A dozen artists recently battled head-to-head with brushes for bragging rights before a live audience.
A unique inaugural event featuring an opportunity for people to engage in the creative artistic process while raising funds for local organizations was held the legion on March 24.
Melany Sealy was motivated to bring the creative competition to this community after participating in previous Art Battle Canada events in other municipalities.
Having never before really heard about art battles, I was not quite certain what to expect, yet I was certainly pleasantly surprised.
The 12 artists, who included local and regional talent from as far away as Edmonton, Sylvan Lake and Red Deer, were broken up into two groups of six. The top two artists from each group, as selected by the audience, then formed a group of four in the third and final round. They had a limit of 20 minutes each time to create something from scratch, and were equipped with acrylic paint, a blank canvas and their imagination.
But here’s when things became that much more interesting.
As the artists thoughtfully applied each brush stroke, the audience circled around them in what is called a “tornado” as people observed their paintings evolve from the first application of paint to the finished, autographed product. Meanwhile, an MC was counting down the minutes, the intensity building up as the seconds ticked away. There was a certain reality television show feel about the whole atmosphere, except instead of watching passively, spectators participated actively.
Considering the rather narrow window of time to complete the work — combined with the pressure of people looking over their shoulders every step of the way — the quality of the paintings produced was nothing less than exceptional.
At first, some pieces struck me as abstract works of art and I could not help but wonder precisely where the artist was going. But as the minutes passed by, their visions became increasingly clear, unveiling what their mind’s eye had imagined.
For example, a spectacularly stunning interpretation of the northern lights really captivated my attention and apparently many others as well since the artist, Ashley Leggette, was voted by the public to proceed to the third and final round, which she also won.
The artists all handled the pressure professionally, proceeding with their paintings without appearing to waver or succumb to nerves in the slightest as people whispered comments and shot some photos or video along the way.
Following the first two rounds, the 12 completed works of art were sold through silent auction, while the four paintings created during the third and final round were auctioned live.
Although Sealy had hoped to raise more funds for Greenwood Neighbourhood Place and the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee, she was nevertheless pleased by the attendance — the event all but sold out 140 available tickets — as well as people’s positive feedback. Sealy already has plans to prepare for another Sundre Art Battle.
So if you missed your chance to check out this unique event, don’t worry. Another opportunity will quite likely present itself sooner or later!
