PORT ANGELES — The “Olympic Visions” mural in downtown Port Angeles, which was left unfinished by the late artist Tim Quinn when he died four months ago, may be completed by the end of summer.
The Nor’wester Rotary Club, the mural’s source of funding, plans to pick an artist to complete the work on Friday, said club President Doc Reiss.
“The way we are planning on it now . . . it will probably be worked on through the summer and done before the end of summer, if not before,” he said.
Quinn was found dead in his Sequim apartment in December. He was 62. Foul play was not suspected.
Artist’s mural in Railroad Bridge Park
The artist was known for his chain-saw carvings, comics in the Sequim Gazette and stained glass, as well as his murals.
Two of his completed murals can be seen at Railroad Bridge Park near Sequim.
Quinn also helped paint two other murals in Port Angeles, one of the Norman train on Railroad Avenue and “Sluicing the Hogback” on Laurel Street.
Quinn had previously finished “Olympic Visions,” which blends scenes of Rialto Beach, Sol Duc Falls and Seven Lakes Basin behind the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain, in 1999.
He began repainting it last summer after the original peeled due to sealant not being properly applied by volunteers.
10 artists applied
Reiss said that about 10 artists sought the job of finishing the mural, and that the club members have interviewed more than five of them.
The club’s focus has been on finding artists who can mimic Quinn’s style, he said.
“In essence, the person taking this on is taking on a great deal of responsibility,” Reiss said.
“They have to be as good as they are, but also they have to match Tim so people will see a seamless presentation.”
A close friend of Quinn, Port Angeles artist Jackson Smart, said he has applied for the job.
Smart helped paint the Norman train mural and “Sluicing the Hogback.”
“I know his style so I could finish it in his style,” he said.
But, as a friend, it would also mean a lot to Smart to finish Quinn’s last piece of public art.
“It would be an honor, to honor his memory, for me to be able to do that,” he said.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
