eileen belanger
“Company Town”
by Eileen Belanger
I have driven up the Clackamas River Highway countless times. Sometimes to go painting or camping or just riding my motorcycle to blow the cobwebs out of my brain. I've passed the sign for Three Lynx and thought it was just another of the numerous campgrounds along the river.
When we started this project and I found out Three Lynx was a company town, built to house the employees who worked on the Oak Grove Powerhouse, I expected some Depression-era shacks.
I was surprised and charmed to see this sweet little group of cottages. They were painted a variety of pastel colors and nestled neatly between flowering trees and the fresh bright greens of spring foliage. It had a very homey feeling.
I can’t help but think how happy the housewife in the 1930s would have felt knowing she was to set up housekeeping in such tidy little cottages. I think she would have appreciated the care the company took in looking after their employees and their families.
We live in a time when people tend to build bigger and bigger houses with enough space to accommodate extra cars and hobbies and boats, etc. The little detached garages in Three Lynx were built in a time of smaller cars and the garages were just the right size for one car. We live so differently today that it gives this little hamlet a storybook quality and that is what I have tried to portray in this painting.
Medium: Painting in pastel on paper
Dimensions: 35” x 29”
Price: $500
Contact: geoleeny@ccwebster.net
503.631.7155Please contact the artist directly for information about purchasing this piece.
Click on photo to enlarge.
