James Russell

My blogs

James Russell

About me

Gender	Male
Industry	Communications or Media
Occupation	Writer and Lecturer
Location	Bristol, United Kingdom
Introduction	I write and lecture about art, illustration and design, often (but not always) 20th century British. In recent years I've spent more time than is good for me researching Eric Ravilious and Paul Nash for books published by The Mainstone Press, so if you're interested in either artist you will probably enjoy a rummage around this blog. Here, as in my books, articles and lectures, I try to write about art and artists in an accessible way, teasing out the stories behind paintings, exploring inspiring places and spreading the word about exhibitions, books and TV shows. On a slightly different note, I make authentic Somerset cider with the Totterdown Press - 'The Naked Guide to Cider' (Tangent Books) is based on this experience.
Interests	Art, illustration, design, 20th century British painting and sculpture, contemporary illustration and design, wood engraving esp in book illustration, lithography, book illustration and design, Eric Ravilious, Paul Nash, Edward Seago, landscape painting, writing fiction, writing non-fiction, landscape history especially ruins and remains, traditional orchards, cidermaking, camping, inventive TV shows like Breaking Bad, Bristol life, New Mexico life, whatever my kids are into.
Favorite Movies	Withnail and I, The Apartment, North by North West, The Thirty-Nine Steps (earliest version), Lisbon Story, The Wire, The Killing, Prime Suspect, Breaking Bad, Jaws, original Star Wars, ET, Close Encounters, Argo, Fargo, House, If, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Empire of the Sun, Parade's End, Howard's End, The Hurt Locker, I Know Where I'm Going, Monsters Inc, Ghostbusters, The Three Colors Trilogy.
Favorite Music	PJ Harvey, JS Bach violin or piano - not harpsichord or organ!, Camper van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Nick Drake, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Kate Bush's first album, early Cure, Schubert's Death and the Maiden, The Trout Quintet, Jazz Record Requests, Marc Riley on a good night, Grandaddy, Joy Division, Stereolab, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, Ivie Anderson singing with Duke Ellington, The Clash, Bob Dylan esp Blood on the Tracks and Blonde on Blonde, Radiohead.
Favorite Books	The Great Gatsby, The Four Quartets, Lavengro by George Borrow, Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit, Outline by Paul Nash, The Emigrants by WG Sebald, Raymond Chandler, Great Works by Tom Lubbock, England in Particular, Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton, Romantic Moderns, The Crying of Lot 49, Ulysses, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by WH Davies, The South Country, Sightlines by Kathleen Jamie, Le Grand Meaulnes, The Great War and Modern Memory, Atlas of Remote Islands, The History of the Countryside, Lights Out for the Territory by Iain Sinclair, Love in the Time of Cholera, The English Patient, Kenneth Clark, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson, Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre, Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby, Edward Thomas Collected Poems, Eric Ravilious by Helen Binyon.

What would you wear for camouflage if you were hiding in a gingerbread house?

Licorice Allsorts?