Kona Ambassador Gretchen Leggitt is a NW-based artist and muralist, whose outdoor inspired works include the largest mural in the state of Washington. She led a ride at Northwest Tune Up to show people some of the artistic wonders Bellingham has to offer. Some of which included her own work such as this mountainscape which spans the length of several football fields.
This Encogen Mural is 21,8000 sq/ft and stretches across a whole block.
This Farmers market mural was a collaboration with Sarah Finger, whose father started the Bellingham farmers market. Sarah got her start as an artist by selling prints at the market! A beautiful omage to many.
Many riders gathered to learn from Gretchen who had many stories to tell not just about her own art, but the entire street art scene in Bellingham. She chatted about it’s roots, and key players who paved the way for the art we can appreciate today. She also educated the riders about the hierarchy of “tagging,” explained the myriad of tagging terms, and help decipher what is art vs what is essentially just vandalism.
Gretchen feels deeply that art has many beautiful contributions to society. This piece called ‘Salmon Run’ is no exeption. In collaboration with local Lummi artist Jason LaClair, Gretchen taught LaClair how to paint murals in the same fashion she learned… trial by fire. This was the first piece Jason had ever done at such a large scale, and now he continues to paint murals and teach others. As Gretchen’s now graces the walls of numerous buildings, her goal is to help mentor more artists so they, too, can start to leave their mark around town.
We ended this tour at the Kona Bike Shop which features Gretchens mural ‘Astrowhip’ on the side of the building.
