Barbara grew up in Winnipeg. Since she always loved to draw, her mother signed her up for Saturday morning art classes in grade one. Her interest never waned and at sixteen, she signed herself up for life drawing classes where she learned contour line drawing. A few years later, she moved east to Toronto to continue her art education.

After studying at The New School of Art and The Artists’ Workshop and illustration at George Brown College, Barbara launched her own free lance business. Her client list includes The Toronto Star, The Financial Post, CIBC Capital Markets, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Canaccord Genuity, Outdoor Canada Magazine, Dogs in Canada Magazine, Macleans, Chatelaine, The National Wildlife Federation, Wildlife Conservation Magazine, Owl, Chickadee and Chirp Magazines, KidsCan Press, Scholastic Inc., Reader's Digest Children's Books, Orca Book Publishers, McDonalds, Purina, Time Inc., Oxford University Press, Sears Canada, Storck, Nabisco and many others.

Barbara has a number of award winning children’s picture books to her credit including Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper!, The Flying Tortoise, Emma’s Eggs, Emma and the Coyote, Emma's Cold Day and Emma at the Fair.

Her continuing pursuit of new horizons has led Barbara to establish a new alla prima style, specifically for her portrait work.