Come learn about Russell R. Tripp and his art. This pop up is an opportunity to buy original drawings and paintings of one of our local talented artists. (1942—2005 Capitola, CA).

Tumbleweed customers and followers will get a preview on Wednesday and Thursday each week, before the advertised public sale Friday-Sunday.

Excerpt from: A Renaissance Man of Our Time By David Brown:

Russell Tripp is indeed a fascinating person—something of a modern-day Greta Garbo. He very much likes to be alone. Solitude suits him.

He embraces a Bohemian lifestyle, living in a large, atmospheric house perched above the Monterey Bay. The home is something of a Gothic museum: paintings on every wall (most of them his own), a magnificent library, a stunning classical music record collection, and sculptures and nautical artifacts tucked into every nook and cranny.

Russell is also a remarkably disciplined individual. He works six hours a day, seven days a week—come hell or high water—always to the booming sounds of Bach, Beethoven, or Wagner.

He was well on his way to becoming an artist by the age of six, when his father asked him, half exasperated, “Don’t you draw on a piece of paper instead of on the walls?”

At nineteen, he entered his first juried art show—and swept the awards, taking first, second, and the sweepstakes prize. It was a pivotal moment that prompted him to seriously consider a professional career in art.

He thought about attending the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, but after much thought—and with the encouragement of family friend Frank Hill, the cartoonist behind “Short Ribs”—he ultimately chose the Academy of Art in San Francisco.

In the 1960s, Russell gained an agent, Mrs. Pio, who saw great promise in his work. She approached actor and art patron Vincent Price, who was curating a Sears-sponsored exhibition at the time. Invited to bring samples to Price’s home, she found him so enthusiastic that he immediately selected ten drawings and four paintings.

Since then Russell has had paintings in the De Young Museum in San Francisco, The Frye Museum in Seattle, and the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose. In the United States Embassy in Moscow and in many galleries and collections across the world. He displayed his work in the Whaler’s Gallery in Kaanapoli, Maui from 1965-1989. Versatile in all mediums and techniques, he does landscape, figure and portraiture, usually combined in his own style.

“In the precise lyrical quality of the old masters, the viewer will find a fresh approach to line and subject matter,” Russell says.

Research plays a critical role in the authenticity of his work. His well-rounded architectural library includes volumes on design, costume, weaponry, and more—supplemented by an ever-growing collection of artifacts and regular studies from the live model. These form a boundless source from which he draws inspiration and structure.

His environment, too—the sea, the mountains, the shifting clouds and trees—continually finds its way into his subject matter. From the first pencil study to the final finishing touches, his meticulous craftsmanship reveals both patience and control. A single painting can sometimes be completed in three weeks, but more often takes two months—working steadily, six hours a day.

The result is quietly impressive. Russell Tripp’s unique style has prompted some to describe his work as Romantic Realism. His paintings speak with emotional clarity and historical resonance. Many private collectors have commissioned “companion pieces” over the years, having found that his work is not only admired but lived with—over time, and for a lifetime.

So, what kind of man is Russell Tripp? Romantic? A Renaissance man? A Bohemian? A recluse? I think, perhaps, all of these.

But certainly—one of the outstanding talents of our time.

Tumbleweed Found, 1025 Center St., Downtown Santa Cruz
Corner of Center and Chestnut.