Last we spoke, a hotshot Hollywood muralist was passing through town, and I was pondering that ever looming question, “How can I sell him on Bremerton?”

Let’s get right to the subject. Why honey coat it? He arrived with his impressive portfolio. I told him about the mural project slash live/studio situation Then I took him to the proposed site and house by the 6th and Park 7-11 store.

“Don’t stop. Just keep driving,” he said. Then he mumbled something about a gun to his head at a 7-11 in L.A.

I told you that sharing the saga of art and business in Bremerton would be a roller coaster ride. Not like the Silverdale/Poulsbo north county clean white sheet atmosphere of shiny clinics, condos, and carousels. It takes a special person to appreciate Bremerton’s unique personality. Downtown Bremerton is like a double X-B movie playing over and over again in a black and white 50’s TV melodrama.

As I last shared, the buying of $50,000 houses in Downtown Bremerton for artist studios took a slight detour. I went above budget and excitedly purchased the house directly behind the huge concrete wall of the 7-11 store (like four feet away).

Like a bolt of lightning, one of those callings screamed “MURAL PROJECT!” My investment belief in Bremerton took a back seat to a greater potential aspect I was capable of pursuing. Large positive images could change a reputed crime area into a pedestrian-friendly walkway — a social and economic boost.

But the first couple weeks of my house purchase and mural dream took a steep downslide. The gas furnace was condemned and had to be totally replaced, the house painted, both rotten porches redone, a vagrant was beaten and killed on the sidewalk, the 7-11 was robbed and the first muralist I interviewed left town faster than a heat wave in Georgia.

The idea was discounted rent for a muralist to start a four-wall theme project — any imagery that projected the illusion of depth like a path, street space ace, or so on, and I would raise money to pay the artist(s).

The downhill slide continued. Artists responded but no connection. An artist wanted the house but couldn’t do murals, or a mural artist wanted the job, but didn’t want to leave Seattle.

Then like turning a switch on to an auditorium, bright lights exposed a malleable arena. A homegrown Bremerton artist rode galloping over the horizon with mural credentials strapped to his belt buckle and a halo of enthusiasm lighting the sky.
And so begins artist Dennis McDaniel’s vision of an old growth forest. As Bremerton grows and emerges from the ashes, it will take shape around an old growth forest, The “Park Avenue Forest.”

                                                       ...To be continued.