A family of Durban artists were commissioned by uShaka Marine World to bring new life to the dolphin enclosure and other parts of the facility by painting murals depicting some of the animals who live in the complex, including the late and famous bottlenose dolphin, Gambit.
Candice Leth, her daughter Sinead, and her fiancé Brendan Lyle all played a helping hand, together with Ushaka staff members, in completing the murals in four weeks.
Candice did the majority of the painting, as she was approached by uShaka Marine World to revamp the dolphin enclosure.
Brendan, who is also a graffiti artist who has worked around Durban, painted a great white shark mural while 16-year-old Sinead assisted Candice with the dolphin and penguin murals.
Leth, 42, said she was always into art, ever since she was a child, and fine-tuned her skills after attending the then "Natal Technikon" where she studied fine art.
"I never worked a real job or for somebody. I have always been painting," Leth told IOL.
She and Brendan met at an art gallery and have been together ever since.
When Sinead came along, Leth used to take her to work and would expose her to the world of artistry, naturally picking up the skill herself.
When Sinead was 12-years-old, she created her first masterpiece by drawing the Marvel Comics character ‘Deadpool’ on a surfboard with a permanent marker.
"Sinead was also exposed to art because of Brendan and myself, so she picked it up from a young age and has gotten really good at it," Leth said.
At the beginning of 2023, uShaka contacted Candice Leth to paint the dolphin enclosure.
After a few months, the Queensburgh-based family started the project.
"I was really busy at the time, like juggling different things. But I said that I always paint for humans; painting for animals would be a different experience. And it was, when I was painting the dolphin enclosure, they would come right up to the area we were working on and watch us.
"You could see their eyes watching what we were doing," Leth said.
The 48-year-old bottlenose dolphin Gambit, a patriot of uShaka Marine World, died in 2020.
Leth said she painted him on the walls of the enclosure where he used to live and also painted one of his partners.
At least three times a week for a month, Candice, Sinead, and Brendan would work on the paintings until they were finally complete in July.
She used PVA paint and airbrush water-based paint.
"I painted the murals by hand for most of it and then finished it with an airbrush to give it a more realistic look and feel. The team at uShaka Weather sealed it afterwards," she said.
IOL