Like many painters before him, Russ Wilson began his art career as an illustrator. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University, Wilson created work for a variety of national clients before devoting himself to his own visions of Florida, past and present. “I moved here during the summer before third grade,” says Wilson, “so I feel like a native. Born in coastal California, we had been living in Little Rock, Arkansas when my Dad said, ‘We’re moving to Florida’ - warm water, sunshine, palm trees! Like my father, I have salt water in my veins and have always felt drawn to the coast. I love the abundance of water and the sense of space in the coastal and rural areas of Florida.”
Focusing on narratives and vignettes of beach architecture, Wilson’s work has a timeless quality, a play of light and shadow that is reminiscent of the work of
Edward Hopper and evokes the essence of the state. “I am drawn to the feeling and light of the coastal South which helps define my subject matter. I am a
representational artist, but more than just representation, I want the viewer to see the abstract beauty of the forms and the play of light on the surfaces.
My compositions are generally very angular and strong and I try to introduce
subtle modernistic elements through color, form, and composition. I find the
abstraction within the forms, merging the representational with elements of
modernism. I feel that helps to give my canvases their strength, as well as convey what inspired me to paint it in the first place.”
In approaching a subject - a weathered beach house, a lone fisherman in the marsh, a mid-century drive-in or storefront - Wilson works to bring the viewer into his world of narrative and possibility. “I am usually drawn to a subject by a little play of light or form that catches my eye. I reconstruct it, adding and subtracting
elements and ‘actors’ until I have come up with a very subtle narrative. I find
beauty in the commonplace scenes, and tend to shy away from the predictable expanses and sunsets. I want the viewer to take away a bit more of the feeling of being there than just a well rendered scene. I have a quote from Robert Bresson taped to my easel: ‘Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.’ That is my goal; the medium is almost incidental to the message.”
When asked where he sees himself in the future, Wilson quips, “Probably back down the street to the art store for a few more tubes of ultramarine!
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