As a young girl growing up in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, Barbara James loved experimenting with art; she was particularly taken with the brightly colored poster paints. Though she developed a passion for the arts, James did not think that she would be able to make art her career. However, James decided to pursue another creative path; she became involved in set and costume design while completing a degree in Music, Dance, and Drama. Only when a professor remarked on her costume sketches for Hamlet, did James consider rediscovering her passion. Though she followed a career in television, James returned to oil paining at the end of the 1990s.

Within six months of painting, James was a finalist in a national competition run by Artist & Illustrators magazine. When James took time off work for illness, she was able to concentrate more on her painting. James perfected her craft to the point where she began showing in galleries around England.