Barbara Russon was born in Wednesbury in the heart of the English Black Country. Her inspiration has greatly been drawn from areas such as Ironbridge, and the Midland Canals, with a special interest in Bridges, Iron, Brick, Stone and Concrete.

Barbara studied at Wolverhampton College of Art, taught Art in Sri Lanka, has illustrated the West Sussex Gazette, has designed silk screen for decorative glassware, has illustrated and designed for Iliffe Publications, has worked as a scenic artist at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and has painted six pantomimes, at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, and the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry.

But Barbara is best known for her explorative and prolific artwork, for the strength of her canvasses, and for her imaginative interpretation of romantic and feminine themes.

"I paint using clear strong colours with extended perspective and extended vision to push the landscape into paint; using the bridges as theatrical pieces against the backdrop of the landscape; introducing figures from the past, present and mythology. Lovers appear in many paintings - symbols of the future."

"For me painting is about revisiting locations on the Black Country canals and in the Ironbridge gorge. My pictures re-create the feelings of a previous time, encapsulated in a mental picture of the ironwork and the canal boats."