At Home with Artist Melissa Barbieri

Connecticut based artist Melissa Barbieri paints stunning images of sealife and fine art murals that have antique charm.

Mural by Melissa Barbieri
A fish mural in progress.

Melissa Barbieri Octopus Painting
A fabulous Octopus painting.


Melissa's studio in the home that she shares with her husband in Essex, CT.

Surboard Decor
In the hang-out room that also doubles as Melissa's second studio, you find a surf board as the center piece (see more Surf Board Decor). The soaring ceilings and wide windows, the couple says in an interview with Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, remind them of boathouses they had seen on Martha's Vineyard.

coral murals
The downstairs powder room is mostly Melissa's work. Her husband laid the wood floor and she applied the checkboard pattern, and painted the water and seaweed mural on the wall that was inspired by an 18th century French painting. Also notice the large Driftwood pieces in the corner and on the floor next to the cabinet.

Starfish Study
A starfish study.

Melissa Barbieri
And a trompe l'oeil painting. Then, I almost didn't see it. The Giant Clam Shell sits on the book Cabinet of Natural Curiosities (one of the most photographed books).

Melissa Barbieri
Melissa Barbieri in front of her house, sitting on a Turquoise 1956 Ford Ranch Wagon that her husband who collects vintage cars purchased from a California surfer.