Center for the Book, SF, CA
2005-17 Marin Open Studios, San Rafael, CA
2000 Reactor Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Eco Evolution: Power for Change, Sausalito Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
2022 Contemporary Botanicals, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, CA
2019 Transcend, Member show, MarinMoCA, Novato, CA
2019 Marin Fair, San Rafael, CA
2019 So Far, Sofie Arts Contemporary, Calistoga, CA
2018 New Naturals, Sofie Contemporary Arts, Calistoga, CA
2018 Reflections: After the Fire, Sonoma State Art Gallery, Rohnert Park, CA
2018 Tell Me a Story, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
2018 The Fire and the Rose are One, Sofie Arts Contemporary, Calistoga, CA
2017 SF Open Studios, The Farm, San Francisco, CA
2017 Contemporary Landscape, MarinMoCA, Novato, CA
2017 Beginnings, Route One Gallery, Pt. Reyes, CA
2016 Summer National Juried Competition, MarinMoCA, Novato, CA
2014 SoFoSix, San Rafael, CA
2009 Bad Acid, Propeller, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2007 IndexG Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2006-8 National Juried Competition, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
2006-7 National Juried Competition, MarinMOCA, Novato, CA
2007 The Garage Gallery at Embarcadero Auto, Sand Francisco, CA
Private Collections:
Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
Marshall Crossman, San Francisco, CA
Jeremy Stone, San Francisco, CA
DeDe Wilsey, San Francisco, CA
James Orr, Toronto, Canada
Donna Benitez, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Shelia Bannon, San Rafael, CA
Other Information:
-taught illustration at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA, 1993-2000
-created utility box painting, Dublin, CA 2020
-held leadership positions at Graphic Artists Guild and spoke on artist advocacy panels, 2003-2005
-artist-in-residence at Kala Art Center, Berkeley, CA 2018
-made presentations at California College of the Arts, Art Academy, SFAI, Hartford Art School, etc., 1994-2015
-created digital projections for Stages: A Solo Work about Life Shifts, No Strings Attached Dance Company Awakenings, Beginnings Dance Festival, Los Angeles, CA 2015
-artist-in-residence at Recology San Francisco, 2010
-created Greek Vase/Street Scene heart sculpture, Hearts-in-San Francisco, in support of the SF General Hospital Fund, San Francisco, CA, 2004
-represented by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2014-2021
-featured in video, Bill Russell – Artist Sketches, Spirit House Productions, 2021
-created a large linocut print for Center for the Book Steamroller Event, San Francisco, CA, 2006
Download Bill’s resume or artist statement.