The railyard was a flurry of rattle can activity in late August while Phil Haleen, of For the Love PDX, and his friends repainted 7 of 8 railcars with unique and amazing murals. The event was themed ‘Lax on the Trax’, as it’s quite rare that graffiti artists are allowed to apply their craft in a relaxed environment. If you read our previous post in April about our collaboration with Phil and local graffiti artists, you know we appreciate the opportunity to partner with graffiti artists on of their most coveted of canvases, railcars. We’re huge fans of the work and mural movement in Portland. We take pride in participating in the movement and sharing it with passers by.
Phil was the ringleader that brought together over 15 artists in less than 2 weeks to knock out this massive project. It was a significant challenge to align schedules, coordinate paint and materials and work with the businesses that occupy the trains. Fortunately weather played nice and everyone made space for each other while the masterpieces took shape. Below you’ll find a gallery of these impressive works and a bit about the artists behind them.
@ChetMalinow came back for his third treatment of the Cascade car applying a two tone spin on this mandalas and grid patterned mural.
The cherry on top is the B Corp logo embossed mandala on the main entrance.
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On the other end of the railcar is a chameleon with amazing depth of field.
The artists were mostly local, but one 4 person crew, @Sector_Seventeen, traveled from Boise, ID to leave their mark. With two photo realistic skulls and some more traditional graffiti tags, this one really pops.
Next up, @theearwhig22 lead the charge on this mural. Notice how he converted the water cisterns into spraypaint cans with his caricature reaching for them.
@Rupeezy and @Dominatah teamed up for this bright, crisp piece with a devious racoon on one end and a White Claw spoof that reads
Finally, Ron Berg teamed up with @theearwhig22 on this trippy space mural complete with a friendly martian welcoming staff and clients to the Birdsmouth office.
Thanks again to Phil for thinking big and coming through. We’re huge fans of seeing communities gather around projects like this that can be enjoyed by eveeryone. It’s fun getting to tap into this community of humans and watch the creativity unfold on the side of the railcars. Hopefully, this is the beginning of an ongoing tradition here in the railyard. Please swing by if you want a closer look. Just be careful as this is a live railroad.