By MIKE FRANCIS/Lincoln Chronicle
ASTORIA — Casey McEneny and friend Jay Scott receive lots of encouragement as they apply vibrant colors to the north wall of Astoria’s old armory building.
They’ve been fed fish and chips by the Bowpicker crew across the street. They’ve gotten compliments from assorted passersby — folks living on the streets to tourists who stopped to take pictures. Some locals now sport black sweatshirts that say “Oregon Coast Murals” — gifts from McEneny for their interest.
“It’s all about art, colors and creativity,” said McEneny, a well-known mural artist from Newport. “It brings everyone together.”
McEneny, 46, lives in South Beach with his wife and two boys and teaches art at Newport High School. He’s spent much of the last month in the basket of a high-lift, spraying color onto the 129-foot by 29-foot mural depicting the Astoria Column, a Chinook salmon in mid-twist, a pilot’s wheel, wild roses and a banner that reads “Together we are stronger.”
Since the last week of June, McEneny and Scott have transformed a drab beige wall overlooking Duane Street into a vivid canvas that will be visible to drivers on Marine Drive and walkers on the Astoria Riverwalk. Already, it has become a signature gateway to downtown Astoria.
The project is being paid for by Care Oregon, a health care nonprofit that has paid artists to produce public art in some of its markets, including Medford, Gresham, Portland and now, Astoria. The project, supported by the Friends of the Astoria Armory, the Portland Street Art Alliance and neighbors, was publicly introduced to Astoria at several meetings last fall of the Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission.
In a letter supporting the mural proposal, Mike Davies, then president of the armory group, wrote “We … are absolutely thrilled. This is a project that we have long thought about/dreamed about/schemed about – but again and again have had to put it in the ‘future projects’ category for lack of funding.”
Astoria Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick is on board, too. He was part of the team that acquired the armory from the Columbia River Maritime Museum in 2014. The armory was an underappreciated asset then, he said. Recently, it has regained much of its old luster, with a now-welcoming interior employing colorful lighting and natural wood — and, frequently, crowds of roller skaters.
“It’s great to see that the mural is finally happening,” Fitzpatrick said by email this week. “I love what they came up with, and trust that it will help to bring attention to The Astoria Armory as a community center where all are welcome.”
Newest, but not biggest
The Astoria project is not the largest mural McEneny has done — that distinction goes to the sweeping mural on the Rogue Brewery building in Newport, which splashes fishermen, boats, the Yaquina Bay Bridge and a red octopus across a whopping 170 feet. But at 55 feet the Astoria mural probably is the highest, said Scott, who doesn’t enjoy heights but has to endure them until the mural’s dedication July 24.
McEneny said the sponsors came to him, aware of his murals at the Rogue Brewery, Roby’s Furniture in Agate Beach, the Timbers restaurant in Toledo and elsewhere. They described their vision for a mural in Astoria, and he was happy to say yes.
McEneny is the son of Seal Rock chainsaw artist Brian McEneny, and where his mother, Sue, ran the family gallery. McEneny was convinced he wanted to be an artist before he was 10 years old and did his first mural at 16. When he was in eighth grade in Newport renowned muralist Robert Wyland painted a whale on a Newport Bayfront wall and the young McEneny won a related school drawing contest, helping to dedicate the landmark mural.
McEneny and Scott became friends decades ago at Laguna Beach College of Art and Design. Scott remembers looking at McEneny’s portfolio and saying, “Dude, you’re like a professional artist already.”
Scott now lives in Atlanta, but agreed to come to Astoria to work on the mural. He is a sculptor and artist in his own right, but in Astoria he works for McEneny.
Scott paints with a brush, McEneny almost entirely with spray cans. Scott said if he is a quarter inch off with his paintbrush McEneny will notice and “scold me for it.” He said that with a smile.
“His motivation is contagious,” Scott said.
“Or annoying,” interjected McEneny. “It’s been both.”
McEneny acknowledges he doesn’t do a lot to market or merchandise his work, as others do. But his wife, Tiffany, handles his social media accounts and runs the family when he’s on the north coast for a month. She’s been an essential, unseen supporter, he said.
Unlike some public artists who are fiercely protective of their work — Raymond Kaskey comes to mind — McEneny loves to share. He likes it when people stop to comment and hopes Astorians come to feel the mural represents the community.
“I want people to take pictures of it,” he said.
- Mike Francis is a longtime journalist at The Oregonian, The Business Journal of Portland and The (Bend) Bulletin. He lives in Astoria, where he is an editor at large for The Lund Report. He can be reached at mike@thelundreport.org.
