PORT TOWNSEND — Fifty kinds of wild things, close up and together: They’re now found on a mural in the middle of their natural surroundings at Fort Townsend State Park.
“Even the sketch impressed me,” said Ann Weinmann, one of the park neighbors who made possible “A Walk on the Wild Side,” the densely populated painting that is now on display at the park, a 367-acre expanse of forests, trails and bayfront at 1370 Old Fort Townsend Road.
Port Townsend’s own Larry Eifert, a painter of murals for national parks and nature centers across the country, created the 36-by-54-inch tableau after spending abundant time with its inhabitants.
They range from tiny black-capped chickadees and fairy slipper orchids to sharp-shinned hawks and Pacific madrone trees.
Beside the mural, which is mounted on a kiosk beside Fort Townsend’s parking lot, is another panel with a key to the dozens of species.
The scene, Weinmann noted, brings together the wildlife seen from the park’s 6½ miles of trails, deep in the forest and out on the perimeter, where one can also have a view of Port Townsend Bay.
When Eifert first came to Port Townsend in 1972, he spent his first night camped in this park.
Forty years later, he and wife, nature photographer Nancy Cherry Eifert, live close by.
The artist realized only recently, however, that Fort Townsend is a designated “natural forest area” rich in old-growth trees: a legacy of the era when all of this was wilderness.
Some trees here have survived for at least 150 years, with a Douglas fir that is 6 feet in diameter, according to the mural’s key panel.
This is one of the Puget Sound region’s best examples of lowland forest, the panel notes, including fir, hemlock and cedar with an understory of rhododendron.
The Eiferts were among the donors who contributed to creating the mural, which cost $8,400.
The Friends of Fort Townsend, a group of local residents and others who love the park, and the Washington Native Plant Society also provided funding.
“Many in Port Townsend use this place to walk and gain intimate contact with pristine nature. We do,” said Eifert. “I especially like the smaller, lateral trails.”
While a large version of “A Walk on the Wild Side” is permanently installed in the park, the original painting and preliminary sketch are on display at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave. in Port Hadlock.
They will stay there for two months, Weinmann said, and eventually be moved into the Friends of Fort Townsend barn inside the park.
A painting such as this takes weeks, and “it’s a real physical effort,” Eifert said.
His murals celebrating local webs of wildlife can also be seen in Olympic National Park, at the Feiro Marine Life Center on City Pier in Port Angeles and at LarryEifert.com.
Fort Townsend State Park is open year-round from 8 a.m. till dusk; the campground stays open through Oct. 2 before closing for the winter; it will reopen in May.
Any time of year, though, visitors must have a state park Discover Pass — $10 per day or $30 for the year — for motor vehicle access.
“The park is pretty amazing,” Eifert said.
“Take a walk on one of the trails. You won’t be disappointed.”
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
