Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Lisa Ray Koenig’s artwork is typically known for being groovy, but her latest venture might best described as three times as cool.
The Napanee artist behind Groovy Cats has teamed with Kingston’s Daft Brewing to provide the artwork for cans of their Dry Hopped Pilsner Cool Cool Cool.
Koenig created the acrylic painting of a bright pink flamingo, named as Freda, on a stunning blue backdrop. That led to a perfect partnership with Daft Brewing, which often utilizes a flamingo in their marketing.
“I knew that Daft Brewery had a huge association with flamingos so when I did that flamingo painting, I posted it on Intagram and tagged them in it saying ‘you need this’. All I was thinking was you need this for your brewery as a work of art,” said Koenig.
Much to her surprise, a few months later the brewery reached out with the idea of using her painting on one of their labels.
“It was like pinch me, am I dreaming, is this a joke? You don’t think as an artist, I’m going to be on a beer label some day. It’s not on the radar,” said Koenig.
Cool Cool Cool is said to be ‘bursting with flavours and scents of tropical, stone, citrus fruits and subtle grassy/earthy undertones.’
“It was very on brand to start and it just looked really unique,” said Adam Rondeau, owner and CEO of Daft Brewing. “When you see the actual artwork itself the flamingo is almost like dipping his head under water and it there’s these bubbles that almost look like CO2, carbonation bubbles. When you see something like that it just looks fresh and refreshing, appetizing. Cool you off on a hot summer day and everything about it just really spoke to us and just screams this needs to be on a label.”
The original artwork
Along with being accredited on the label, Koenig also received a case of beer for her efforts. The original masterpiece that inspired the label can be seen hanging in Ellena’s Cafe in downtown Napanee.
Cans are available at Daft Brewing, which is located at 768 Princess St. in Kingston.