Welcome to DerekRussellArtist.com
DerekRussellArtist.com was created to give you inspiration, empowerment, and an opportunity to see life through the eyes of an artist, so you too can live in a vibrant, inspired way.
I offer you my warm and inviting painting style. It is the result of a gradual evolution over the past three decades, beginning with my lengthy study of van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, Rothko and others. During the last decade, my style has become unique in all the world, playing off my strength as a colorist, my passion for light and movement, and the balance and linearity of my brushwork.
I hand paint each color on the canvas myself. Each brush stroke applied one at a time with confidence.
I capture the feeling like no other artist. I call it "the energy of life."
I paint what I feel and consider myself to be an expressionist who paints my emotions, my passions, and my world. It is not so much what I paint, but how I paint it. With a working knowledge of color application and balance, I begin with an observation of the design and composition, the negative and positive shapes, then apply my colors with a sensitive hand. I utilize textures to help create a mood, and a variety of strokes, including impasto to emote strong emotion. By varying the direction of brushstrokes, I am able to add character, movement, energy, and life to the painting.
Hi, my name is Derek Russell, and I'm an adventure travel artist, a lifestyle entrepreneur & former engineer.
I'd like to share with you a story about a critical turning point in my life. I wouldn't be here painting for you if this didn't happen to me. It's a story from my childhood. I was in the 7th grade, and I remember those long, tiring days, those intense feelings of not being good enough like it was just yesterday. I grew a hatred towards my fat and chubby body. I didn't have energy. I didn't have confidence. And I couldn't stop those fearful and destructive thoughts from bouncing endlessly around inside my head. I analyzed everything.
To me, everything was wrong with me.
And then I was handed a single book, Eat Right for Your Blood Type. Having achieved a level of readiness and a flirting sense of hope - I knew I didn't want to live this way anymore. I wanted to feel good again. And I knew I was going to feel good again.
And then my mind would kick in. Who are you and where do you think you're going? I was only 12 but I remember feeling like I needed to know these things. And not knowing created more agony inside of me.
Deep down I remember always wanting to help people. And I knew I needed to start with myself first.
I began on a quest of self-discovery, empowerment, health and adventure. At 12 years old, I made the best decision of my life. I decided to change. I decided to let go of my fear of being fat forever. I decided to live my life from a place of inspiration. I decided to love. And it started with me loving me.
I began reading and researching endlessly. And I applied what I was learning. I started looking closely at the foods I was eating and noticed a trend - certain foods would consistently make me feel sick. Like sore throat, congestion, cough - sick. Especially the next day. I had lived many years with digestion problems and ear infections that never went away. So I experimented on myself with the vision of what I wanted for myself always in mind.
This shift changed my life forever.
And at 12, I watched my love handles disappear, my chubby cheeks thin out, and my belly slim down. After 40 days of eating in a new way and believing in myself, I lost 31 pounds.
Why am I telling you all this and what has this got to do with art? It taught me a success secret, and I'll share it with you, You can do it if you believe you can.
Over the last 2 decades, I've continued to empower myself and be the artist of my life. And with my burning desire in place at all times, I create a deeper and fuller life experience.
By sharing my inspiration, observations of life, and experiences, I've been able to reach thousands of people all over the globe. Having the ability to touch the lives of so many people through my paintings, my programs and my adventures has been the most rewarding part of my journey.
My mission is to keep exploring and sharing the truth.
My paintings are collected in 7 countries and over 33 states in the U.S., including 2 U.S. Virgin Islands.
Public Collections
Mayer Brown LLP Washington, DC
California African American Museum Los Angeles, California
Purvanchal Silver Estate Noida, India
Graham Holdings Company Washington, DC
U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC
Global Silicon Valley Capital Woodside, California
St. Paul's School Concord, New Hampshire
University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
Springfield College Manchester, New Hampshire
Northern Composites Hampton, New Hampshire
Benilde - St. Margaret's School St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Private Collections
Cleveland, Ohio
Stavanger, Rogaland - Norway
Singapore, Singapore - Singapore
Vanloese, Copenhagen, Denmark
Kita, Japan
Ogden, Utah
Venus, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Morganton, Georgia
Lake Orion, Michigan
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
St. John, US Virgin Island
St. Thomas, US Virgin Island
Blanc, Michigan
Johnson, Rhode Island
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Brooklyn, New York
Fort Huachuca, Arizona
Atlanta, Georgia
Fairhope, Alabama
West Palm Beach, Florida
North Providence, Rhode Island
Laurel, Maryland
Jacksonville, Florida
North Waterboro, Maine
West Seneca, New York
Castle Rock, Colorado
Wellsville, Kansas
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Burnsville, North Carolina
Valrico, Florida
Bateman, WA - Australia
Bala Cywnyd, Pennsylvania
Chicago, Illinois
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Tacoma, Washington
New York, New York
Canberra, ACT - Australia
Bowie, Maryland
Houston, Texas
Eagan, Minnesota
Darien, Illinois
Bloomer, Wisconsin
Elkridge, Maryland
Denver, Colorado
Shepherdsville, Kentucky
San Jose, California
Avon, Ohio
Singapore
Aurora, Colorado
Cincinnati, Ohio
Silver Springs, Maryland
Bend, Oregon
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Lynn, Massachusetts
Batavia, New York
Nashville, Tennessee
Meridian, Mississippi
Hampton, New Hampshire
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Calistoga, California
Menlo Park, California
Arcadia, Florida
Washington, D.C.
Montgomery, Alabama
Miami, Florida
Anchorage, Alaska
Dallas, Texas
Washington, D.C.
Algonquin, Illinois
Wichita, Kansas
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mattoon, Illinois
Las Vegas, Nevada
Los Angeles, California
Draper, Utah
Richmond, Texas
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Newport, Rhode Island
Courtenay, BC, Canada
Silicon Valley, California
Allenstown, Pennsylvania
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Londonderry, New Hampshire
Lee, New Hampshire
New Boston, New Hampshire
Nokomis, Florida
San Diego, California
Laguna Hills, California
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Phoenix, Arizona
Havre, Montana
Naples, Florida
Austin, Texas
Monroe, Louisiana
Selected Publications
October 2017 - "Martin Luther King, Jr.". Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford. Stanford, California
Spring 2017 - "Social Responsibility Report", Cover Image, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Four Times Square | New York
Spring 2017 – “The Global Silicon Valley Handbook”, published by Hachette for GSV Asset Management
January 2017 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Program cover, City of Columbia, South Carolina
April 2016 - MLK, Alpha Omega Alpha The Pharos (Print and Web versions of the magazine)
December 2015 - "The Artful Brain: Neuro-Aesthetics", Colgate University
March 2015 - "2040 UN Speech: Back to the Present", Humanity, Denmark
December 2014 - "Struggle for Equality in the USA & Civil Rights Movement", Pote à Pote, France
October 2014 - "Nonviolence", NRC magazine, Paris, France
September 2014 - "Polity" - Palgrave MacMillan Journals University of Connecticut
March 2014 - Inspirational Artist Analysis, United Kingdom
March 2014 - Graduate Thesis on Art and Creating Portraits in Various Media and Style, South Australia
March 2014 - A Study of Martin Luther King Jr, England
February - Salus Capital Partners, Manifesto, California, USA
February 2014 - A Tribute to Barack Obama, United Kingdom
January 2014 - Visual Art Journal, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia
January 2014 - Essay on Expressionism, Art & Design, London, UK
January 2014 - PhD Thesis "Famous Women Heroes of Our History", Miriam College, Philippines
January 2014 - A Tribute to "Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela", Brazil
December 2013 - A Tribute to Nelson Mandela, United Kingdom
June 2013 - License to Lead, The Junction NSW, Australia
June 2013 - Great Leaders Serve by Mark Miller, greatleadersserve.org/
October 2012 - Touchrate, Book Cover, Florida
October 2012 - One Spirit, Marketing Presentation, California
February 2012 - Bob Marley Magazine, Italy
January 2012 - Kol's Notes, Vancouver, BC, Canada
December 2011 - Examiner.com, Cleveland, Ohio
December 2011 - Lucky Dog Rescue, Meridian, Mississippi
Exhibitions
January 2017 – MLK Concert, Firebird Arts Alliance, Charlotte, NC
July 2016 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Cultural Festival, NewcastleGateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
April 2016 - Commemoration Service for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Virginia Theological Seminary
2016 - Annual Dr. Martin Luther King event with Sharon Irving, Willow Creek Community Church, Chicago, Illinois
2016 - Racism, Unconscious bias, and the art (and need) of listening and storytelling, Trinity United Methodist Church, Austin, Texas.
2016 - MLK jr, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, California.
2015 - MLK event, St. Joseph Parish (Maysville), Mobile, Alabama.
2014 - "Musikmesse Shanghai", Shanghai, October 8-11
2014 - Fifth Annual ASU + GSV Education Innovation Summit, The Phoenician, Scotsdale, AZ, April 21-23
2014 - "Portraits of Innovation 2014", Global Silicon Valley Capital, Woodside, CA
2014 - "Towards a Better World", Del Riachuelo, Espacio de Arte, La Boca Caminito, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2014 - Smallest Gallery, South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
2014 - "Colour My World" Epikentro + Art Gallery, Patras, Greece
2014 - Springfield College, School of Human Services, Manchester Campus, Manchester, NH
2014 - St. Paul's School, Concord, NH
2013 - "Portraits of Innovation 2013", Global Silicon Valley Capital, Woodside, CA
2013 - Springfield College, School of Human Services, Manchester Campus, Manchester, NH
2013 - St. Paul's School, Concord, NH
2013 - Ann & Jerry Moss Theater, Capshaw-Spielberg Center for Arts and Educational Justice, Santa Monica, CA
2012 - Creative Haverhill, Haverhill, MA
2012 - Viva Las Vega! Gamma Gamma Gallery, Downtown Las Vegas, NV
2012 - Postal Art / Arte Correo, Trinidad & Tobago
2012 - Face of Jesus Part III Exhibition, Our Lady of Lasalette Shrine, Attleboro, MA
2011 - Creative Haverhill Emerging Artist Juried Show, Haverhill, MA
2008 - Best in Show, Thacher Island Association Art & Photo Show, Rockport, MA