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Every few minutes, another freight train whistles and shrieks through “the gauntlet,” the interlaced tracks that split the Central Eastside Industrial District, running adjacent to Ulna Studio, the breathtaking (and historic) space that muralist Lettie Jane Rennekamp shares with fellow visual artists and educators Cole Lyons and Jolyn Fry.
Despite the near-constant blaring of train horns, their shared space is almost hypnotically calming.
“Somebody who’s into history podcasts told me that this is called ‘the gauntlet’ because it’s the longest pedestrian-accessible train track in the United States,” Rennekamp explains, gesturing toward Ulna Studio’s grandiose, south-facing windows. The windows overlook the gauntlet as well as a psychedelic mélange of technicolor graffiti murals that color the district’s dense blocks of factory buildings. “I haven’t confirmed this.”
Located in what was once Portland’s John Deere headquarters—now a mash-up of storage facility and art studios—Ulna’s spacious second-floor footprint features enormous picture windows that flood the spaces with natural light, two wide-open areas with plenty of room for messy creativity.
It looks and feels like the perfect environment for the intuitive drawing and deeper drawing seminar art classes Rennekamp conducts here—like the perfect place to simply create.
“I did a few little murals in my own home, around a friend’s window sill and a chicken coop.”
Along with her teaching and other artwork that includes her Too Many Queens tarot deck and yearly calendars, Rennekamp is also known for her sleek, colorful, illustrative murals. These include murals for businesses—including Scratch Meats, Seagrape Apothecary and Dove Vivi Pizza—as well as in-home, residential murals.
Rennekamp’s mural work is influenced by her printmaking practice, which she says led her to “think in shapes and layers.” One mural, which dresses the kitchen/dining room wall of the client’s home, shows a sunset-hued forest scene; a Greek bath-themed mural in another client’s boudoir is clean, classic, and crisp.
“I’m challenged by fine art versus illustration,” she says. “I would say my style is illustrative in that I’m depicting figures in a stylized way, but my intention often feels more like I’m trying to channel big ideas.”
“That sounds pretty ostentatious,” Rennekamp says, laughing, “but fine art is ostentatious.”
A graduate of both Rhode Island School of Design and the San Francisco Art Institute, Rennekamp painted her first mural in college with a professor. Years later, she started painting them on their own—“I did a few little murals in my own home, around a friend’s window sill and a chicken coop.”
For most residential murals, Rennekamp spends two months working from start to finish—but, she says, the length of time can really depend on the project.
“I offer a free site visit to get an idea of how I might install the mural, and hear what the client is interested in,” she says. “I usually take measurements at that point and base my bid on those measurements.”
The design process usually lasts about a month, with a couple of weeks spent on the first round of ideas, and two rounds of revisions, with Rennekamp sketching ideas on an iPad and sharing them with the client. The installation for a smaller mural might take one to three weeks depending on complexity, and whether she can work longer days.
Rennekamp’s operation is self-contained; she doesn’t ask clients to pick up any slack aside from making sure she has space to work.
Mural clients are “creative people,” in Rennekamp’s words, including many former students: “I’m much more responsive in conversation with somebody about what they want. Maybe it’s really specific, like dogs or plants or like, ‘Here’s this rug that I love; can you use it?’” she says.
“It’s interesting to me: I move the artwork in my house constantly, but they can’t ever move this.”
Clients may, of course, paint over murals, or sell their homes; last year, one of Rennekamp’s clients commissioned a second mural in their house: “I heard later they sold it, and now it’s an AirBnB. But the murals are still there.”
Rennekamp’s art practice includes so many other components—teaching, fine art painting, and printmaking. But the hands-on, collaborative nature of mural work provides a particular kind of satisfaction.
“I grew up on a farm and I worked in restaurants; I just really love doing things with my hands,” Rennekamp says. “Murals give me that satisfaction.”
Find Rennekamp’s work: lettiejane.com | @lettiejanemakes
Make It: Paint Your Walls (or Make a Plan)
Color Literacy and Consulting
Want to beautify your walls but feel daunted by even the idea of picking out colors? Maggie Maggio, a retired Portland architectural designer, teaches color literacy to get you more comfortable thinking about colors. Her courses include hands-on exercises focused on learning about color and incorporating concepts from science, art, history and psychology. Maggio welcomes artists and nonartists as well as designers and nondesigners looking to get more comfortable working with and talking about color. Maggio’s courses, offered through Portland Community College’s community education program, cost $95 plus $15 in fees. maggiemaggio.com; pcc.edu/community
A Lively Manner, a Portland interior design consultancy run by Brandi Katherine Herrera, offers interior design services, custom color scheme and palette development, paint color and wallpaper selection, interior styling and onsite shopping assistance—or simply a “gut check” to discuss your ideas. You can start by scheduling a free 30-minute consultation; other services start at $200. alivelymanner.com
Nester, Makers Edition Magazine is free, distributed all over Portland, and can be found at these locations. Love Nester? Save the date for NestFest, where we bring the magazine to life at an event in Fall of 2026.
