MUKILTEO — Step into the old school portable beside Rosehill Community Center in Old Town Mukilteo, and there’s sure to be a lively conversation about art going on, or maybe a prank bring pulled.
The space recently has become a place for five older Scandinavian artists to practice their work, learn from each other and brag about eating lutefisk.
They call themselves the MukArt Men.
The five come from similar artistic backgrounds. Two are former art teachers, one is a Boeing employee and one is retired from Boeing, and one worked in construction. All have returned to their love of art.
Carol Harkins, founder and director of the Gene Nastri School of the Arts, rents the studio space and encouraged the five to start working there together.
Among the MukArt Men is Peter Jensen, 71, who taught art for 30 years at Everett High School, Wenatchee High School and Evergreen Middle School.
He made art a career after flunking out of history at the University of Washington in 1955, he said. Since retiring, he has discovered a love of history and participates in Civil War re-enactments, giving presentations at local middle schools.
He also spends much of his free time in the trailer with the other artists, painting in oils and doing pen-and-ink drawings. Jensen does representational art such as lighthouses and barns.
He said working together has its benefits.
"When you are working in a group like this, you have the opportunity to be inspired by others," he said.
Rolf Oversvee, 60, a retired art teacher from Olympic View Middle School, said when he was a child in school, "I was always the kid drawing pictures in class."
He now does oil paintings, including maritime scenes, and wood carvings. He comes to the trailer for the camaraderie, he said.
Ole Olson, 68, said his father always wanted him to go into aeronautics. When he flunked math, he turned to art.
He graduated with a sculpting degree but turned to construction to make a living. He returned to art about 10 years ago and has recently been working in watercolors, oils, carvings and bronze.
Hanging out in the old school classroom "is like being back in college," Olson said. "When you are sharing space, you get beyond your own track. I gave up painting ships long ago, but watching them, I picked it up again."
Olson calls his work "second-spirit" art. He takes animals such as fish and birds and turns them into geometric shapes, then finishes the art using European influences.
Bob Bengtsson, 68, worked as an industrial designer, most recently at Boeing. In his career he designed cars, airplanes and interiors of trains.
"Industrial design is an interesting career, but I love doing artwork," he said.
He does landscapes with pastels and also does some abstract paintings.
"And it’s fun to be around these guys. … You learn by working around others," Bengtsson said.
The youngest of the group, Steve Abbott, 55, is a manufacturing engineer at Boeing, where he works the night shift.
"I gave up art for 30 years, and when I turned 49, I said ‘something is wrong here’ and I began painting again," Abbott said.
He comes to the studio in the morning before his Boeing shift and works in watercolors, pastels and oils doing boats and maritime paintings.
He said "this has really gotten me motivated, by being able to bounce ideas off other artists."
Reporter Pam Brice: 425-339-3439 or pbrice@heraldnet.com.
MICHAEL O’LEARY/ The Herald
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