Bärbel was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada with her family as a child. She has always loved painting, even early on – and the Canadian landscape captured a fascination within her. She grew up near Huntsville, Ontario where the beautiful scenery inspired many paintings and sketches.

Later she lived in western Canada and received her training through self – study and attending Alberta University of the Arts. Since then, she has travelled from coast to coast capturing the colours, light, and joy in her depiction of the Canadian landscape; focusing on the emotive use of colour and line – erasing extraneous details and infusing her paintings with a spiritual vision. Numerous layers of glazing give her paintings a glow - as if lit from within.

She was recently featured in a magazine article titled “Light in the Landscape”; has taught art classes for over a decade and a half and currently resides in a country home surrounded by forest where she paints full time.