1859 March | April 2018

artist in residence
Peter Mahar
Cleo Hehn also enjoys the new technical skills she
learns on the job. “Every painting presents its own artistic
challenges, and I get to develop new techniques,” she said.
When she has finished researching, she begins with a
thumbnail sketch, then works up a larger, more detailed
sketch to see how her ideas play out. “I often draw two or
three very different compositions to make sure I have the best
plan for the topic,” she said. Once she’s finished a painting,
she likes to work on a different project for a day or two, then
return to it with fresh eyes. She also seeks feedback from the
other artists, like her mentor Jenny Joyce.
Joyce began as a contracting artist for Edgefield in 1993,
while working as an artist in the schools. She loves the
culture created by a team of artists and the opportunity to
improve her skills every day while earning a living. She keeps
an active personal studio as well, and her energetic oil-oncanvas
abstracts are quite different from her illustrative
work with McMenamins. She can’t settle on a favorite
piece, because she always enjoys her current project. At the
moment, that’s a 36x30-inch panel featuring Bigfoot for the
new Kalama Harbor Lodge in Washington.
McMenamins artists are also beginning work on the
Elks Lodge in Tacoma, Washington. They, along with
additional contract artists, will paint during construction
and restoration, Yoder said, which, on some days, includes
a jackhammer on either side. “This is a job where you really
have to go with the flow,” she said.
60 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE MARCH | APRIL 2018