Another new mural for Wasco County’s capital (includes slideshow)

The border design, lettering and colors of this new mural are based on maps from the mid-1800s — some provided by local historians Carl Vercouteren and Carolyn Wood, who helped with historical research, some located by McKearnan, who drew this mural.

First McKearnan sketched the image on paper. Then that sketch was plotted onto the wall. Some images were projected onto the wall and traced. Others, like the border design, were drawn life-sized on paper, pierced with little holes, and rubbed with charcoal to transfer a dotted-line version onto the bricks.

While most previous Walldog murals were copied fairly accurately from drawings and plans, this one has altered a little through its creation. “I was just trying to make it look like an actual old map,” McKearnan said.

The 48.5-foot-long, 14-foot-tall image replaces an older, similar mural of Wasco County that once graced Federal Street. That mural was removed after it began deteriorating.

McKearnan expects the new version to last 10 or 15 “good years,” before the colors might start fading. Partly, that’s because it faces the afternoon sun; when facing away from the sun, such paintings can be long-lasting, he said. Work began about 3 p.m. Thursday, with completion expected on Sunday, by volunteer artists from around Oregon working eight-hour-plus days.

Walldog murals “have always been connected to time and place,” Littlewood noted, translating historical images from a specific community onto that community’s walls. In McKearnan's Walldogs studio, the overall designer doesn’t sign the mural — instead, every artist who picks up a brush gets their name added to the wall. Which is “...a big part of Walldogs’ murals compared to, say, artistic murals ... we’re prepared to work hard to get community engagement,” Littlewood said. “That is part of the ethics.” This year, most Walldogs came from Portland, with others from Corvallis, Bend and The Dalles.

In 2022, the national Walldogs organization held their convention in The Dalles, bringing an explosion of creativity after the artistic isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This was the one that was postponed, and postponed again,” Littlewood said. When it finally happened after a pandemic-long delay, they painted the town — with 15 new murals in one week, persevering through 105-degree heatwaves, The Dalles Mayor Rich Mays recalled at this mural's ribbon-cutting late Saturday.

Now The Dalles gets a new mural almost annually. Last year, Walldogs painted the “Wheatland” mural.

In the future, The Dalles Mural Committee hopes to acquire about one mural per year. A great hope is to organize a mural for the Native Americans, in collaboration with local Tribes, said committee member Lucille Begay. That would mean working with Tribes to “make sure they’re on board with it” and that the Tribes lead the process, Begay noted.

Since the first “teaser murals” in 2020, about 300 artists have come from across the world to paint murals in The Dalles.

The reward for their free labor — with food, paint and lodging provided by The Dalles — is three days spent working closely, sharing techniques and laughter with other artists, said Brad Johnson. A Walldogs volunteer from Corvallis, Johnson also designed the 2022 mural of cowgirl Blanche McGaughey, painted near West Third and Liberty streets. “You leave with a bigger, better bag of tricks,” he noted happily.

Next year’s projects include touching up the mural on The Dalles Inn’s east wall. Other communities — like Cottage Grove, Oregon — have contacted Mays with interest in mural projects of their own.

“Why are they called ‘Walldogs?’ Because they said, they paint the walls and work like dogs,” said Mays.

“We’re all friends. We’ve been getting together for 30-plus years,” McKearnan confirmed, adding, “I couldn’t do it without this great group of people.”

David Benko is The Dalles’ local organizer, and McKearnan organizes the Walldogs. The Dalles Main Street organizes programs, and the Mural Committee picks mural subjects, often with community input. “You know, there’s certain walls that were just really ugly and needed some love, and basically it’s cleaned up that little part of the town,” McKearnan noted.

To get involved in Walldogs, go to thewalldogs.org. To get involved in The Dalles’ Mural Committee, contact Chris Zukin at Meadow Outdoors.