NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Second life
Hermiston resident blossoms as a painter after
painful hands force her to quit cake decorating
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Barbara Swan, artist and
Hermiston resident, had
a 30-year career as a cake
decorator. It was, for her,
a way to express herself
artistically.
Toward the end of this
career, however, she hap-
pened upon painting. This
hobby became a passion,
renewing a love of art and
stepping in to be a new cre-
ative outlet when her hands
pained her too much to con-
tinue with cake decoration.
The Hermiston Pub-
lic Library honored Swan
recently by making her
the library’s artist of the
month. A collection of
Swan’s paintings is on dis-
play in the library through
October.
When her father-in-law
died in 2016, she inherited
his art supplies. These sup-
plies still were pretty new,
because he had not used
them much. This is a pity,
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Barbara Swan paints on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, in her offi ce, a
studio in her Hermiston home.
Swan said, as she thinks he
had the ability to become
a great artist. But she is
glad to have received the
paints, brushes, canvases
and easel, and she intends
to use them to the best of
her abilities.
As she blossomed as a
painter, she was declining
physically as a professional
cake decorator. The con-
stant pressure of fulfi lling
orders was grueling. Her
hands ached. And she could
not go on.
Painting, however, did
not hurt her hands. By
2019, she retired as a cake
decorator, and she gave
herself more fully to paint-
ing. By watching Bob Ross
DVDs gifted to her by fam-
ily members, and by study-
ing under oil painter Ginger
Blodgett and other instruc-
tors, she was improving her
craft. Her brother, Steven
Brunette, also was infl u-
ential in her growth, as he
is also an artist and could
off er suggestions.
Brunette does ink-and-
pen drawings of animals,
including leopards and
lions. He communicates
frequently with Swan. She
credited him when keeping
her going when she grew
irritated. Some of his sug-
gestions included walking
away from a painting for
a while when it becomes
frustrating. He also recom-
mends stepping back from
a painting and looking at it
from a distance before pro-
ceeding on it.
From other artists, she
has learned such techniques
as painting or writing with
the opposite hand to “trig-
ger brain functions, getting
left and right fi ring against
each other,” she said.
“To learn from other art-
ist was eye-opening for
me,” she said.
She realized how lit-
tle she knew, but she
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Barbara Swan poses Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, in front of a mural she painted on her property.
The Hermiston artist frequently paints nature.
also rekindled a love for
painting.
In doing this work, Swan
said she is happy to partic-
ipate in the community of
area artists, who are phe-
nomenal, she said. Herm-
iston artist Mary Corp,
watercolorist, is a favorite,
but Swan has more.
Children and childhood
When she was in the
sixth grade, she remem-
bers, art entered her life.
The mother of a fellow Girl
Scout showed Swan’s troop
how to do pastels and chalk
art.
She thought, “I can do
this.”
She got busy with other
things, though, and she did
not explore paint. A busy
childhood led to an even
busier adulthood. She had
three children, who gave
her 10 grandchildren. Now
64 years old, she looks
forward to becoming a
great-grandmother.
“They wear me out,” she
said of her grandchildren.
Laughing, she joked
about the great energy the
children have and the eff ort
she has to expend to keep
up with them. Still, she
loves them dearly.
The youngsters have her
paintings hanging in their
homes, and they frequently
sit with her and practice
their own painting.
Hermiston City Council tables
action on local laws
Hermiston Herald
The Hermiston City
Council‘s agenda for its
meeting Monday, Oct. 11,
had three updates to local
laws. The council, though,
voted to table all three to a
future meeting.
The action drew a
rebuke from Mayor Dave
Drotzmann.
The council was going to
consider updating following
local laws:
• The code enforcement
provision to give the code
enforcement offi cer the
authority to enforce park-
ing violations, establish the
option to cite violations to
a hearing offi cer, establish
a parade permit process and
simplify the regulation of
bicycles.
• The nuisances ordi-
nance to clarify and add a
number of defi nitions and
update language to current
best practices.
• And structural mainte-
nance regulations to clar-
ify and update defi nitions,
remove redundant mate-
rial and establish the path of
appeals.
But in each case, coun-
cilors raised concerns, par-
ticularly about appeals
processes for possible vio-
lations, and one by one, the
council voted to table the
updates.
City Manager Byron
Smith suggested that in the
future, the council review
proposals and send their
questions in advance of the
meeting so staff can be ready
with information.
Mayor Dave Drotzmann
was more direct. He told the
council it had asked staff to
provide these proposals ear-
lier in the week so there was
time to review language
before the meeting.
“So please review the
stuff ahead of time,” he
told the councilors and get
questions to staff before the
meeting instead of “putting
them on the spot.”
The council did not set a
time for when it would con-
sider the updates.
She paints to their inter-
ests, as well as her own.
Their favorite works are
her paintings of nature —
animals and landscapes, in
particular. They shy away
from her abstract paintings,
which she still enjoys.
Becoming established and
growing
Many other of her paint-
ings are hung in other peo-
ple’s homes, but she has
also gained recognition
from local businesses. She
has some watercolors hung
in Sno Road Winery, Echo,
and some others in nearby
business offi ces.
The Hermiston Pub-
lic Library recognition
makes her feel good. With
it, and with some fi rst-place
awards at recent county
fairs, she sees other people
like her work and accept
her as a quality artist. She
hopes to continue gaining
the attention of others, who
will hang her painting in
their homes and businesses.
She would also like to do
mural work around town.
She has painted a sunfl ower
mural at her home, and it
was fun. Maybe, she said,
she can do similar work
around town.
Swan’s infl uences
Picasso and Monet are
historical greats and Swan’s
favorites, as they were “cut-
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ting edge of their times.”
She also likes the Impres-
sionists. Having studied art
history, she has other peo-
ple she likes. Mary Shul-
man, Nicolas Wilton and
Nellie Gill are contempo-
rary favorites.
She
is
particularly
impressed by artists who
can paint quickly what is
in front of them, or who
can conjure a piece from an
original idea. Swan works
from photos, and she puts
long thought into a work
before even picking up a
brush.
“Doing it spontaneously
would be more diffi cult for
me,” she said, though she
added she is practicing to
be more spur-of-the-mo-
ment and looser.
As an artist, she is try-
ing to share her experience
and show the things she has
seen. She has done some of
this as a photographer, tak-
ing photos with her husband
as they travel, but she fi nds
more freedom with paint-
ing than with photography.
Through painting, she is
able to convey her impres-
sion of a thing, rather than
its literal appearance.
“I love nature, fl owers,
butterfl ies, bugs, all that
stuff . They have their own
beauty, but painting is dif-
ferent than photographs,”
Swan said. “I try to get oth-
ers to see what I see.”
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