Why Oregon coast artist Michael Schlicting has spent half a century painting his hometown

Michael Schlicting was never supposed to move back home.

Born and raised in the tiny town of Neskowin on the Oregon coast, the younger Schlicting, like many teenagers, always imagined he would leave for the “outside world” — somewhere, anywhere but where he was from. But the allure of home proved powerful.

It’s now been nearly half a century since Schlicting left those outside places — college in Illinois, a stint in Colorado — to return to Oregon, back to his hometown of Neskowin, where in 1978 he set up his Hawk Creek Gallery in a historic schoolhouse on the side of U.S. 101. That first summer back, when he never expected to stay, he drew people in with a simple sandwich board on the highway, the word “ART” and an arrow pointing to the gallery.

Enough people showed up, and enough