The Washougal Arts and Culture Association wants to bring whimsy to the sidewalks of downtown Washougal.
The nonprofit is looking for artists to create 3D paintings that offer “an illusion of depth and challenge the viewer’s perception.”
Association leaders hope the 3D art will attract Washougal residents and visitors to the city’s historic downtown.
“I have seen lots of examples of this kind of art and thought it would be good for Washougal,” board member Chuck Carpenter said. “Some of them look like you’re going to walk into a pit. Others have little characters crawling out of the sidewalk. But the emphasis is on the three-dimensional optical illusion.”
Arts association leaders will choose sidewalk sites based on the individual designs chosen for the art project.
Carpenter said most of the artwork will likely go in front of downtown Washougal businesses, with a few near Washougal City Hall.
“As the city proceeds with the new water park venture near City Hall, I thought it would be fun to have some (paintings) for people who are going into the play area,” Carpenter said.
City leaders told Carpenter that as long as the Washougal Arts Commission approved the project, the art can go on sidewalks.
“I went to the arts commission, and they thought it was a good idea, so we’re moving full speed ahead,” Carpenter said.
The Washougal Arts and Culture Association is encouraging interested artists to submit a single painting or a series of paintings.
Though the art styles and mediums will vary from artist to artist, Carpenter said, there is one medium that association leaders want to avoid.
“We don’t want chalk,” he said. “It’s a lot of money to invest for something that’s going to wash away in the next rain. We want paint, and probably something over it to make it last. We know that with foot traffic, eventually they’ll wear down, wear away, and then we’ll look for some new ones.”
The association will accept artist proposals through March 15. Submissions must include a brief description of the art proposal, a color illustration, approximate dimensions, proposed budget including time and materials, a timeline and a waiver.
To submit a proposal, email WashougalArts@gmail.com. For more information, call Carpenter at 503-708-2242.
“We’ll see how many proposals we get, and we’ll fund as many as we can,” Carpenter said. “We don’t have a definite budget … but we have a ballpark idea.”
The project is expected to be completed by the end of summer.
Carpenter said he is excited to see the end results.
“We hope it’ll be cool. We hope that it will bring people to Washougal, at least after the word gets out,” he said. “I’m looking forward to not only having some fun art in Washougal, but also giving some artists a job for a day or two.”
