Painting a brighter future

Coming up the steep driveway of Summerhill House in Etete, you are greeted by a bright, colourful container that adds an instant smile to your day.

This larger-than-life artwork was the brainchild of store manager, Heidi Gibson and local artist, Lynne Griffin.

“This project was part of Paintsmiths national “paint-it-forward” campaign, where each store in the country was tasked with finding a need in the community and donating paint to it. For Paintsmiths Ballito the choice was easy – Paula Owen and the great work they do at Summerhill House,” said Gibson.

She asked Griffin to come on board and together, they tackled an ambitious canvas to paint – the container.

“The container surface is not flat, so painting all the grooves was time consuming and not easy. Also, it is made of metal, so there was rust to deal with. Luckily, we were able to make use of a spray gun and labour supplied by Donovan Harvey from Creative Painting and Floors (CPF) which made life easier. After many layers of special primer, the container was prepped and ready.”

Supplied with fun colours and armed with her paintbrushes and a good dose of creativity, botanical artist, Griffin, gave the container a welcoming look.

“I kept the design simple and colourful, as intricate paintings are often lost on children. I was inspired by local plants, such as the Strilizia nicholi, which covers the back of the container,” said Griffin, who is the secretary of the Botanical Artists’ Association of Southern Africa (BAASA).

“While it was not easy to paint on the uneven surface, the Paintsmiths paint was lovely to work with – it was like cream.”

Siyabonga Nzame had a keen, young artist help her with the painting, which both parties thoroughly enjoyed.

“Siyabonga Nzama is one of the Summerhill House children who is always involved when art is on the cards. I loved teaching and working with him. The whole experience was heartwarming. I worked on the container a few times when the children were not here and it just was not the same. Hearing their happy voices and seeing the excitement on their faces as they watched the transformation of the dull container was great.

Summerhill House’s Paula Owen said they are incredibly grateful to Paintsmiths and Lynne.

“We feel so blessed to have this beautifully decorated container, which will be used as a library and counselling room,” said Owen.

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