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Pilar Basa Inspiration Behind Art Room Mural

Meet the Artist behind Forrester’s Art Room Mural: Pilar Basa

Pilar is an incredibly talented illustrator, artist, and designer, who has recently transformed the cosy Art Room space into an inviting and interactive room where Pilar thinks “customers will get a good little smile from the design, maybe even a little selfie”.

We sat down with Pilar to discover her inspiration behind the newest Art Room mural, the process involved in creating this incredible work of art and her favourite elements of the space. Keep scrolling to find out more!

Let’s Chat

What was the inspiration behind the Art Room?

The inspiration came from the non-human locals of Surry Hills, and their mates. I love to imagine the life that the local ibis and cockatoos live while we aren’t looking. Do they have mates from out of town over for dinner? Have they started their own speak easy just off of Crown St? Who knows, but I like to think that these legends could party with the best of us, and make it way more fun in the process.

Basically, good mates and native Aussie animals was the driving force behind this mural idea.

Walk us through the design process

There is a mountain of work that goes unseen when creating a project like this. To kick things off, I sat down with the team at Forrester’s to discuss their vision, before going off and sketching away. For this stage I just let my silly brain rip, I let it draw whatever it wanted to draw. As soon as my creative brain feels empty, I let the critical thinking side step in and cut the fat, making sure I am hitting that brief.

Once I had gathered all my sketches and added in some colour and context, I shared my visions with the Forrester’s team. We reviewed, shared thoughts before I went off and started preparing for the painting process.

How do you think this design will resonate with Forrester's customers?

I hope that this crew of cool new customers will be seen as regulars soon enough. I think people will connect with the happiness and cheek of all their new animal mates. I reckon people will get a good little smile from the design, maybe even a little selfie.

I think that Surry Hills is a great neighbourhood where people get together to have good food, good drinks and a good time, and I created these new locals to embody that wholeheartedly. And then who doesn’t like wattles?

What is your favourite element in the room?

Honestly, it changed throughout the whole process. Where I ended up once I had finished painting, and where I am today, definitely the dingo eyeing off the Big Yorkie. I released soon after I had finished painting them that they reminded me of Derren from The Ferals, so now I feel like that dingo has been part of my life since the early 90’s.

What a happy accident. Also Yorkshire puddings, YUM.

Discover the Big Yorkie >

Make sure to check out the Art Room mural on your next visit to Forrester’s and enjoy a beer with the crew!

Want to find out more about Pilar? Check her website here or follow her on Instagram @pilar.basa

Want to host your next event in our Art Room? Click the link below to view our spaces or book a table below.