TD's newest mural taking shape on East Second
The Dalles Artist Chris Pothier began installation of the All Together The Dalles Mural at 811 E. Second Street this morning, Friday, Oct. 23. He was countersinking screw holes for mural panels and then plans to touch them up with paint as he goes. He was headed back to The Dalles Art Center this morning to complete some of the countersink work. Some of the panels measure 5 feet wide by 10 feet long. The mural is a painting of a photomontage of buildings in The Dalles area that are stacked into a mountain within the landscape of The Dalles. Everything seems out of place giving our iconic buildings and landscape an entirely different look and, perhaps, appreciation.
Artist Chris Pothier began attaching the panels for the All Together The Dalles mural on East Second Street this morning.
The small idea of providing an artwork that represented the pride and history of The Dalles in a single composition expanded into an inclusive project that has engaged organizations, volunteers, businesses and the entire community around the concept of All Together The Dalles.
It seizes on The Dalles rich history of buildings and cultural assets spread around town and then puts them in one artistic format -a photomontage. It is the work of Beth Kerschen who brought everything together into one image in a new and captivating way, according to the alltogetherthedalles website.
Here is Kerschen’s composition, courtesy alltogetherthedalles.com
The photomontage was then recreated in a painting that was broken down into panels. Pothier said they used acrylic on 15 separate panels made of aluminum.
When finished the mural will be f 43 feet by 13.5 feet. Pothier created an atelier model for volunteers to participate in painting the mural. High school and older students helped paint the foundational elements while learning about painting techniques as well as mural execution.
“When this project came to my attention, I immediately wanted to be a part of it,” Pothier said on the website. “The idea of being able to use my skills for the benefit of my city was the driving force. It also became apparent that there was a great opportunity to use this project to engage other artists to help with the production of this mural. With the help of volunteers both young and older, we can bring together a wide demographic of amateur artists and continue the process of passing down knowledge from one generation to the next.”
The following is a short time-lapse video shot by the multi-talented Chris Pothier.
