Barbara has been a practicing artist for over twenty-five years. She works in several mediums but predominantly oil pastels and mixed media.

Barbara says "With a career spanning such a lengthy period, I have dabbled in almost every medium and experimented with many styles. Whether I am creating joyous illustrations, icon driven abstracts or stylized landscapes, I’m driven by a love of good design and composition - with a bit of fun mixed in.

My mixed media pieces begin as chaotic abstracts with bits of collage. I like to work with a somewhat limited palette and, over many passes, tighten the design - blocking out almost as much as I add to the piece. It's a give and take process. After many layers, an image reveals itself. I love working with transparency and seeing vestiges of the piece's history. It’s a privilege to make pictures to grace people’s homes.”

Barbara’s work hangs throughout the world from Africa to Europe and including of course Barbara’s home country - the USA.  Barbara can be found most days happily working at Mockingbird Studio in beautiful Nelson.

Barbara's work ‘The Enchanted Forest’  was awarded the fourth Regional Finalist of the prestigious STUFF Art Aotearoa Gold Award for Art Excellence in October 2024 at the Queenstown Art Show!