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Artist Eric Dowdle presents his Pleasant Grove artwork at a city council meeting.

Courtesy Pleasant Grove City

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Artist Eric Dowdle created this artwork to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Strawberry Days celebration.

Courtesy Eric Dowdle

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Artist Eric Dowdle presents his Pleasant Grove artwork at a city council meeting.

Courtesy Pleasant Grove City

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Artist Eric Dowdle presents his Pleasant Grove artwork at a city council meeting.

Courtesy Pleasant Grove City

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A new artwork popped up in Pleasant Grove this month to the delight of current and former residents who are purchasing copies so fast that many are waiting for more to be made. A jigsaw puzzle, copied from an original painting by Lindon artist Eric Dowdle, commemorates the city of Pleasant Grove with its many popular landmarks and historical sites.

Dowdle has created artworks depicting about 450 cities, but this is the first local one that he has done in a while. “This is the first time in a long time that I have painted a Utah city because I have been painting around the world,” Dowdle said. “Nothing beats good ol’ Utah.”

A few months ago, members of the Strawberry Days committee contacted Dowdle and asked him to create a painting of the city that could be made into puzzles to commemorate the 100th year of the city celebration.

“Because it’s the city’s and it’s their celebration, I gave them the latitude of what had to be in it — what are the must-haves — and then they gave me a wish list of what they would like to be in there,” Dowdle said. “Everything they wanted me to put in this piece was fun.”

Dowdle said he especially likes the mountains that are part of the artwork. “There are nights that I drive home from work and I gaze at the mountains and think there is no other place in the world that I would like to be,” he said.

“We also love Discovery Park. When my were kids growing up, we often went there. We loved it,” Dowdle said. “We’ve eaten at all of the local establishments.”

Other landmarks shown in the painting include the G on the mountain, Pleasant Grove High School with its “Vikings” sign, the giant flag that flies above Grove Creek Canyon every July, the city’s swimming pool, a clock tower, a Strawberry Days parade float, bicycle trails, several well-known businesses and even a few local people.

“No artist goes to art school and says, ‘Puzzles. That’s where it’s at,'” Dowdle said. “It was a process.”

Dowdle said that in the 1800s when a piece of art came out, people really took the time to study it. Now, with the distractions of modern technology, people barely spend five seconds with a piece of art and then they move on.

“But a puzzle gets about three to five hours of attention. I am happy that people are spending that much time with my art,” Dowdle said. “It’s fun that I get to engage with the consumers in this way.”

“They will end up selling about 10,000 puzzles, at three to five hours for each puzzle. It takes an average of five people on a puzzle. That’s 250,000 hours of engagement with a painting,” Dowdle said. “That’s just awesome.”

Since spending about two months painting the Pleasant Grove city artwork puzzle, Dowdle has kept busy with other projects, including working on 250 paintings for America’s 250th birthday coming up in 2026. He is also in the process of filming a brand-new television series to get ready for the 250th birthday.

Pleasant Grove City Administrator Scott Darrington said that almost 4,000 of the 500-piece puzzles have already sold, with more being sold on the city’s website, http://plgrove.org. To look at Dowdle’s other artworks and puzzles, check out http://dowdlefolkart.com.