McMenamins

One of the great things about our new Crystal Hotel is how the entire space blurs the lines between art and music. As you probably know, all of our properties feature intriguing, mind-bending art; in the hands of our artists, wall panels, doors, even pipes transform from the mundane to the visually fascinating. Throw rock 'n' roll in the mix, and you've got an opportunity to do something really special. For instance, every room (all 51 of 'em) here is named after a song that actually has been played on the Crystal Ballroom stage. 

Our McMenamins artists having been painting new historically based panels for the Crystal Hotel (opening in May 2011) for months now. Below, artist Lyle Hehn gives a slightly mysterious explanation of one of his latest pieces...

This painting is intended for the Zeus Cafe, which will be on the ground floor of the building made triangular by the intersections of Stark and Burnside Streets and Twelfth Avenue in Portland, Oregon.

In 2006 McMenamins moved their corporate headquarters to a former wedding chapel and mortuary in North Portland. Finally, in May of 2010, a new "McMenamins" sign has replaced the words "THE LITTLE CHAPEL OF THE CHIMES" above the door to the offices.

Last week, I worked with two other artists in Room 219 at Edgefield. I painted a border in the bathroom of that room, because it had been painted over due to water damage.

I was closing in on the grand finale of the Blue Cheer painting and having a lot of fun with the panel when we got a message from the management at Old St. Francis School hotel in Bend, Ore., that a painting in the lobby of the theater had been keyed, or vandalized.

This company has been built on the special talents of many.

Sadly, we have lost some of these bright lights over the years.

It seems like over the past few years, when spring rolls in, I find myself back out atEdgefield. It is a good time of year to work on odds and ends of art projects to help get the property spruced up for the summer, the busiest time of year.

After the usual false starts and frustrated erasures, the local radio station began to play some rousing music, and it all fell together.

Blog update, March 15, 2010
It's the Ides of March, time for an update. I have finished the panel I was working on, the 4'x6' panel which is essentially a homage to Gary Ewing...

I am working on a 4'x6' panel, which will be in the new Crystal Hotel dining room and is a tribute to Gary Ewing, a figure well known in some circles for his psychedelic light shows.  

While I always like creating new things, as the years go by artwork is starting to need maintenance. That's what I spent this week doing. I returned to one of my murals at the Crystal Ballroom to do some major repair work.

The explanation for this picture is complicated.  Stop reading now if you value highly every second of your life.