People’s Painter Millwood Artist Mel Mccuddin Creates Paintings That Everyone Can Appreciate

Two women stood at the foot of gray concrete steps in the new Spokane Arena, looking up at bright paintings of long-limbed figures that lined the stairway wall.

“Mel McCuddin painted these. He’s from right here in Spokane,” said gallery owner Carolyn Granner with a proprietary smile. “He drove a dairy truck here for years and years, and now he paints full-time.” She chatted briefly with her companion about the painter’s style, and how appropriate was his choice of subjects - circus performers, a musician, a young gymnast, basketball players, and a little boy learning to skate.

As they turned to leave she added, “And he’s such a nice man. Isn’t it good to appreciate an artist - especially while he’s still alive?”

Very much alive in Millwood, Mel McCuddin is quietly prosperous, rich in the dignity of his labor and his art.

For 40 years, the longtime Valley resident rose well before the sun to deliver milk supplies for Early Dawn Dairy, driving to stores in Idaho, Oregon and Montana. At night he steered home to share mealtime and laughter with his young family, then headed to his basement studio to paint.

“I don’t know how he did it,” said McCuddin’s son, Mason. “But he set his priorities to feed the family first, and then do something more fulfilling than the job.” He recalled riding along on one trip with his dad. The then-teenager had trouble keeping up with the pace, rotating stock and lugging heavy cases of milk at every store on the route.

“At the end of the day we stopped for a hamburger, and I remember fighting to stay awake and keep my face out of my plate - and then he had to do paperwork at the dairy before we could go home. And after all that, he still painted.”

McCuddin also found time to teach his three kids to play tennis and to race motorcycles. He took them to judo lessons and riding classes, and opened their minds and eyes to artwork.

“He’d bring up a painting from his studio, put it on the mantel of the fireplace, and tell us to squint at it for a while,” said Mason. “And then he’d turn it upside down or sideways, and asked what we saw. When we told him, he said, ‘Then that’s what it is for you.”’

Differing views are still welcomed by the elder McCuddin, and he is particularly pleased that his work will be seen by “everyday” people just like himself. “Art sometimes tends to be elitist, where it’s only for a few people who understand it,” said McCuddin. “I think it’s good for art to be in places like the Arena for a lot of people to see without having to go to a gallery. Everyone can enjoy the color or the figures - I hope they’ll look at it, and think about it.”

Part of what people may see in the Arena paintings is a reflection of McCuddin’s values. “I tried to capture human dignity and respect. Dignity is being true to yourself,” McCuddin said. “I meant these paintings as a gesture of respect to the people who use the Arena, and as a way to appreciate the people behind the performers - the parents who haul the kids to the skating rink, and make sacrifices for their kids. Several of the paintings have children in them, and parents teaching children things. I thought it was pretty important.”

McCuddin has lived here all his life. That connection to the community makes the paintings he created for the new Arena more meaningful to him.

“It’s pretty important for me to do something like this in my hometown, pretty special for me. My wife Gloria and I both were born and raised in this area,” he said. “She’s a teacher in the CV district. Our kids went to U-Hi when we lived in Opportunity, and our daughter Colleen went to West Valley when we moved to this house on Empire.

“I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Everyone I know is from somewhere else, it seems. I’ve got everything I need right here - Millwood has a nice small-town atmosphere, yet is close to the big town with all the advantages.”

City Arts Director Sue Ellen Heflin noted that McCuddin is highly respected by his peers in the arts community, and is well-known for his support of artists and art-related activities.

“He is as unpretentious a person as I’ve ever met,” said Heflin. “And it carries over to his artwork - unassuming, very gentle, very non-judgmental. He knows what it’s like to make a living as a truck driver, so he knows both sides of the coin.

“His integrity comes from his experience,” she said.

McCuddin’s directness and integrity are not lost on visitors to the Arena.

A white-haired man held a small boy’s hand as they slowly climbed the gray Arena stairs. The child pointed to the painting of two skaters and said, “Look, Grampa! There’s us!”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: MORE MCCUDDIN Paintings by Millwood artist Mel McCuddin are being exhibited through Oct. 15 by the Contemporary Arts Alliance at 518 S. Maple in Spokane. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. For more information call 624-2615.