Art Battle is a speed painting competition that faces 12 artists against each other, tournament style.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Melody Devitt Photograph
May 21, 2017 - 5:49 PM
KAMLOOPS – The cream of the speed painting crop have risen to the top and are ready to compete in the Art Battle city finals in less than two weeks.
Art Battle is a tournament-style speed painting competition where artists create the best work they can in three 20 minute rounds. They are given the same tools, identical paint, canvas and paintbrushes, and have to focus while spectators pace around them in a circle.
Audience members cast votes for their favourite work and then it’s placed for sale by silent auction.
June 1 is the city finals, where the winners from the previous battles face off. The winner heads to the regional competition in Vancouver.
Zach Abney, Kelly Wright, Clement Yeh, Amie Stoltz, Ryan McFarlane, Bailey Koopmans, Jessica Scott, Jessie Ouwendyke, Jullian Greenman, Dale Parkes and Peter Darah are all previous winners and will battle it out in June. There will be a wild-card contestant drawn on the night of the event.
Organizers Jennifer and Michael O'Brien are excited they've brought the international competition to Kamloops.
"Our artists are getting seen, commented on and gaining visibility on a national level," Michael says.
"Anyone watching the event livestream can bid in the silent auction. It's a great platform for local artists to get their work seen and purchased, which is great," Jennifer says. "It's such a hub of energy. You feed of the people in the crowd, you feed off the artists who are creating. There's really nothing like it."
The O'Briens are already looking ahead to new paint splatters and the fresh canvases of future battles. Artists interested in competing can apply online for the next round following city finals.
The event is for ages 19 and above. Early bird tickets start at $25 and are available online.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017