AKRussell
April Kim Russell was born in 1962 in the small town of Marion in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia. "I have early memories, even as a baby, of studying light streaming through windows as it revealed shapes, colors, patterns and I remember wondering ‘What is this Light stuff? What is its magic and why does it show me things?’ "
An art student from birth, painting seemed Kim's destiny. "My father is an artist, so paint, brushes and canvases were always available and I never remember a time that I didn't paint. It was what I did, what I was. I never imagined a life without creating works of art."
Kim received her B.F.A. in 1985 from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee with a concentration in Graphic Design at both the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and ETSU. "I studied painting throughout my college years, but a regular paycheck was appealing.” Upon graduation, Kim entered the world of advertising as a graphic designer, quickly became a creative director and, ultimately, a founding partner of a nationally recognized ad agency. She won many regional and national awards for her creative work.
In 1996, she retired from commercial art and chose a life as "Mom", creating her most amazing work- a family! As Kim's children grew, she began to study with Master Painters here in the States as well as in France and Canada. Watercolor, Oil and Acrylics are all mediums of choice for her as she continues to explore light with childlike wonder. In 2015 Kim was juried into the Women Painters of the Southeast and two of her paintings were chosen to hang in the WPSE spring show.
“I wonder why?” is a phrase I utter all day long,” Kim says. “It's what keeps me painting; still- exploring how light always reveals.” "I'm often wonderstruck by the fleeting, brilliant hues I perceive and am compelled to capture in paint, as light cascades across a petal, an orb, water, skin. I'm ever fascinated with prism-scattered light”.
“Each day is a new day to understand and paint Light!"
An art student from birth, painting seemed Kim's destiny. "My father is an artist, so paint, brushes and canvases were always available and I never remember a time that I didn't paint. It was what I did, what I was. I never imagined a life without creating works of art."
Kim received her B.F.A. in 1985 from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee with a concentration in Graphic Design at both the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and ETSU. "I studied painting throughout my college years, but a regular paycheck was appealing.” Upon graduation, Kim entered the world of advertising as a graphic designer, quickly became a creative director and, ultimately, a founding partner of a nationally recognized ad agency. She won many regional and national awards for her creative work.
In 1996, she retired from commercial art and chose a life as "Mom", creating her most amazing work- a family! As Kim's children grew, she began to study with Master Painters here in the States as well as in France and Canada. Watercolor, Oil and Acrylics are all mediums of choice for her as she continues to explore light with childlike wonder. In 2015 Kim was juried into the Women Painters of the Southeast and two of her paintings were chosen to hang in the WPSE spring show.
“I wonder why?” is a phrase I utter all day long,” Kim says. “It's what keeps me painting; still- exploring how light always reveals.” "I'm often wonderstruck by the fleeting, brilliant hues I perceive and am compelled to capture in paint, as light cascades across a petal, an orb, water, skin. I'm ever fascinated with prism-scattered light”.
“Each day is a new day to understand and paint Light!"