Downtown Parksville is getting more colourful by the day, with two new spray paint murals just finished on the walls of Stedmans.
The latest work by Dan Martens, also known as Danopolis, includes harbour seals, a great blue heron and mountains.
Martens said the mural started with reference photos from Nanoose Bay photographer Simone Engels.
"She actually took this photo of a blue heron and then I used it to paint the heron on the wall, and same with these mountains," he said. "These are actual mountains across the water on the mainland."
He began painting the top ridge of the mountains and set the proportions from there.
“We’ve had a lot of customers come in and notice one or the other of the murals, not realizing we have two," said Narcis Kellow, Stedmans manager. "So a lot of the staff are saying, ‘have you seen the second mural?’”
Kellow suggested the idea of a mural to owner Mark Warren, who was impressed with Martens' work on the Parks West building. As a lover of the ocean, Warren wanted to see seals and sand dollars included in the design.
“And for the other side, he really wanted something that’s representative of our area, which is the view from the ocean,” Kellow added.
Martens said he has been spray painting for close to 18 years, and professionally since 2018. As a teenager he found himself afoul of the law several times for graffiti.
"The last time I got in trouble with it, I just sitting there — they actually had me in handcuffs. They made me clean up, like, all the spray cans that other artists had left behind and put them in my bag," he said. "And then I was just sitting on the train tracks thinking to myself, like, I really have to change something here. I know this is what I want to do, but I don't want to keep getting in trouble for it."
He advertised online as a graffiti artist for hire and slowly began to progress, learning more and more.
"It just slowly kind of transformed over the years and there's been lots of ups and downs," said Martens, who is self-taught. "If you're going to learn by yourself, it takes a long time."
He added his thanks to Stedmans for having his art on their walls, to Tbird for help with the pressure wash and to the community for support of his work. Martens also does canvas paintings, which are on display in spots such as the Log Cabin General Store and Fanny Bay Tidal Tacos. More information is available through his Instagram account Danopolis.
The Stedmans in Parksville has been in Warren's family for approximately 40 years and he took over the business from his parents.
