What would happen if you were placed in front of a blank canvas and given 20 minutes to paint something — anything — while a crowd watches? What would your creation be?
Twelve painters had that question answered on Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Lighthouse Community Hall where an Art Battle took place.
Six painters at a time had 20 minutes to paint something in acrylic, with a crowd circling around them.
The top two painters from the first two rounds (as chosen by popular vote by the audience) moved on to a final round where, after letting the paint fly once more, a winner was chosen by the audience.
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This time, that winner was Kate Drexler, a hobbyist painter living on Flores Island who came to Qualicum Bay specifically to compete.
“I feel fantastic,” she said at the end of the night, admitting that, though sweaty, she was happy.
Drexler has competed in several Art Battles before, but this is her first win, moving her onto an upcoming regional Art Battle.
“I’ve made it to the finals a couple of times, but never made it on, so that’s pretty exciting,” she said.
Drexler stuck to a realistic landscape style, moving on to the finals with a painting of Birch trees in front of a yellow field, and winning with a West Coast landscape of mountains, trees, water and an orca at the centre.
“I initially was going to do an elephant to be honest with you,” she said with a laugh. “And then I aborted and went with the orca for a West Coast theme.”
The night was filled with a variety of styles and subject-matter, with some artists like returning Vancouver Island champ Sheena McCorquodale and first-timer Robert Plante painting portraits, while well-known Qualicum Beach watercolour painter Peggy Burkosky made a pair of water landscapes, and VIU art student Christine Battye painted in abstract.
“It was really fun,” said Battye who made it to the final round. “It was really interesting to have 20 minutes to do it, and use an actual roller, because I don’t normally do that… It’s really weird having people watch you as you work. A bit distracting.”
Battye said she’s not sure she’d compete again, but said she’s interested in using the new technique she applied for the battle.
Plante painted a portrait of Prince.
He added drips of “purple rain” as a last-minute touch to his work.
Plante was the only artist to sketch out his work before using paints.
“You want to be sure that you got a hold on the face, the shape of the face and the shape of the eyes,” he said.
Overall, he said participating in the event was a positive experience, and that he enjoyed having others watch him paint while having a good time.
Burkosky, who made it to the final round, said she’s participated in several Art Battles before, and said it’s much like her plein air painting practice where you’re almost forced to be in the moment.
“Sometimes our best work comes from in the moment like that, so it’s exciting and fun, and I actually enjoy the fact that art can be out in public and more tangible and real for people,” she said.
McCorquodale said that her experience battling in the nationals has helped her to relax while taking part in an Art Battle, adding that, for her, she almost doesn’t want to apply the word “art” to what gets created, because it can psyche a painter out.
“What it is is live, competitive painting and it is so much fun, and the other artists that I’ve met here and that I’m painting with, there is a really nice feeling of competitiveness,” she said, adding that Drexler loaned her a paint brush for the competition.
