Johannesburg - As an artist Stefan Smit has always been up for a challenge.
But even he knew that attempting to paint a five-storey mural in Foreshore, Cape Town would be difficult.
Still, Smit decided to give it a shot.
It was also the first time he would ever be doing a painting on a suspended mechanical platform lift.
He knew that time was of the essence.
So he set out with his paintbrushes and over a hundred litres of paint ready to create a masterpiece.
He had been commissioned by public art agency Baz-Art to paint a commission for Homii, a new residential development in Cape Town.
However what he didn’t anticipate was the change of weather.
Just as he was about to attempt to paint the biggest mural he had ever done, Smit was forced to stop due to thunderstorms in the area.
They would last for three whole days.
“I had 10 days available to paint this but I was rained out for three of the days, so I had to make sure this was completed in just seven days,” said Smit.
His task was to paint a youthful female subject in a powerful pose with a male subject in the background.
“I wanted to use a chromatic colour combination to create a stark lighting effect, and tap into inspiration from youth culture with my composition and subject choice. The painting is a commentary on human connection, set in a youth-culture / night-life inspired scene.
“I like to leave the narrative quite open to interpretation as I feel like once I’ve completed a mural it belongs to the audience, so it’s for them to seek the meaning in the art.”
In just seven days, the renowned artist completed what he considers one of his favourite pieces of artwork to date.
Smit said several considerations had to be made before he attempted to paint the audacious five-storey mural.
“Safety, access equipment, paint and hardware supplies, hiring an assistant or two, design mock-ups and client briefing are some of the considerations and steps that need to be checked before I even arrive at a site, which Baz-Art helped a lot with on this particular job.
“Then, once the painting starts it’s about mapping out the layout on the wall, and then layering my tones from dark to light, from the background to the foreground, to be able to achieve the desired artwork.
“During the project, we are filming and photographing so that after the work is complete I can release behind-the-scenes content and share the artwork process and final pictures with my community.
“I think it’s important for me to remember that although I am always an artist first, I am also an entrepreneur and business owner. Thankfully, I have a partner, Poppy, who manages clients, logistics and marketing, so I can funnel my focus into the creative execution of these projects.”
He said working on a high-rise building comes with various challenges.
“The height is both my favourite and least favourite aspect of painting a building. It can be quite scary but also exhilarating to be eight storeys up. Painting murals is a huge physical task, it’s very demanding on my body so I need to ensure I am fit, well fed and well-rested.
“Creating paintings at scale is really freeing, I enjoy being able to express myself in huge spaces and the process can feel very cathartic. It can be challenging to work against the clock sometimes because weather can impact the number of days I’m able to get access to a site – so I have to be flexible and adapt to each job.”
Smit said he had received some great feedback from people who had passed by the mural and had seen the images on his social media platforms.
“Some people see a story about unrequited love, some say they think it’s about a strong woman and female empowerment.”
“For me, I want to paint art that speaks to human connection because I am fascinated by exploring what unites people and where we see ourselves in others. I think the most amazing accomplishments and advancements in society always come from people connecting with people, so I’m always curious about depicting moments of connection in new ways.
“I love hearing the public’s interpretation of the meaning behind the artwork. I make videos of all of my paintings and share these on Instagram, so I get a lot of feedback there which I really enjoy.
“It’s very encouraging to engage with the public and see the support I get from art enthusiasts and fellow creatives alike. I also enjoy engaging with the public when I am painting as people love to come up to me and ask about the painting and discuss their interpretations with me. It always feels like a think-tank or an open debate, which is always really fun to be a part of.”
Smit is renowned for his audacious paintings. He is also responsible for the Madiba portrait in Londolozi in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve.
“That piece is really special as Londolozi is a significant place where Nelson Mandela spent a lot of time after he was released from prison.
“He put considerable effort into ensuring South Africa protects the natural environment. Londolozi has a Madiba walk which leads through an indigenous aloe garden up to the large mural painting of him, and the space is just so tranquil and natural that it brings a great sense of peace to be there. It was a real honour to be part of creating that space.”
Smit said he too was very pleased with the final product.
“I am thrilled. It was my first time painting on a suspended mechanical platform lift, so that was a new and interesting challenge for me. I was able to execute this exactly how I had hoped and I was glad that the client was very pleased with the outcome as well.”
Asked if he had any other exciting paintings lines up, Smit said : “At any given time I am working on a few different projects at once, all at different stages in their respective processes.
“At the moment, I’m putting together an oil painting exhibition for later this year, working on a project to paint the world’s largest oil painting, and I have a few international mural commissions as well as a local mural festival related to ocean conservation.”