Redlands Art Associations Hosts Famous Local Artist

Redlands local and famous painter Ray Swanson will be the featured artist in the month of January at the Redlands Art Association. Swanson was born in 1937 in South Dakota and moved to California after his father was killed in a tractor accident in 1955. Before Swanson’s aspirations to become a world famous artist, he worked as a civil engineer for the City of Redlands. He attended Riverside Community College and went on to graduating from Northrup Institute of Technology with honors with a degree in aeronautical engineering. After graduating he went on to work for the City of Redlands for six years. While working for Redlands, he would try to paint any chance he got: on the weekends, during the evening, and any free time he had. He would experiment with different paint oils, watercolors and more to learn a wide variety of art. Not long after, in 1959, Swanson married Beverly Swanson-Aylward. Together, they opened up a ‘Curio,’ an Art Gallery/Antique Shop in Oak Glen. Swanson’s art and paintings started to get noticed and it wasn’t long until they took off. His fame began and he started collecting awards after entering his paintings in a number of shows and displaying them in galleries. A successful ten years went by. They sold their shop and moved to Prescott, Arizona with their children Pamela, 6, and Steve, 1. Swanson’s themed painting of Southwest Indians and cowboys were getting recognized and loved throughout the nation.As he kept working, and entering his paintings into shows, he continued collecting awards and medals including: ten gold medals, five silver medals, a bronze medal, and a laundry list of certificates and awards from various associations. One of his greatest accomplishments, he said, was serving President, not once but twice, in the Cowboy Artists of America, as well as his artwork displaying in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. to represent Arizona in the Local Legacy Program in 2000. Throughout his life, Swanson was said to be a humble family man who loved spending time with his family and six grandchildren. Unfortunately, in 2004, he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and passed away only 11 weeks later. Although it was about a decade ago since he passed, his contributions and art live on. Twenty-seven of his paintings were recently sold at various auctions across the nation for a total of about $435,000. The Redlands Art Association will be hosting a special one-person exhibition of Ray Swanson’s work in their west gallery. An opening reception will be held on Jan. 4 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Beverly Swanson-Aylward, Ray Swanson’s widow, will be attending the event to share a few words with guests. For more information on events during the Ray Swanson exhibition, please visit www.redlands-art.org.