Jerry Russell

Jerry Russell Bio

I live in Central New York, about ten minutes from where I was born and raised, just a few hours from the heart of the Adirondack Mountains—a place I return to often and that continues to influence my work. I’ve been happily married to my best friend, Becky, for 38 years. We have one son who has devoted his professional life to helping others, and a goofy, lovable rescue dog named Princess Zelda.

I studied architecture and painting at a local community college before transferring to Syracuse University, where I earned a BFA in Illustration with a painting minor in 1983. My career path has taken many turns, from retail shoe sales to freelance illustration and design, newspaper and agency art direction, animation work, and teaching design at the same community college where I began my art education. Eventually, all of that experience came together in a self-employed career that has spanned more than 30 years under the name Studio309.

Throughout my years of self-employment, drawing and painting remained at the center of my practice. I’ve shown my work in local and regional juried and solo exhibitions and have stayed active in art groups events. While my earlier paintings were detailed studio pieces in acrylic and watercolor, I now focus primarily on plein air oil painting. Working directly from life brings an immediacy and energy to the process—an approach rooted in the Impressionist tradition and one that continues to excite and challenge me.