A Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, bazaar included much artwork and crafts. Donna Anderson, of Hermiston, was one of several sellers there.

Donna Anderson, of Hermiston, experienced back pain so intense she thought she would never be able to do anything interesting ever again.

Then she discovered an artistic outlet. Now a painter, and the owner of her painting business, Acrylics by Donna, she is creating and selling her works.

Anderson, who was married to the late Andy Anderson, a former Hermiston chief of police, said her back pain was excruciating. She had a 12-hour surgery, and there was little she could do afterwards, she said.

Two years ago, she started painting on a whim, first watching videos on the subject and then practicing. Now, after a couple of years of making pictures, her home is crowded with paintings.

At a Saturday, Dec. 11, Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church Christmas bazaar, as she stood at a booth where she sold her paintings, she explained her situation. She said she was running out of room in her house. Her children had been telling her to sell them, she said, but she never felt that she was good enough. She lacked confidence that people would want to buy her paintings.

After some thought, however, she decided to sell paintings at another recent bazaar. She sold 10 paintings. That encouraged her to plan appearances at other bazaars, including the one at the Catholic church,she said.

Early Dec. 11, she already had sold paintings, she said. She had brought 50 paintings, and though she said she did not expect to sell them all, she said she would be happy to sell some of them. She also was pleased, she said, to have received a lot of compliments on her work.

“It’s stroking my ego, making me feel good,” she said.

Anderson said her style is varied, though she tends toward abstract styles. Realism is not of much interest to her, as she said it resembles photography too much. When one is painting abstract works, they can convey something special and unique, she said. Also, she explained that her mood comes across in her paintings.

“Sometimes you can tell my attitude at the time. If the painting is bold, you can guess that I was stressed. If I’m painting something nice, like a nice, sweet flower, I’m feeling good. It just comes out that way,” Anderson said.

She added she often gets caught up in her work. One day, she recalled, she was painting and thinking about grocery shopping. After painting for some time and thinking about apples, she looked down at her painting and noticed a big apple in the center of the canvas.

This made her laugh, she said. She had not intended to paint an apple, yet there one was.

Painting is unlike other art she has done, she said. For a while, she was making fairy houses. But no one was interested in her little houses, she said. In contrast, she said, people are showing excitement for her painting.

“I can see myself doing this for a long while,” she said.