Latest News From Rand Snell

Abstract ArtMore Gratitude: Recovery, Friendship, and New Abstract Art
October 5, 2026

More Gratitude: Recovery, Friendship, and New Abstract Art

I had surgery again October 1. This was needed to correct lingering problems from an earlier prostate surgery in February of this year. The procedure went well, and the experience…
Rand Snell
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Jason’s Pick, 24” x 24” spray acrylic on wood panel, 2026Abstract ArtistFinding Joy
September 2, 2026

Finding Joy

The past few days I’ve had fun flirting with an extremely fun, bright, beautiful and very sexy guy slightly less than half my age, who started this thing and more…
Rand Snell
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Fireworks in the Rain 30” x 40” spray acrylic on wood panel 2026Abstract ArtistWhat’s in a Painting?
August 3, 2026

What’s in a Painting?

I’m too busy making new pieces to linger long on the ones I’ve finished. So it was nice to hear reactions to the pieces in my July solo show at…
Rand Snell
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Abstract ArtistMy First Solo Show
July 6, 2026

My First Solo Show

The last few days we set up my first solo exhibition, Integration. I’m excited and honored for my work to be featured at the Forever Florida Gallery, 2629 Central Avenue,…
Rand Snell
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Longing for Spain, 24” x 24” acrylic on wood panel, 2026Abstract ArtistHello from Madrid
May 28, 2026

Hello from Madrid

Greetings from Spain! I arrived May 28 and will be in Madrid, Sevilla, Granada and Málaga the next two weeks. Then I’ll fly to Frankfurt to see friends I met…
Rand Snell
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Timelines, 30” x 40” spray acrylic on wood panel, 2026Abstract ArtArt as Transformation: My Process
May 4, 2026

Art as Transformation: My Process

“Barney Frank has entered hospice.” This news item jolted me; Barney was the first Congressman to voluntarily come out as gay, and a friend during my early years in Washington.…
Rand Snell
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Sometimes Magic, 32”x 40” acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2026Abstract ArtThe Abstract Art of Spring
April 6, 2026

The Abstract Art of Spring

This spring I hope to get past a traumatic 2023 assault. After almost three years in jail, my assailant should finally face trial. I and other victims are ready to…
Rand Snell
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Travis Knous, Rand Snell, Paul (Lucky Leroy) Gheres in Rand’s studioContemporary ArtFlorida Famous: Portrait by Lucky Leroy
March 4, 2026

Florida Famous: Portrait by Lucky Leroy

Something really nice happened during our February 13 F*cking Cobras exhibition at Sixstar Art Studios. My friend Travis Knous had commissioned artist Paul Leroy (Lucky Leroy) Gheres to do one…
Rand Snell
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Abstract ArtGiving Back
February 3, 2026

Giving Back

This month’s blog is less about art, and more about community. On January 30 a group I helped start, Friends of Albert Whitted Airport, awarded 34 flight training scholarships to…
Rand Snell
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El Fuego, 30” x 40” collage and acrylic on wood panel, 2025Abstract ArtHealing a Damaged Heart…with Art?
January 4, 2026

Healing a Damaged Heart…with Art?

On January 6 I am scheduled to receive a bi-ventricular pacing device, or a “pacemaker,” to coordinate contractions of the right and left ventricles of my heart. Unfortunately, my heart…
Rand Snell
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Sunday Stuff, 24” x 24” collage and acrylic on wood panel, 2025.Abstract ArtistArt and Adversity
December 5, 2025

Art and Adversity

Last month I wrote that I was, at 70, in the best shape of my life. Unfortunately, my heart is not. I picked up a lingering upper respiratory infection in…
Rand Snell
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Interiors, 32” x 32” acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2025Contemporary Artist70
November 5, 2025

70

“You look really great for 70,” said a young friend last Saturday, the day before my birthday. He meant that as a compliment, and I’ll take it. There were times…
Rand Snell
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Conversation 1, 30” x 40” acrylic on wood panel, 2025.Contemporary ArtistWhat will you do with your life?
October 3, 2025

What will you do with your life?

After major surgery as she turned 92, it seemed unlikely my mother would live. To everyone’s surprise, she did. But she had a harder time concentrating on the book she…
Rand Snell
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Dimensions, 32” x 32” acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2025. $3500Contemporary ArtistJob: Contemporary Artist
September 2, 2025

Job: Contemporary Artist

I was spraying angular segments of mat board for a new piece, having first placed them on some scrap black mat board. The sprayed pieces looked great, kind of crude…
Rand Snell
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Attraction, 30” x 40” acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2025Collage ArtistExplosion of Ideas and Colors
August 6, 2025

Explosion of Ideas and Colors

Inspiration comes from the work; if you wait for inspiration to work, you won’t produce very much. Every working creative person knows this. Creating is work, in the best sense.…
Rand Snell
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Shattered Love… Still Beautiful, 24 in x 24 in acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2025Contemporary ArtShattered Love, a Story in Contemporary Art
July 8, 2025

Shattered Love, a Story in Contemporary Art

Nothing makes a human feel better than falling in love… the experience of limerence. Feel-good brain chemicals abound, and any contact with the beloved, even by text, creates a surge…
Rand Snell
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Resilience, 30in x 40in acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2025Collage ArtistResilience
June 4, 2025

Resilience

In 1985, the first German memorial dedicated to homosexual victims of the Nazis was unveiled at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp, near Hamburg. Germany was a relatively safe place for homosexual…
Rand Snell
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Abstract ArtistCollage ArtistStudio Life
May 5, 2025

Studio Life

Until a year ago, I made art in my kitchen. These days, my kitchen is back to being a kitchen and my art-making has moved to Sixstar Art Studios, 2430…
Rand Snell
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Tornado, 30 in x 40 in collage and acrylic on wood panel, 2025. $1500Abstract ArtFinding Meaning in Abstract Art
April 3, 2025

Finding Meaning in Abstract Art

Sometimes it’s only after I finish a piece that I understand what it’s about. That’s the case this month. Tornado For some time I had an image of swirling bits…
Rand Snell
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Inversions 1 Collage 18in x 24in wood panels, 2025. $600Abstract ArtAmerican Failure
March 5, 2025

American Failure

America has a President who wants to be a dictator. I think some people are happy with that. So were a lot of Germans in 1933. Weimar and 1930s Germany…
Rand Snell
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Abstract ArtThe Healing Power of Art
February 3, 2025

The Healing Power of Art

On January 28, 2023, a little over two years ago, a serial rapist physically and sexually assaulted me in Palm Springs. My mother died a few weeks later, adding more…
Rand Snell
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Contemporary ArtBogotá
January 10, 2025

Bogotá

In 1538, the Spanish founded Sante Fe de Bogotá on the site of the indigenous Muisca town of Bacatá. The city lies at 8,600’, nestled against the eastern ridge of…
Rand Snell
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Levels, 28 in x 28 in collage on mat, 2024. $985Contemporary ArtistHoliday Memory
December 2, 2024

Holiday Memory

“Do you want to go out to the woods and look for a tree?” asked my father one cold December day. It was mid-afternoon, after he had gotten the noon…
Rand Snell
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Water and Sky, 28 in x 28in collage on mat, 2024Contemporary ArtistTravel and Inspiration
November 5, 2024

Travel and Inspiration

I spent the first half of October in Buenos Aires, and came back ready to get to work. I also came back inspired to keep studying Spanish, and to return…
Rand Snell
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Four Dimensions, 28 in x 28 in collage on mat, 2024Contemporary ArtistGreetings from Buenos Aires
September 30, 2024

Greetings from Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a beautiful place, and I’ll be sharing more of my experiences here next month. I arrived a few days ago and am throwing myself into an accelerated…
Rand Snell
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De-Construct, 30 in x 32 in collage on mat board, 2024. $985Contemporary ArtistA Time of Change
September 3, 2024

A Time of Change

Even more than most places, Florida has been a state of constant change and growth since the late 1800s. But for a long time, downtown St. Petersburg did not change…
Rand Snell
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N2RR, 1981 Mitsubishi Mu-2 SolitaireContemporary ArtGrounded
July 31, 2024

Grounded

For the past ten years I was custodian of an amazing airplane, my 1981 Mitsubishi Mu-2, which I affectionately named the Beast shortly after purchase. Now it’s time to reluctantly…
Rand Snell
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Stepping Stones 30in x 40in collage on mat board June 2024Collage ArtistThe Colorblind Collage Artist
July 1, 2024

The Colorblind Collage Artist

I try to make interesting and meaningful art despite having deuteranomaly, or defective red-green color vision. I don’t think about my disability obsessively, but I know these color deficiencies affect…
Rand Snell
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Skyscape, 30 in x 40 in collage on wood panel, May 2024. $1600Contemporary ArtThe Contemporary Artist at Work
June 3, 2024

The Contemporary Artist at Work

“Sometimes we trudge.” That’s a saying from the world of recovery, but I think all of us can relate. Some days we feel inspired and on top of the world,…
Rand Snell
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Projections, 20in x 22in collage on paper, 2024Contemporary ArtContemporary Art, Opening Night
April 25, 2024

Contemporary Art, Opening Night

It was early Friday night, April 12, the Grand Opening of Sixstar Art Studios in St. Petersburg. I was enjoying talking with the interesting and knowledgable people coming through my…
Rand Snell
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Cracking the CodeContemporary ArtNew Contemporary Art in Saint Petersburg
April 2, 2024

New Contemporary Art in Saint Petersburg

This month I begin working in my new studio at Sixstar Art Studios! I'm excited to be making art alongside Sixstar founder Jason Hackingwerth and fellow artists Michelle Gordon, Kenny…
Rand Snell
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Holding VigilCollage ArtistHolding Vigil
February 27, 2024

Holding Vigil

The night of November 12, 2023 I hardly slept. Over the past several months I had become very close to a friend in recovery, who had recently moved from his…
Rand Snell
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Boxed InAbstract ArtThe Healing Power of Abstract Art
February 5, 2024

The Healing Power of Abstract Art

January 28 was the year anniversary of a lonely evening, and a bad decision that led to me being drugged, assaulted and sexually assaulted while visiting Palm Springs. After I…
Rand Snell
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It’s the JourneyAbstract ArtNew Abstract Art, and a Depression Christmas Story from my Mother
January 3, 2024

New Abstract Art, and a Depression Christmas Story from my Mother

Thanks to those who reached out following my mid-December blog on Relapse and Recovery. I’m always grateful to know something I wrote resonated in some way. In these more personal…
Rand Snell
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RelapseRecovery in ArtRelapse and Recovery
December 18, 2023

Relapse and Recovery

This is the most difficult time of year for many, and an especially dangerous one for those who suffer from addiction. For me, it’s the end of a hard year…
Rand Snell
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Quantum LeapContemporary ArtistAuthentic
December 4, 2023

Authentic

My therapist recently reminded me that the Merriam-Webster 2023 Word of the Year is Authentic. That’s a good word, as we move into an era of AI and Deep Fakes,…
Rand Snell
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TwistedCollage ArtMixed MediaAcceptance
November 2, 2023

Acceptance

This month’s blog isn’t much about art. It’s about acceptance. I turn 68 in November. My mother’s mother was only a year older when she died, her death one of…
Rand Snell
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Two PianosContemporary ArtContemporary ArtistRecovery in ArtContemporary Art and Passion
October 3, 2023

Contemporary Art and Passion

It’s always an honor to have pieces chosen for special exhibits at Five Deuces Galleria, which just won Best Art Gallery in Tampa Magazine’s Best of the City 2023! And…
Rand Snell
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In the ArenaCollage ArtRecovery in ArtCommissioned Collage Art
August 29, 2023

Commissioned Collage Art

I had the pleasure the past few weeks of working on pieces commissioned by friends. They had some specific requests, and that made the creative process even more interesting. It’s…
Rand Snell
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The Memory PalaceCollage ArtRecovery in ArtIntimacy
July 31, 2023

Intimacy

“I love you,” I said spontaneously and almost without thought, cuddled in bed with someone I had let my guard down with, at his home, watching a movie, feeling safe,…
Rand Snell
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Blue Moon: From My Balcony 6Collage ArtRecovery in ArtFreedom
June 29, 2023

Freedom

"Have you started to realize your freedom yet?" asked a friend recently, wondering how I was adjusting to my mother's death in March. In this month’s blog, I write about…
Rand Snell
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RainMixed MediaMixed Media, Modern Art
May 31, 2023

Mixed Media, Modern Art

I’ll be playing piano Saturday June 3, 6-9 pm, for grand opening of the new Mixed Media Exhibition at Five Deuces Galleria. I have three pieces in this show, one…
Rand Snell
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Contemporary ArtistA Contemporary Artist, Tearing it Up
May 15, 2023

A Contemporary Artist, Tearing it Up

One morning last August, I landed my little float plane on the still surface of Lake Thonotosassa, east of Tampa, Florida. Floating over clouds reflected in the glassy waters below,…
Rand Snell
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Marvis Virginia Reeder SnellCollage ArtMy Mother and My Art
April 7, 2023

My Mother and My Art

My mother and I My mother died March 14, at age 99.  The past few weeks have been hectic, with little time for creative work.  She had a remarkable life;…
Rand Snell
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Slices of FrankfurtContemporary ArtUNREAL SURREAL: Contemporary Art
March 7, 2023

UNREAL SURREAL: Contemporary Art

A large and enthusiastic crowd opened the new UNREAL SURREAL show on March 4 at Five Deuces Galleria, in St. Petersburg! UNREAL SURREAL is a terrific collection of works inspired…
Rand Snell
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Pastel Fountain, 11x14” marker on paper, January 2023Recovery in ArtRecovery in Art
February 13, 2023

Recovery in Art

I intended this month to write about art therapy, through my own experience uncovering and healing from childhood trauma, and I am. But this blog was delayed because, on January…
Rand Snell
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Berlin in OctoberContemporary ArtContemporary Art in the New Year
January 3, 2023

Contemporary Art in the New Year

Happy New Year! On Saturday, January 7, from 6-9 pm, I’ll be playing jazz piano and displaying art for opening of the new Big Works Art Exhibit at Five Deuces…
Rand Snell
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MoritzplatzAbstract ArtMy Abstract Art
November 29, 2022

My Abstract Art

A lot is happening! I exhibited some of my work November 26 at Craft Kafé’s inaugural Tiny Art Market; and I have two pieces in a show opening December 3…
Rand Snell
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From My Balcony 1Collage ArtThe Art of Collage
November 1, 2022

The Art of Collage

Today, I am launching a new version of randsnell.com.  This new website is devoted principally to my visual art, but retains links to performances of my vocal, instrumental and electronic…
Rand Snell
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