Mural by Pink Panda livens up Scout Hall
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/05/2019 (1488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In an April 2018 article titled “Help save the Transcona Scout Hall,” I wrote that “…from the outside, the hall looks like a nondescript, square building.”
Well, thanks to visual artist and freelance graphic designer Cat Hues, whose artist name is Pink Panda, that is no longer the case. Last summer she painted the whimsical mural Everything will be OK on the wall at the corner of Winona Street and Melrose Avenue East.
Transcona BIZ commissioned the 67-square-metre mural, choosing Hues for her unique and different style. The mural took 40 hours to complete and she has dedicated it to kids and kids-at-heart.
The monsters depicted are an expression of her emotions — scared, happy, anxious, sad, but at end, the monster is giving the thumbs up, signalling that everything is OK.
Hues graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in fine arts and had been working in graphic design for over a decade until 2016, when she realized how much she missed painting and drawing. Now she does all different kinds of art projects.
She fell in love with using spray paint because of the challenges. Pressure sensitivity, the distance from the working surface, and even arm movement all contribute to the success of the painting.
Hues does not consider herself a graffiti artist but is inspired by street art and its abstract surrealism. Automatism — “the avoidance of conscious intention in producing works of art, especially by using subconscious associations” — is the term used by several people when describing her style.
She developed her style using random line work. She learned to view any object, animal, flora or fauna as continuous, ongoing line work. She would see different faces and characters and that’s how she got her monsters to appear.
Hues recently had her first solo art exhibit at Cre8ery. The paintings had super-vibrant neon colours and my favourites were painted in UV reactive paint that seemed to come to life under black lights in a dark room.
An entrepreneur, Hues also has her own clothing brand utilizing her graphic design background. She sells prints, stickers, limited edition T-shirts and will be soon be unveiling a line of hats.
Hues enjoys live painting and sharing her art with the public. Throughout the summer, she makes chalk drawings around Winnipeg and interacts with the public with her treasure hunt art finds. She hides an original piece of art within the city and posts clues on her social media sites. The first person to find it gets to keep the artwork.
Hues is available for commissions for indoor or outdoor mural work. Or, If you have a unique idea, she is open to collaborating. Look for Pink Panda at Red River College’s FanQuest at 160 Princess St. on June 22 and 23. You should also visit her website at www.pinkpanda.ca or her Facebook page at facebook.com/pinkpandacreative/
Suzanne Hunter is a community correspondent for Transcona.