Master Blaster: Mad man in Mural-dome

Positive News - May 16 - Written By Tom Peterson

Artist Chris Pothier washes the west wall of the Annex in downtown The Dalles this afternoon, May 15. He was at the intersection of Thai food and Copper West Properties - the very gut of TD - as he and Dylan McManus prepare for the latest mural in Little Art City on Lincoln Street.

The Dalles, Ore., May 16, 2025 — One pressure washer enter.

All dirt leave.

Artist Chris Pothier was feeling the pressure today as he prepped the west wall at the Annex, a shelter for houseless people and families in Downtown The Dalles.

But not the dun, dun, dun, dada, dun dun kind of Queen-David Bowie pressure.

More like the hydraulic push of water when forced through a small orifice at 3,000 pounds of pressure per square inch with an accompanying shoosh sound.

Pothier, who was a little too smiley on that adult water gun, is stoked to get that wall prepped and the project started.

He and fellow artist Dylan McManus will be working with the clients and staff of Mid-Columbia Community Action Council to put out a gorgeous welcoming hand into this busiest of intersections in our town.

Standing at this site, you can easily see half of The Dalles residents roll by in cars, pickups, electric bikes, rocket-propelled shopping carts in less than 12 minutes… ok, that’s simply not true. But it is crazy busy, and it is the west entrance to downtown.

Point? The next mural will likely be one of the most visible in town.

There are 32 murals in The Dalles, and it seems the push to maintain and add to the mix is constantly bringing new ideas to the surface.

Pothier and McManus have some incredible and welcoming plans for this wall, and it will likely take many hands and at least one outstretched arm with the efforts of some kids to bring it to fruition.

Stay tuned.