Artist Biography

Barbara Lussier

Barbara is a signature member of New England Plein Air Painters, elected to Hudson Valley Art Association and the Rockport Art Association. She is also an elected by jury member of the Academic Artists Association and the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. She has served as Curator for The New England Landscape Invitational Show at the Lyme Art Association for several years as well as the Rockport Art Association membership jury. Her work is published in Great Day Trips to Connecticut’s Critical Habitats . Barbara has taught plein air painting privately and through various educational institutions, including the Lyme Art Association, where she is an elected member and served as President of the Board of Directors.
Barbara is a philosophically direct descendant of the Old Lyme and the American Hudson River School painters, and approaches her subject in a way that embraces these traditions- honoring nature and working from direct observation. Her landscapes explore the romance of color and light and have been described as “poetry.” ” A soft color palette enriches the mystery and sense of reverence in her striking landscapes” –says the Informed Collector.
Barbara holds a B.F.A. degree with high honors from the University of Hartford where she studied with Rudolph Zallinger and Paul Zimmerman. She has also studied at Ringling School of Art, Hartford College for Women, and the Lyme Academy. Her work has been exhibited throughout New England and internationally. She is represented in a number of corporate and private collections and has won numerous awards, including the Painting Award from the Connecticut Academy of Fine Art, the Award For Excellence in Painting from the Rockport Art Association 2006, 2007 and the Painting Award from the Academic Artist Association 2007 and the Sylvan Gallery Landscape June 08. She received the Isabella W. Steinschneider award at the Hudson Valley Art Association 2009 Annual Show. Her painting, “Chasing the Light” was awarded top 15% distinction by the Jury for the August and September 2009 Fine Art Views painting competition. “Chasing the Light” and “Waning Light,” have been selected as one of 12 finalist in the RAYMAR 2009/10 National Competition.