Stefan Smit x Chris Valentine – Daler-Rowney Canteen Mural
South African artist and muralist Stefan Smit, based in Cape Town, and artist and illustrator Chris Valentine, from Johannesburg, teamed up for the Artist Residency at the Daler-Rowney Headquarters at the end of July.
The task of the long-time friends and Daler-Rowney artists was to develop a design for the 2 walls in the canteen to transform the communal space into a warmer and relaxing space for the Daler-Rowney employees. From the design, employee voting and execution the two artists worked hard to fulfil their mission to leave a lasting mark at the Daler-Rowney headquarters.
The chosen design, voted by the Daler-Rowney employees, was a nature motive with Swallows in movement on the long wall, created with the Daler-Rowney System3 Collection in all viscosities combined with System3 Mediums, and for the short wall an homage to artist Beatrix Botter, best known for her children’s books such as Peter Rabbit, watching over the Swallows, executed in Georgian Water Mixable Oil.
“We loved the idea of paying homage to Beatrix Potter as both Chris and I grew up having her work read to us and thought it would be fitting to pair her with something natural and went straight to one of my favourite things to paint, birds. We chose the barn swallow for a few reasons. For one, it is a truly beautiful bird aesthetically but also has some of the most gorgeous acrobatics of any bird and has a particularly dear message being that swallows were often tattooed on sailors as a sign of luck to help them find their way home when out at sea. They're also seen as a symbol of luck and positive change and so with that in mind, we thought that their bright and positive message would be a great addition to this space.” Stefan Smit + Chris Valentine
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