Reportage by Bill Russell

Reportage by Bill Russell The sketchbook journalism and reportage of Bill Russell. Visual journalism, drawings and stories done on-the-spot.

By the time Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was thirty-five, he was suffering from alcoholism and dementia, most likely brough...
08/07/2025

By the time Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was thirty-five, he was suffering from alcoholism and dementia, most likely brought on by syphilis. His behavior was unpredictable, and often violent. Desperate, his mother had him committed to a sanitarium outside of Paris. It was while undergoing treatment that he created a series of drawings of the circus. In fact they helped persuade the doctors he was on the mend, ultimately leading to his release.

Joyful visual journalism from fin-de-siècle Paris

Back in 1564 was Pieter Bruegel the Elder a visual journalist? His drawings hold the key. Bruegel was a keen observer of...
06/26/2025

Back in 1564 was Pieter Bruegel the Elder a visual journalist? His drawings hold the key. Bruegel was a keen observer of the world around him, and his graphic work reflects a deeper presence within everyday life. He traveled extensively, sketching landscapes mostly. He acted as both a witness to his times and a commentator.

Observational, satirical and spiritual scenes from a 16th-Century Artist

German illustrator Fritz Busse had a restless spirit, traveling to cities around the world and from the sketchbooks he f...
05/29/2025

German illustrator Fritz Busse had a restless spirit, traveling to cities around the world and from the sketchbooks he filled came many published books about urban life.

An artist who blended ink, watercolor and restlessness to create expressive urban scenes

Some artists are unintimidated by drawing the scale and scope of crowd scenes. I'm not so good at it. I can't seem to fi...
05/22/2025

Some artists are unintimidated by drawing the scale and scope of crowd scenes. I'm not so good at it. I can't seem to find focus amongst these frenzied, often noisy human gatherings. Here are a few that can.

Finding focus amongst frenzied, often noisy human gatherings

Englishman Howard Carter drew and documented ancient Egyptian wall hieroglyphics and decorations before he discovered Ki...
05/15/2025

Englishman Howard Carter drew and documented ancient Egyptian wall hieroglyphics and decorations before he discovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Read about him on my latest Substack.

An artist and archaeologist discovers and documents Egypt’s ancient wonders

In 1905 Jo Mora wrote to his parents, ‘If I don’t leave now, I’m gonna spend the rest of my life here.' His pencil and w...
04/03/2025

In 1905 Jo Mora wrote to his parents, ‘If I don’t leave now, I’m gonna spend the rest of my life here.' His pencil and watercolor drawings of Hopi culture and traditions embody the essence of visual storytelling and serve as a valuable ethnological record of a disappearing culture.

Native culture and more Cowboy of the American West

A sketch is not just a sketch but a potent vehicle for socially conscious work, a medium to tell the stories of the unac...
03/27/2025

A sketch is not just a sketch but a potent vehicle for socially conscious work, a medium to tell the stories of the unacknowledged, and a way to illuminate the great need for care, empathy and resources. Architect, professor and urban sketcher Daniel Winterbottom and I talk about drawing the homeless and encampments of the unhoused.

A conversation with artist Daniel Winterbottom about sketching the unhoused and their encampments

English sculptor Barbara Hepworth went into operating rooms and drew surgeons at work. It had a lasting effect on her mo...
03/20/2025

English sculptor Barbara Hepworth went into operating rooms and drew surgeons at work. It had a lasting effect on her modernist sculpture.

Operating room as drawing studio

Sister Maurice Schnell led a monastic life devoted to God and to service, yet thankfully she continued to make time to d...
03/06/2025

Sister Maurice Schnell led a monastic life devoted to God and to service, yet thankfully she continued to make time to draw. Her sketches are small, inspirational moments of grace, that offers us an invitation to slow down, observe and honor the creative spirit that flows through each of us.

The Nun who loved God and Drawing

At the onset of World War Two Polish emigre Feliks Topolski became an official war artist for the British. He made repor...
02/27/2025

At the onset of World War Two Polish emigre Feliks Topolski became an official war artist for the British. He made reportage drawings on many frontlines. It set him up for a successful career as a visual journalist and eyewitness to many key social and political events of the 20th Century.

Polish Emigre War Artist on the Frontlines

Alan E. Cober filled countless sketchbooks with delicate drawings created intuitively and compulsively, masterfully capt...
02/13/2025

Alan E. Cober filled countless sketchbooks with delicate drawings created intuitively and compulsively, masterfully capturing his subjects through a remarkable blend of grit and beauty. His aim as a visual journalist was to be a force for change by graphically exposing the realities of our times.

The emotive power of a crow quill pen in the hand of an empathetic artist

Artist and world traveler Earl Thollander was best known for his ‘Back Roads’ series of books of travel sketches and tri...
01/23/2025

Artist and world traveler Earl Thollander was best known for his ‘Back Roads’ series of books of travel sketches and trip notes, who took archetypal journeys of both expanse and detail. He just wanted to slow down, travel, observe, appreciate and draw the world in all its diversity.

Sketching the world’s back roads and sharing the stories

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Drawing Stories

Illustrator and visual journalist Bill Russell draws and interviews and makes drawings of people he finds interesting from Burning Man to the San Francisco Dump. His form of reportage and illustration begins with a pen, a sketchbook and some conversation.