Graffiti group They Drift paint a mural on a wall of the Onalaska Elementary/Middle School play shed Saturday in the second-annual Northwest Spray Day. The event attracted about 25 artists from around the Northwest.
Ashley Montague, of Portland, paints a dragon in the second-annual Northwest Spray Day in Onalaska Saturday. Montague, who has been painting graffiti for 20 years, was one of 25 artists at the event, which took place at three locations in Onalaska.
Graffiti artist Eyezyr traveled from California to Onalaska for Northwest Spray Day in Onalaska Saturday. He was one of 25 artists to participate in the second-annual event.
Jeremy Nichols of Portland paints the outside of the Onalaska Elementary/Middle School play shed Saturday in the second-annual Northwest Spray Day in Onalaska.
Justin Boggs, organizer of Northwest Spray Day, paints in the second-annual Northwest Spray Day in Onalaska Saturday. Twenty-five graffiti artists painted murals at three locations in Onalaska from noon to 7 p.m.
Twenty-five graffiti artists visited Onalaska Saturday for the second-annual Northwest Spray Day, painting murals at three locations in the city.
Colorful characters took over Onalaska Saturday — cartoon characters, that is.
Some of the Northwest’s best graffiti artists visited the town Saturday for the second-annual Northwest Spray Day, a celebration that showed a variety of styles of the street art.
“It’s a good place for friends to get together and do some art,” said graffiti artist Zaeos, of Seattle. Several artists said they were drawn to the festival for the opportunity to meet and paint with fellow artists.
Most were unwilling to provide their real names, keeping in line with a culture of anonymity that in many ways defines the art.
“It’s amazing to see everybody painting. If you’re lucky you get to paint with a buddy,” said Ashley Montague.
Organizer Justin Boggs said 25 artists from throughout the Pacific Northwest came to Onalaska for the second-annual event, which took place from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday. Artists painted the Carlisle Lake smokestack, old Onalaska transfer station and the play shed at the Onalaska Elementary/Middle School. The event also included music and a barbecue.
Montague said he’s worked with a variety of mediums, but particularly likes spray paint.
“I’ve never been one to work in oils,” he said.
Working on a black background at the transfer station, Montague worked with various shades of red, orange and yellow to create a luminescent dragon.
“Today I’m going straight Dungeons and Dragons on you,” he said. “The bigger the better.”
By the end of the day, the outer wall of the school’s play shed was covered with a huge mural by duo They Drift, which collaborates to paint kid-friendly cartoon-like images. The group said they started years ago with more conventional graffiti, and later started working to create a new style.
Murals on display varied in size and style, from Montague’s dragon, to They Drift’s imaginative cartoons, to a colorful bird of prey, to abstract designs and three-dimensional lettering.
Montague said graffiti has become more mainstream over the years, and more accepted as an art form.
“You look at your kid’s cereal box — they’ve adopted graffiti five to 10 years ago,” he said.
However, he said accepting the graffiti artist is often a different matter.
“You see a guy with a spray can, and you’re afraid,” he said. “I’m more afraid to go into an art gallery sometimes.”
