Lori Cusick was born in 1963 in Port Jervis, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in communication design from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1987.
Lori is both a studio and plein air painter. Rather than recreating existing places, she draws inspiration from a location and transforms it — adding stylized elements from her imagination. Her interpretations of trees, waterways, mountains, and clouds are bold and powerful. She uses vivid color, high contrast, and expressive brushwork to extract the essence of a scene.
Active in the contemporary plein air movement, Lori travels nationwide to participate in juried competitions. Her plein air and studio works are held in private, corporate, municipal, and museum collections around the world. She also enjoys collaborating with clients and designers to create custom pieces for specific spaces.
For many years, Lori balanced a successful career as a graphic designer, editorial design director, and fine art painter. In 2019, she left the corporate world behind to focus exclusively on painting.
Lori lives in Dallas with her art sherpa husband, Reggie. Any day of the week, she can be found under a big straw hat in the middle of a field, next to a creek, or on the side of a road painting.
