Barbara Schwan is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting, drawing, and ceramics. Her practice is rooted in spontaneity and intuition, inviting viewers into a space of magical realism where imagination and memory converge, and the boundaries between inner and outer worlds dissolve.

Raised in New Mexico and shaped by studies in both Paris and California, Schwan’s compositions feel discovered rather than constructed, guided by an openness to movement, rhythm, and emotional resonance.

Her recent Dream Series (2023–2026), created in colored pencil, was sparked by her discovery of Hahnemühle velour paper, a surface whose tactile softness allows for layered, atmospheric depth and a luminous, ethereal quality.

The ongoing French Songs Series began as a collaboration with pianist, Scott Hiltzik, translating live piano improvisations into visual form. These works evolved into drawings on musical manuscript paper, where line and gesture function as visual music—an interplay between sound, movement, and mark-making.  Hiltzik uses her images on the covers of his Piano Lessons books.  Her musical immersion also includes serving as the Director of the Masters in the Chapel concert series, a program she created that presents world-class music in the sanctuary at First Lutheran Church Venice.

Most recently, colored pencil drawings of landscapes have emerged, depicting wide-open spaces and the exquisite beauty of things that are.

Schwan’s work is held in private collections and has been featured in numerous auctions benefiting The Venice Family Clinic and other nonprofit organizations. She currently lives and works in Venice, California.