Designer, illustrator and painter Russell Coulson brings his latest solo exhibition Chasing Rainbows to the Malthouse Gallery this summer.

Russell has drawn and painted all his life having had a career as an art director and creative director for leading advertising agencies in London and Australia. He has also worked in design for both the BBC and the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) as well as a designer and illustrator for many leading magazines, periodicals and publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Reader’s Digest. For a number of years he was an accredited illustrator and designer for Disney and Warner Bros, and was a consultant designer for licence houses in London, Germany and Scandinavia. 

Russell's landscapes are spontaneous and he uses mixed media to enable him to retain the emotion and idea of a moment and then quickly move on to the next concept, never allowing his painting to become overworked or stagnant. His seascapes are naïve and instant representations of the coastline, graphic, stylised and colourful, creating vibrant patchworks of tone and movement.

Russell also produces figurative and portrait drawings using line artwork. He loves to exaggerate shapes and colours and experiment with line and medium, taking it to its ultimate potential without causing the drawing to collapse or turn cartoon. He still tries to retain the characteristics and recognisability of the subject.

The exhibition runs from Friday 12 July until Sunday 21 July and is open daily from 10am until 5pm. Admission is free of charge.