Swartley is a painter who lives and works in Tampa, Florida. A native of Colebrook, Connecticut, her small town roots gave her an appreciation for the inherent value of nature from a young age. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Tampa, where she cultivated a deep respect for the natural world through an objective lens. While immersed in scientific study, she was exposed to a traditional arts education for the first time through figure drawing courses. The sciences instilled in her the desire to be precise, while her spirituality lends itself to abstraction.