New painting depicts Cottage Grove city history

The city of Cottage Grove has a new painting at Cottage Grove Middle School that depicts the city’s history.

Commissioned from artist Eric Dowdle, the $75,000 project was paid for with funds from the Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority trust. Dowdle, a Utah artist, used places and people significant to the city’s development as his subjects, from Tank’s Corner Stand to the Zywiec’s Corn Maze and others.

Dowdle typically makes puzzles of his paintings, and his company Dowdle Folk Art has sold some 30 million puzzles based on 400 pieces of his artwork, according to his company. He’s the subject of a series on Amazon Prime Video “Painting the Town with Eric Dowdle.” The series is now called “The Piece Maker” and is available on Discovery+ and HBO Max.

A puzzle of Dowdle’s Cottage Grove painting will be available for sale at City Hall starting Monday, with proceeds going back to the Economic Development Authority. The puzzles will cost $28 for a 500-piece version, and $30 for a 1,000-piece version. The painting was commissioned in December of last year and approved by both the City Council and the Economic Development Authority.