Barbara Schwalbe was born in Neustadt near Coburg in Frankonia and spent most of her childhood in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria. As a girl she wanted to become either a ballet dancer or a cartoonist for Walt Disney. However, the childhood dream of becoming an artist remained so for the highly talented pupil. Instead, she studied textile design after graduating from school.

By the end of 1960s she had accepted a job at a renowned textile company in Wehr, South-West Germany. During this period she also studied further and qualified as a textile technician. After marriage and the birth of her two daughters, Barbara reignited her passion for the arts and started taking drawing and painting lessons. Her teachers were, among others, Paul Thevenet-Kochka and Anne Stein. Furthermore, she started to design and create the costumes and the stage designs for the ballet school in Bad Säckingen.

During the end of the 1980s, Barbara exhibited her pictures for the first time. Due to the overwhelming success of this first exhibition she has be able to hold many other successful exhibitions throughout the whole region. 2009 saw her move further afield to Pößneck, Thuringia, the town of her ancestors, where she was well received. This was her first exhibition outside Baden-Württemberg and has allowed the opportunity for more people to recognise Barbara’s artistic skills and to appreciate her work.