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Version 10.0

In-progress carving of "Park Place" steamroller print by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

Here we are: year ten. Since the time Jessica Spring founded the Tacoma Wayzgoose all those years ago, it’s become one heckuva beast—and a veritable Tacoma institution.

So here are a few sneak peeks of the giant linoleum block Jessica and I are carving—and we’ll reveal all on Sunday:

10th Annual Tacoma Wayzgoose
Sunday, April 27, 2014
11 am to 4 pm, Free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, WA

In-progress carving of "Park Place" steamroller print by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

If you’re new here and don’t know what a Wayzgoose is, or you just want to relive the glory days of old, here are links to all the Wayzgeese (gooses?) I’ve been a part of:

2009 (Tacoma)
2010 (Tacoma)
2011 (Tacoma)
2011 (San Francisco)
2012 (Tacoma)
2013 (Tacoma)

Itching for more? Well, then, see you on Sunday!

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Spring view

Sketch by Chandler O'Leary

It’s gloomy again today, but last week was so gorgeous I just had to drop everything and sketch outside. This is from one of my favorite neighborhood spots in Tacoma—sometimes it’s still hard to believe I live here.

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They clean up nice, don’t they?

Wayzgoose exhibit photo by Chandler O'Leary

Well, I only just realized that my only photo of last night’s opening (stupid phone!) was so out of focus, but oh well. It still gives you an idea of how nicely the Wayzgoose steamroller prints look on a gallery wall!

Thanks to everybody who made the trek down to Parkland last night for the shindig—and to Jessica Spring for organizing, curating and installing these beasts!

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Gallery ‘goose

"Art of the Wayzgoose" exhibition flyer featuring artwork by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Tacoma Wayzgoose! The festival isn’t until the end of April, but we’re celebrating early with an exhibit of all the giant steamroller prints created over the years at the Pacific Lutheran University Gallery. It’s going to be a doozy!

And I’m honored to see that the artwork I created with Jessica Spring is gracing all the promo materials for the exhibit! (Thanks, PLU.) If you’re in the Seattle-Tacoma area this Wednesday, stop by for the opening, won’t you?

In the meantime, we’re about to get crackin’ on this year’s steamroller print…look for a teaser soon.

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More magnets

Theatre magnets illustrated by Chandler O'Leary

Remember my theater illustrations? Well, now they’re all over my fridge.

Theatre magnets illustrated by Chandler O'Leary

Each magnet is about 2 inches square, and about a quarter-inch thick. They’re made by Kel-Tech (right here in Tacoma), out of heavy-duty acrylic.

Theatre magnets illustrated by Chandler O'Leary

Best of all, 50% of the proceeds go to support the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. You can find your set in the shop!

Theatre magnets illustrated by Chandler O'Leary

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Cold studio, warm palette

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

For the past few days I’ve been painting while wrapped in a thick wool shawl and wearing fingerless gloves—but howl as it might, no polar vortex can dim my bright tropical paints.

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

I’m putting the finishing touches on a few new goodies,

Detail of Painted Bunting illustration by Chandler O'Leary

just in time for Valentine’s Day. If you’re local, you can find them at my table at the craft fair this weekend! Here’s the skinny:

Tacoma is for Lovers Valentine Craft Fair
Saturday & Sunday, February 8 & 9
11 am to 4 pm both days, free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, WA

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

If you’re not local, they’ll go online in the Etsy shop this weekend, too. I’ll be back with an announcement post when they’re up. In the meantime, stop by the fair and say hello!

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In the news

"You'll Like Tacoma" article featuring illustration by Chandler O'Leary

I woke up this morning to find a big article about my You’ll Like Tacoma exhibit in the News Tribune! Huge thanks to Rosemary Ponnekanti for interviewing me and for the kind review of my show!

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You’ll Like Tacoma

You'll Like Tacoma sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

The Pacific Northwest is a treasure trove of vintage neon typography, preserved into the modern landscape of our cities. Despite the best preservation efforts, however, there are still many examples that have long since passed into history. These ghosts of Tacoma are the ones I’ve chosen to resurrect for my You’ll Like Tacoma series of paintings. Some photographic records still remain, so from among them I’ve chosen my favorite signs to recreate in living color—each one of these is hand-painted with acrylic ink on black paper. My entire body of reference material is in black-and-white, though, so while I have done my best to represent color accurately, a fair amount of artistic license has been necessary. Since neon signs fascinate me equally by day and by night, I’ve depicted these as paired diptychs.

I’ll start with the first set, above. This “You’ll Like Tacoma” beacon is an early example of electric signage. The sign ran as an advertisement (touted as “the longest shoreline electric sign in the world”) during the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle, in hopes of getting out-of-state visitors to move to Tacoma. Its exact location is unknown, but the sign was erected along a shoreline—most likely along Lake Washington, near the AYP Exposition site (now University of Washington). The sign pre-dates the advent of neon technology in the U.S. (French neon tubes were first introduced in California in 1923), so it’s likely the sign was lit with a series of white bulbs.

Vintage Flying Boots Cafe sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Located on South 38th Street in Tacoma’s Lincoln District, the Flying Boots was a popular tavern for 75 years, until it closed its doors just last year. The bar’s days ended on a sour note when patrons looted the place for mementos on its last day in business.

Vintage Flying Boots Cafe sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

The Flying Boots was purchased in December 2013, and reopened just this past April as a country-themed sports bar—complete with restored sign.

Vintage Viking Restaurant sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Okay, this guy was my favorite, and not just for the viking in short skirt. I mean, come on: “Cheese!” Any sign that just randomly screams “Cheese” is a winner in my book.

Anyway, this midcentury icon was formerly known as the Viking Smorgasbord, and specialized in Scandinavian-American food. The Viking once stood at 9702 South Tacoma Way (along former Highway 99—the West Coast’s answer to Route 66)—on a lot now home to a modern (and totally depressing) strip mall.

Vintage Happy Days sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

The Happy Days was one of many taverns to call Tacoma home over the years, though this one appears to have been rather short-lived. Located at 1302 Broadway, this place had its heyday in the 1930s.

Vintage Happy Days sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

What I love about this one is that it’s sort of the 1930s equivalent to what a hipster establishment might do today—the whole place is one huge pop culture reference. The name is a nod to the famous Depression-era song, while the proudly-displayed beer mug celebrates the end of Prohibition—which at the time had been newly repealed.

Vintage sign illustrations by Chandler O'Leary

Both the giant Federal Bakery rolling pin and the “Shop K Street” sign occupied the same block in Tacoma—though that stretch of K Street has been renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Oh, how I wish I could have been a customer of the Federal Bakery—the place was open for almost 100 years. (I missed it by a decade, though.) That whole block, sadly, was demolished in 1998 to make way for a Rite Aid pharmacy—which is now sitting empty. (I can’t even drive past that corner—it makes me too angry.)

Vintage Poodle Dog sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Of all the establishments represented in this series, the Poodle Dog is the only one still in business today, without changing hands. The Fife restaurant has been a fixture along old Highway 99 for decades.

Vintage Poodle Dog sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Though while the Poodle Dog recently celebrated 80 years in operation, you’d find that my illustration no longer matches its living counterpart. The original midcentury sign is long gone, replaced by a modern (and not nearly as good) facsimile.

Vintage Top of the Ocean sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

I saved the best for last—every Tacoman, whether they were alive to see the real thing or not, knows about the Top of the Ocean. It’s easily our most famous ghost—and one of our saddest stories (rivaled maybe only by the Luzon).

Tacoma’s hottest restaurant and nightclub, nicknamed “the Top,” opened in 1946. The theme restaurant resembled an ocean liner, constructed on piers along the Ruston Way waterfront in Old Town (if you click that link and look closely, you’ll find another Top of the Ocean homage I made…). It boasted a sunken dining room, dance floor and music stage, a floating dock to accommodate up to 20 yachts, and even seaplane taxi service on Sundays. The building was destroyed by arson in 1977, the crime committed by a mentally disabled man hired by the mob. (Yes, the mob. You can’t make this stuff up!) A memorial stands in its former location, now a public boardwalk.

For me, the whole point of creating this series was to provide some sort of reminder of how much our city—and every city, really—has changed over time. I barely scratched the surface with my research. I chose eight signs, but there were easily dozens more I passed up—and who knows how many have slipped through the cracks, with no old photographs to prove they existed? To me, each one of these signs is a wonder of graphic design and typography, made by talented but unsung artists, who never signed their names to their work. If I can do my small part to bring them back into the world, even only in effigy—well, I feel like that’s time well spent.

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Yep, I like Tacoma

"You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit photo by Chandler O'Leary

Many thanks to everyone who braved the cold to come to the You’ll Like Tacoma opening last night! As always, I forgot to take photos—the only one I managed to snag was this crummy phone snap. But we had a great turnout of folks of all ages (“kids from 1 to 92…”), and lots of shared stories from people who remember these old neon signs. I’ll post each piece in the exhibit here soon—stay tuned!

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These little lights of mine

Installation of "You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit by Chandler O'Leary

It’s the new year—time to hang some new artwork. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve got a new solo exhibit opening this Thursday!

Installation of "You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit by Chandler O'Leary

The show is in the most unlikely of places: a dentist’s office. I kid you not. But Dr. Jamie Brooks (we all call her Dr. Jamie) is no ordinary dentist, and her space is no ordinary clinic—it’s an absolutely stunning piece of modern interior architecture, and twice a year she adorns it with new work by regional artists. Dr. Jamie really understands the value of adding art to the mix of our everyday lives, and has turned a utilitarian space into something really special—and supporting local artists while she’s at it.

Detail of "Poodle Dog" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Once the show opens and local folks get the chance to see it first, I’ll post all the images here—but for now, here’s a little taste. Each of the 16 illustrations in the exhibit is a hand-lettered homage to Tacoma’s blazing neon history, told through iconic signage of days past. The images are arranged as day-and-night diptychs, painted on white and black paper, respectively.

"You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit by Chandler O'Leary

So if you find yourself in the Northwest in the coming months, be sure to stop by!

You’ll Like Tacoma: a solo exhibit
On display through June 30, 2014
Opening reception Thursday, January 16, 5 to 7 pm
Brooks Dental Studio
732 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402