ABOUT
Matthew Russ was born in Portland, Maine and raised in nearby Cape Elizabeth. He earned a B.A. from Colby College, majoring in studio art with a concentration in oil painting, and studying for one year at Crawford College of Art in Cork, Ireland. He lives with his wife KC in Waterville, where he maintains a studio on Main Street. He also works as an art preparator for both the Colby College Museum of Art and Waterville Creates.
Celebrating Maine’s landscape in his paintings, Matt paints from life, working outdoors in all seasons and often backpacking into remote locations. He favors protected lands, such as Maine State Parks, Maine Audubon sanctuaries, and islands along the Maine Island Trail. About his work, he says, ”Every aspect of the Maine landscape intrigues and inspires me, but I’m particularly drawn to long-distance views. Distance has a mysterious power, turning the mundane into the mystical. As I paint and strive to make sense of a far-off island or weather system miles out at sea, there’s a yearning I feel, a wish to know the unknowable. I intend that viewers of my work share in this experience of reaching, of casting their own eyes and imaginations as far as they can.”
Matt has shown at a variety of venues statewide and beyond: The Parsonage Gallery, Ocean House Gallery, Maine Film Center, Thos. Moser, Maine Audubon, Portland Art Gallery, Window Tree Gallery, Maine Lakes Resource Center, Schoolhouse Gallery, Harlow Gallery, L.C. Bates Museum, Legacy Properties Sotheby's International Real Estate, Waterfront Fine Arts, Waterville Creates, Shaw Jewelry, Unity College Center for the Arts, and The Franklin.
Matt has contributed to auctions benefitting Maine Audubon Society, Maine College of Art, Harlow Gallery, Maine Island Trail Association, Maine Preservation, Maine Cancer Foundation, Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, Camden Public Library, Habitat for Humanity of Waldo County, Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment, and Hurricane Island Center for Science & Leadership. He has also completed commissions for individuals and institutions, including Colby College’s Environmental Studies Department and Piampiano Law Offices. Five of his paintings are permanently installed in MaineGeneral Medical Center.
CV available upon request.