Lee Lauritzen spent 31 years as a forester in the northwest for the Bureau of
Land Management, which has given him an eye for detail in his latest
endeavor: painting a mural for Sandy’s centennial celebration.

“As you can see, I’ve painted a lot of moss before,” said Lauritzen, referring to
a scene of a fisherman in a river with moss-covered stones. “It’s a challenging
project just because of the size of it and the complexity. I think it’s going to
make a nice addition to the city.”

Lauritzen, who has painted professionally for more than 20 years following his
career as a forester, landed the job of painting the mural – a 60-foot by 12-
foot piece that will reside in Sandy Civic Plaza across from the Sandy
Historical Society’s museum – out of an original field of 13 artists. A selection
committee, headed by Sandy Planning Director Tracy Brown, whittled the
applicant pool down to four and had them paint a scaled down version before
picking Lauritzen.

“A lot of people liked his detailed approach; he has a lot of experience doing
trees and those kind of details,” Brown said. “(With) his overall composition,
we felt that he was the right person.”

Lauritzen’s Sandy mural includes a number of the area’s most recognizable
and significant buildings, including Joe’s Donuts, the Revenue Hotel, the
Junker Building and the Jonsrud cabin, as well as outdoor scenes depicting
various activities found around the city, such as fishing, hiking and skiing. The
most dominant feature is the iconic Mount Hood, set in the background.
“(Sandy is) basically the gateway to Mount Hood,” said Lauritzen, a Gresham
resident who has been a regular at the Sandy Mountain Festival for more than
10 years and is also a regular participant in the Gresham Art Walk. “The mural
is something that citizens could look at and have a connection to it.”

Lauritzen has painted 15 previous murals, including ones in southern
California, Molalla, Eugene and Corvallis. With the help of his son, Craig,
Lauritzen began the Sandy mural last November, and the installation of the
piece is expected to take place in April followed by an official unveiling in May.

The mural will consist of 24 panels (usually used as signs), featuring a central
core with an aluminum film, then covered with enamel paint. Lauritzen and
his son use exterior paint for larger areas, such as streets, and acrylic paint
for the detail work, including people.

After the work is complete, it will get a sealant coat to protect it from
ultraviolet light and moisture, plus a topcoat to save it from possible graffiti.
“Fortunately, I’ve never had that happen to one of my murals, but you never
know,” Lauritzen said.

Brown noted the cost of the project is approximately $30,000, funded by a
$10,000 tourism grant, $5,000 from the proceeds of the Sandy Area Chamber
of Commerce’s “Fall for the Arts” events of the past two years, a $1,000 grant
from the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition and the remainder from the City
of Sandy.

Lauritzen has a storefront in the Champion Way shopping area (by Sandy
Cinema) as a studio for the project, and since it is being paid for with public
funding, he invites the people to drop in (generally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven
days a week) and view his progress.

“If they want to get really bored, they can watch us paint,” he said.