Barbara was born and grew up in Zimbabwe, which is a country rich in art and artists. She has always loved drawing and painting. She feels a deep need to try to create what she sees in her mind’s eye. When she was eight years old, she began spending a week of every school holidays staying with her grandparents, so that she and her Grandmother could paint together in an old chicken shed in the garden, both of them learning as they went. 

Barbara is interested in a wide variety of subjects and is a voracious reader. She studied Psychology and Pastoral Counselling at University and is fascinated by archetypes and symbols.

Barbara moved to Botswana at the start of 2009 where she focused on painting African wildlife and birds. She is passionate about conservation and preserving the wild places of our world.

Barbara twice entered and won the Botswana Wildlife Artist of the Year competition, hosted by Cameras for Conservation (www.camerasforconservation.com). She won in 2013 with ‘Wild dog Dawn.’ In 2014, she entered two paintings in the competition. ‘Hope?’ was selected as the Winner in the endangered category. It was donated and auctioned to raise funds for rhino conservation. ‘The Beautiful Time of the Day’ won overall first place. 

Barbara moved to New Zealand in 2019. She decided that it was time to re-imagine her art work. She took 3 months off from painting and spent time dreaming and thinking about what she would paint if she could paint absolutely anything she wanted to. Years ago she had visited the Tate Modern and loved a small surreal Salvadore Dali painting called ‘Narcissus’. Many strands led her to think about painting surreal art (including a suggestion from her husband that she add a fire hydrant to her wildlife art to make it more interesting (they are still married)).

During the process of re-inventing her art, she fell in love with surreal art, and has planned more than fifty pieces, including twenty in the “Who would like some more ice?” Series. Each painting takes four to six weeks. 

Barbara’s medium of choice is oil paint on canvas. She loves colour – both rich, vibrant colours, and delicate, muted colours. She uses colour like a language, both powerful and nuanced. 

Her paintings can be found in New Zealand, Australia, America, Britain, Dubai, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana. 

If you have an idea for a painting that you would like to commission, please contact her – she enjoys a challenge!