Russell Brutsche Russell Brutsche travels frequently between his Santa Cruz home and Toas, New Mexico.  "Anything can happen there." he says,  " I can open up a space for a month, just sit back, sell my work, and see who comes in."  Russell's work is about the promised land.  Russell's family moved west across the country looking for work during the great depression, finally settling in Montana.  Russell continued the westward journey to it's end, settling in California. He has strong opinions about the American dream, and what it meant to his family.  Russell feels a strong connection to the  west.  His images portray the expansive spaces of the western landscape. Russell uses images of trains and automobiles to represent the westward journey.

His images appear at first to be narrative landscapes of western scenes, but they also include secondary images disguised in the negative spaces. These negative figurative elements are obvious biblical references, and imply the presence of the divine as an integral part of the beauty of the land. Russell's imagery can almost be classified as folk art.  His paintings and serigraphs are skillfully executed with the eye of a craftsman, but also portray a sense of the naive.  Russell begins his pieces with an under layer of translucent washes, then silk screen prints on top.  His images are detailed and multi-layered, often requiring 20 or more passes to complete.