Blaine mapped out in new canvas mural at Hill’s Chevron

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The once blank exterior of the Chevron gas station on Peace Portal Drive now helps put Blaine on the map as a destination thanks to an artistic collaboration between gas station owner Mike Hill and painter Dan DeLong.

The canvas, centered on Hill’s gas station and depicting a cartoon-like aerial view of Blaine, was completed in December after a four-month process. Blaine landmarks like the Peace Arch and Semiahmoo Spit are dotted on the map with newer features like the Blaine High School stadium. Closer inspection also yields special hidden items, from mermaids to Pokémons.

“It’s not your typical map that you might see,” DeLong said. “It has a lot of personal character as far as the town and the people who were involved in the project.”

The completion of the canvas represents a longstanding friendship between Hill and DeLong, who worked at Hill’s gas station through high school and college in the ’90s. Five paintings that DeLong created during that time hung in the gas station for decades, eventually inspiring the new canvas.

Hill said there was no better artist for the canvas than DeLong, who understood both Blaine and Hill’s artistic vision.

“The big thing for me is that everybody who has been involved in this has been involved in my life, especially with Danny doing this,” Hill said. “He knows what it means around here for the locals.”

The map is also important to give visitors a visualization of where they are and what the town offers, Hill said.

“You wouldn’t believe how many people cross the border and ask us if they’re in the U.S.,” Hill said. “They’ll also ask us how far the White House is.”

The mural starts with an aerial view of the border before highlighting Blaine and extending to a distant Seattle. Although not every business or house fit, DeLong was able to add the downtown core with images of Semiahmoo Bay and the San Juan Islands. The brightly painted canvas is intended to create a happy, idyllic scene, DeLong said.

“Mike and I had this vision about Blaine being a destination,” DeLong said. “This is a place you’d want to come based on some of the imagery you’re seeing.”

The artistic license DeLong was granted allowed him to add personal touches to the map, like surprising his 11-year-old daughter with two humpback whales from her favorite Star Trek movie.

It took DeLong 46 hours and multiple sketches of warped perspectives to create the mixed animated and surreal-style scene. He said he didn’t work on the mural more than an hour at a time, regulating his pace with bursts of energy. Schematic challenges were the biggest obstacle DeLong faced during the process, with decisions like the size and placement of buildings.

“My favorite memory was that I was blessed enough to be able to put the mural up,” Hill said.

The canvas comes as an addition to Hill’s newly renovated gas station, which extended from 500 square feet to 3,000 square feet in September last year.

“I hope people will enjoy and have fun with the mural,” DeLong said. “It’s dedicated to Blaine and I’ve been in Blaine my whole life.”

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