Russell Crotty has made important contributions to contemporary drawing since the early 1990’s. Utilizing ballpoint pen as his primary medium, he is especially renowned for his distinctive drawings on paper-coated suspended globes and within large-scale books. His work engages astronomy, landscape, mapping, surfing, coastal studies, along with an idiosyncratic commentary on the natural and manmade worlds. Russell ambitiously broadens his vast body of work by incorporating bioresin, collage, and non-traditional materials, exploring new ideas that investigate and expand the notion of “works on paper.”

As a serious amateur astronomer, Russell has studied the night sky for decades, utilizing his own array of telescopes with occasional sojourns to professional observatories. He has made important observational contributions to accredited astronomy organizations such as NASA and ALPO (Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers). He obsessively and enthusiastically documents the night sky and celestial phenomenon. The resulting body of astronomical work is informed by scientific research by contemporary astrophysicists, romanticized by his extensive knowledge of exploratory 19th century science, and fueled by his immense passion for the cosmos.

Russell’s work has been extensively exhibited nationally and internationally and is owned by private collectors, museums and public collections. He is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow.

A native Californian, Russell grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, began and nurtured his art career in Los Angeles, lived many years in the Santa Monica Mountains – and now works in Ventura and resides in Ojai, California with his wife Laura Gruenther and their two dogs.