There’s no avoiding street art here in Eugene. It permeates throughout the city and forces us to stop for a moment to appreciate something unique. Street art can teach us through sculptures; it can invite us within the lines of graffiti art; it can tell a story both of a building and the painting created on its walls. Murals have an aesthetic layout that engages with the onlooker, the building and the creator — not just capturing viewers, but capturing a moment for the artist and their surroundings.
Introducing Bayne Gardner, an artist from Eugene, a person whose murals can’t go unnoticed. Having worked professionally in the medium for over seven years, you can see the craftsmanship that resonates with the city. He grew up in Medford, Oregon, and was always interested in painting. “I never thought of it as a career; I dreamt of being a working artist, but it seemed like it would never work out,” Gardner said. “Whether it was backdropped in movies or books, magazines, I was fascinated with the street art culture.”
He moved to Eugene in 1996 with his family and, since then, has always felt connected to that world. Gardner continued to do it over time as a hobby and to provide for the community. The colors and images splattered over concrete create a curious notion about Gardner and his work: in particular, which murals have personal significance and the process that goes behind them.
River Bend Hospital: Children’s MRI Department
The mural is located in Springfield, inside the pediatric hallways of PeaceHealth Medical Center’s imaging services, where they conduct MRI scans for children. The piece is vibrant and filled with the colors of nature and smiling animals. It has a soothing background for the children passing through and attempts to distract them from whatever ailments they might have. You can see a baby elephant and tiger next to each other smiling and a toucan in a white doctor’s coat examining a monkey, making sure everything is okay. There is an orca looking at a fish getting an MRI in the ocean. Giraffes and snakes are surrounded by trees and flowers. Even an orangutan smelling flowers with a long scarf around him, Gardner painted. “That was just a fun mural, trying to get kids to smile,” Gardner said. “It was a mural with an actual purpose.”
The painting stretches down the hallway, filled with these animals and colors on the walls, and the mural was painted with acrylics.
Hayward Field: University of Oregon
The Hayward field murals hit close to home for any University of Oregon student. It’s at the heart of the school’s biggest structure, with 13 concourse restroom murals, 26 walls and one inside of the 140 meter track. The images include silhouettes of athletes each dedicated to memorable moments at the stadium — including one of Steve Prefontaine at the 1972 race that got him to the Olympics. Some murals are of the fighting duck and incorporate the school colors, but with a Bayne-esque style you can recognize. He plays with images that look realistic and mixes it with a background of surreal objects. The shapes and colors remind me of something phantasmagoric with multiple levels and dimensions seen everywhere. “They kind of just turned me loose inside those walls,” Gardner said. “They gave me creative freedom. I had a loose framework of what I was working with.” The whole process took about seven months while the stadium was still under construction, Gardner said.
Willamalane Park and Recreation District
In this mural, you see a hummingbird in a field of flowers and the symbol of the Willamalane agency looking back at you in earnest. The massive painting is done on a brick wall and is seen from a distance. The project commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Willamalane parks and recreation district in Springfield. At the anniversary event, Gardner revealed the mural to the public. “I had to design a mural that would incorporate over 1,000 people contributing to the mural,” Gardner said, mentioning the community came out to paint with him, write their names and add to the painting. Its pastel colors bring life to a place that has stood and provided to its community — something worth seeing if you’re ever in Springfield.
This seems to only be the beginning for Gardner. He’s done work in schools and parks, libraries, pet stores, restaurants, auto shops — anything that’s a building with an empty wall. “I got a lot of respect for that dude and his work,” Wayde Love, another street artist and friend of Gardner’s, said. “He’s always working, always finding new projects.” So keep your eyes open, Eugene, and see where Bayne Gardner will be painting his next mural.
