Ruth, a California native, is a lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. An artist since childhood, she was introduced to pastel in the 1960s. For over forty years, she has concentrated on perfecting her skill with pastels, specializing in portraiture, figure and still life painting. For ten years, she taught pastel portraiture, and has been a juror and judge for a number of shows. Her love of producing art has spilled over into mural paintings in homes, designing invitations for charitable groups, color consulting and interior design. Currently the study of and painting in egg tempera has captured her interest.

She has earned signature status in PSA, PDS, and is a Distinguished Pastelist with PSWC. In 2007 she became an IAPS Master Circle member.

Mostly self-taught, she studied with a number of distinguished pastelists and attended the San Francisco Academy of Art. Her paintings have earned over 100 awards in juried shows throughout the nation, and are held in many private and some corporate collections. She recently had paintings accepted for the second time in exhibitions at the Butler Institute of American Art.

Her work is featured in the North Light book A Painter’s Guide to Design and Composition, and the soon-to-be-released book Best of America’s Pastel Artists, Volume 11, by Kennedy Publishing, and has been published in American Artist, The Pastel Journal and International Artist magazines.

Always active volunteering in the art community, Ruth just retired from two years as President of the Oakland Museum of California Art Guild board.

Paintings © Ruth Hussey, top to bottom: Confrontations, 18x24; Navid, 18x24;
Sentinal, 18x24; Yellow Kimono, 20x27