Artist gives back to North Bend with murals on walls of park restroom

Bubbles float through the paintings, and butterflies and birds flit across the sky. Trees, lakes, mountains and stars fill in the background of Peter Teekamp's murals that decorate the outside walls of the E. J. Roberts Park restroom in North Bend.

If the professional artist charged his usual fees, the murals would have cost thousands of dollars. But Teekamp, 56, painted them for free. He's done similar work worldwide, but this time it wasn't easy to give away his talents.

Although he had approval from the city, word hadn't reached the police. He was just starting an outline on the first wall last May when two police cars pulled up.

"They told me to put my hands up and step away from the wall," Teekamp said. "It was all miscommunication, but they thought I was doing graffiti. Me, a grandpa with gray hair? I'm going to do graffiti?"

Now Teekamp laughs about the experience, but at the time, he was shaking his head.

"Ever since 9/11, Americans are paranoid," he said. "In India when I wanted to paint a mural, they said, 'My wall is your wall.' In Israel, they said, 'Shalom.' In Holland they slapped me on the back with approval."

The mural project stemmed from daily walks through his neighborhood, just a few blocks from downtown, where Teekamp discovered E.J. Roberts Park. Deer often graze in the park, and a children's playground attracts young families. On clear days, Mount Si beckons, close enough that you can imagine you see hikers on the trails.

The restroom building was jarring in that setting.

"The restroom looked like a gray concrete bunker," Teekamp said. "It was ugly, and I wanted to give something beautiful to my town."

In January, he proposed murals to the city and submitted sketches of his ideas for the walls, a series of paintings that look like windows. Each side represents a season — summer, winter, spring and fall. It took three months to receive permission and then it took from May to September to complete the project. For all his outdoor murals, including some in Arizona and South Dakota, he uses acrylic paints because the colors don't fade in sun or rain.

North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing became an instant fan when the work was finished.

"Peter volunteered, and he beautified a plain building," Hearing said. "I love the murals."

Teekamp said his most appreciative fans seem to be children. He delights in watching them discover the murals. They'll drag their parents over and point out the squirrel or the parrot.

Children, he said, usually pick up quickly that there are hidden treasures in his work. For instance, he added reflective chips, like those used in highway signs, to some of the birds in the mural. Depending upon the angle of viewing, the birds glitter. If you look closely, you'll find faces in the tree branches or clouds or water.

Teekamp is a self-educated artist who makes his living from his paintings. His work is done with short brush strokes and intense colors; some are filled with stars and crystals and other symbols. The Holland-born artist moved to the area three years ago to work with Michelle Moshay, of North Bend, who is helping him write his autobiography. He lived in Minnesota, Arizona and California before coming to the Northwest. Some of his paintings decorate the walls at Twede's Café, a favorite local hangout.

But it is the restroom murals that satisfy Teekamp the most.

"If you have a talent, you should give away 10 percent of it," he said. "This town has been kind to me, so it is only fair that I give back to it. If I were to die tomorrow, this is a nice way to leave my mark."

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com