They’re colorful canvases that tell stories and delight the eyes of shoppers, business owners, library patrons, city workers and anyone else strolling or driving through the city center.
Since the Art Walk project was conceived in 1984, 14 murals have been painted covering a wide range of subjects, from Oregon history to an abstract design based on a game of pool. Some are serious, some whimsical.
“Draft Horse Logging,” by longtime Springfield resident D. Brent Burkett, covers the east wall at 602 Main St. The mural required about two weeks to paint, was done with acrylic house paint rather than the oils he uses for painting on canvas, and cost several thousand dollars in labor and materials.
But it was not done for profit.
“It was done for the artistic enterprise,” Burkett said. “I loved painting the mural. ... The subject was pretty open.
“The Arts Commission wanted it to have something to do with Springfield history. I have always enjoyed drawing and painting horses, and logging was an important part of Springfield’s economic history, so my mural managed to satisfy both the city and my own desires.”
Though the 54-year-old artist usually works on a smaller scale — paintings that hang on walls rather than covering them — he has done a number of murals during his art career.
“Draft Horse Logging” was his first for Springfield, and was completed in 2000.
The Springfield Arts Commission conceived of the Art Walk as a way of promoting and dressing up downtown. It is an ongoing project that also includes a number of sculptures.
The nine-member commission is made up of volunteers appointed by the City Council, with one paid staff member, Carrie Schindele-Cupples, to keep the office at the Springfield Public Library running.
The process for uniting an artist with a wall is fairly simple, Schindele-Cupples said. First, there must be a wall. So far, it has run about 50-50 between the commission requesting a specific wall and local businesses requesting that their wall be graced with a mural.
There is an ongoing need for new wall space, she said.
“When a specific business’s wall is chosen, that business has to sign a contract with the city requiring the business to keep the mural for 10 years.”
To find the artists, the commission “puts out a press release that asks for artists willing to paint a mural. Sometimes they provide a theme. Then they review the submissions and decide as a committee.”
The first mural was “It Ain’t Why, It Just Is.” Painted by Alan Cox in 1988 at 122 Fifth St., it is an abstract work based on the shapes in a pool game.
The “Oregon Trail Mural,” painted by Anne Woodruff Murray in 1993, covers the wall at the Emerald Art Center with a vivid series of historic tableaux. It transformed what would otherwise be a drab blank at the edge of a parking lot into a traffic stopper.
An excellent example of the variety in styles and themes is “Bob the Dog Visits the Old Growth” by John Swenson, which is at 130 Fifth St.
Painted in 1989, it incorporates the surface of the building into the mural. And it is a deceptively simple, almost childlike design of a surprised-looking dog.
Yet, tucked into a quiet corner just off the bustle of Main Street, this mural’s impact is anything but simple or childlike. Nostalgic, it rekindles in simple lines the awe and joy of a child discovering something for the first time.
The Art Walk sculptures include the “White Horse Statue” located at the entrance to downtown Springfield, and the “The Balancing Act” outside the Public Library and City Hall. The horse dates from the 1950s and is part of the Oregon Statehood Memorial.
The paintings are large, outdoors and vulnerable. Art commissioners were concerned enough about potential damage to form a vandalism committee charged with checking the murals for damage on a regular basis. An expensive coat of Vandal-Guard was applied to the “Oregon Trail Mural,” just in case.
But, according to Schindele-Cupples, “They stay pretty clean. There’s graffiti that appears underneath ‘It Ain’t Why, It Just Is,’ but there has never been any actually on it. We are really thankful for that.”
Apart from taking care of the minor vandalism, the Arts Commission budget includes the cost of regular maintenance, which keeps the murals looking as clear and vibrant as the day they were painted.
A 15th mural is in the works.
“The Arts Commission is deciding on a new city permanent art project and has been given approval for a possible mural on a business that is by the downtown bus station,” Schindele-Cupples said.
The best way to enjoy the Art Walk is to stop by the Springfield Public Library, 225 Fifth St., and ask for a brochure. In the brochure is a map that leads the way past all the murals, beginning at the Springfield Depot at Pioneer Parkway and South A Street.
Don’t be in a hurry.