Jasmine’s vibrant urban jungle mural brightens up Tauranga laneway

18 Jul 2019

What was once a bland and ordinary concrete wall tucked away down a side street in Tauranga’s CBD has now been transformed into an eye-catching celebration of colour. It’s a spectacle created by mural artist Jasmine Smith as part of the Groundswell Festival, an innovative event for revolutionary business leaders, cutting-edge social entrepreneurs and other leading innovators. It began after Jasmine answered a call-out for local artists by Creative Bay of Plenty – an organisation dedicated to connecting creative people to projects. They fell in love with her bright, bold and playful theme and selected her to transform the once dreary laneway using Resene’s extensive colour collection.

Jasmine was excited to work as part of a team of local creatives and businesses working towards a common goal during the planning stages.

“Collectively, we decided on a loose reference to sustainability and the urban jungle, whilst giving a nod to the Groundswell Festival and innovation. In terms of the concept, I put together a paper collage of various shapes and colours, to see what colours would work together,” Jasmine explains.

As the largest piece of art that Jasmine had ever worked on, it was also important to get the proportions of the piece correct before she began painting.

“I had to adjust my mindset to work on a much larger scale than my usual medium. Once I had the outlines – which I free-handed – and got the proportions right, I then worked from light to dark colours to minimise the need to cut in.”

With an urban jungle theme, choosing the right colour palette for the mural was important. Jasmine began with the hero colour Resene Tree Frog Green, a bright tropical hue, then added colours that both complemented and provided contrast.

The finished mural is now a piece of art full of fluidity and movement.

“I’m really pleased with the end result, which isn’t too far from my original concept. The opportunity has opened up a whole new world of mediums to me and I can’t wait to work on my next mural,” Jasmine concluded.

The Creative Bay of Plenty team activated a laneway off Grey Street in central Tauranga as part of the Groundswell Festival. Jasmine was selected to design a mural after pitching her idea, using Resene Tree Frog Green as the hero colour along with Resene Blue Night, Resene Dizzy Lizzy, Resene Turbo, Resene Outrageous, Resene Daisy Bush and Resene Pelorous.

As the largest piece of art she’s ever worked on (and at 20 weeks pregnant), Jasmine was coached by other mural artists upon working with such a sizable canvas. She worked with a bright and cheerful palette of Resene Tree Frog Green, Resene Blue Night, Resene Dizzy Lizzy, Resene Turbo, Resene Outrageous, Resene Daisy Bush and Resene Pelorous.

Jasmine’s finished mural brings an explosion of colour to what had previously been an otherwise muted, grey street. She created it with Resene Tree Frog Green, Resene Blue Night, Resene Dizzy Lizzy, Resene Turbo, Resene Outrageous, Resene Daisy Bush and Resene Pelorous.

To see more of Jasmine's work visit her website, Pinch & Punch.

imagesCaptain Creative

Published: 18 Jul 2019