A deep connection with community is one of the guiding lights in this highly regarded artist’s life.
It’s not often that Heartbeat receives an unsolicited testimonial but we recently received one extolling the virtues of local painter, Hilary Herrmann. In his letter her friend, John Hammond, commented: “The Herrmanns have a long history of living in Bangalow. Many remember fondly her father Alex, who donated land around the creek and pool [the weir] area for use of the village, and both Hilary and her brother are farm owners in Bangalow.” More was written about her artistic skill and ‘prolific’ output and her generosity to the community, so we investigated further…
The daughter of refugees who escaped Hitler’s Munich during WWII, Hilary – and her brother Michael – were born in Kenya. In the early 1960s her parents, Alex and Alice, moved on to Australia where her father, a grazier, settled the family on land near Bangalow. Hilary was two. After finishing school Hilary left town to train in Newcastle, then worked as a teacher in Sydney and Melbourne, and travelled.
For four years she lived and taught in remote aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land, an experience she “really loved. I’d camp in a swag for three or four nights a week, often eating things like baked beans and sweet potatoes round the camp fire. In the mornings while it was cool I taught print-making, drawing and painting, and English as a Second Language. From 12-5 we’d go hunting and fishing. It was a great experience to see so much of the country.”
Around the time her 12-year-old daughter, Frieda, was born, Hilary moved back to the family home in Bangalow, an old Queenslander-style house on a primary-producing farm to the west of Tristania Crescent. With a small daughter to care for, she studied Visual and Fine Arts part-time at Southern Cross University and Lismore TAFE.
“I’d always hung around with bohemians, people interested in arts, literature and the theatre, but I needed time and discipline to do it seriously,” she explained. About eight years ago, that time came for her. 
Today, Hilary paints in oils describing her paintings as “generally abstract figures, and narratives. I’m quite happy to explore (different styles) and learn. I don’t want to be too fixed. If left to my own devices, I’d paint up to 20 hours a week, while Frieda is in school.”
Hilary describes her latest work. “It’s allegorical, painted with a very delicate palette, almost on the verge of fantasy.” Fantasy it may be, but it’s grounded in reality. A clutch of paintings wrapped and ready to be sent to a South Coast gallery is in a series called ‘Unwanted Embrace’, painted after an experience Hilary had on her farm when she was trampled by a cow.
Like many local artists she enters “lots of competitions”, and her work is represented by several galleries: Julie Barratt in Alstonville; Art Piece in Mullumbimby; Barebones in Bangalow; Retrospect in Byron Bay; at Eumundi in Queensland, and at the Sheahan Galleries south of Sydney. Her website, www.hilaryherrmann.com, helps “give people an idea of what I do”.
She’s currently working on a collection of about 20 pieces to send to the Melbourne Art Fair in April. Ideally she’d also love to be represented at galleries in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Reactions to her work vary from comments such as “Learn how to paint” through to people weeping “because the painting has touched them so”.
Though painting is a fairly isolated experience, Hilary has the support of a local network of “lovely artist friends” as well as other artists at the Mimno Studio she set up on her property where various artists, such as Simon Harriott, produce their works in a peaceful rural setting.
She collaborates, too, with others. A massive 2m x 2m work has just been completed with Michelle Dawson, with another in the works. “Together we managed to produce an entirely different body. Neither of us would have got there without the other. Working together is about playing, fun, and learning.” 
Back in Bangalow, Hilary considers her life. “It feels like we live in a bubble here. While 84 percent of the state is in drought and many areas of the country are burning, here it’s green and lush. I’m very affected by the news of what’s happening around us, like in Haiti and Sierra Leone. I try not to take what we have for granted.”
A few years ago Hilary and Frieda set up the Teddy Bear Tree; almost a tourist attraction in the suburb and now a permanent meeting place for pre-loved teddies. Her friend John Hammond also pointed out she’s held free art classes at Bangalow primary school and, when she became engrossed with her painting, her Bangalow Landcare friend Liz Gander took over the native nursery Hilary had started next to her house. This has since become the Ragged Blossom Nursery. “It’s nice to be able to share,” she enthuses. Christobel Munson