Russ Cox’s Studio Tour
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your creative medium.
Hello, my name is Russ Cox and I play banjo as well as juggle moose in the quaint town of Pittsfield, Maine. I also illustrate, and now write, children’s books. My wife and I, plus our 4 cats, moved up to Maine 6 years ago after living in an old city row home (early 1800s) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We always loved Maine, so when our last kid adventured into the world, we bought a little house in Pittsfield.
My creative mediums are my sketchbooks, which I try to draw in daily, good old pencil and paper, along with my Macs and various software including Painter, Photoshop, and recently discovered Manga Studio. I still like the feel of pencil to paper. There is an emotional connection for me to using those two tools. Although I have started doing thumbnails and preliminary sketches on the computer to save time. I like Painter for sketching. It has more of a natural feel. As far as my banjo playing and moose juggling, they are works in progress.
Describe a typical work day. Are there any rituals you have before you start creating?
What would you say is the most useful tool in your studio?
My light box. I use it more than my computers. I bought it at a print shop that went out of business. It is big enough for me to do larger pieces of artwork. Plus, one of our cats likes to sleep on it.
What’s coming up for you and where can we find out more?