Brushes poised above their palettes, six Hamilton artists were ready to leave it all on the canvas in the first round of Hamilton's first ever Art Battle.
Participants had just 20 minutes to create the best painting. Spectators voted to determine who would survive the first round of and move on to the finals.
But Saturday's live art competition, taking place at Pier 8 during the city's Tall Ships festivities, was no ordinary battle of the brushes. Artists were fighting for the chance to represent Hamilton in the 2013 National Championships, to be held in the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on July 26.
"Painters will be coming from all across the country from coast to coast. Vancouver all the way to Halifax and many cities in between," said co-founder of Art Battle, Simon Plashkes.
A total of 18 painters from eight cities will compete for the title of National Champion. Art Battle has already found its competitors in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Truro, N.S, St. Johns, N.B. and Halifax.
Last stop
Hamilton was its last stop on its search. It's also the first time Art Battle has ever hosted a competition in Steeltown.
"We've been trying to come to Hamilton for a long time," said Plashkes. "We've been in Toronto for four years. I'm surprised we haven't made it down the QEW to get here."
Olivia Ongagui employed pinks, purples, browns and blues in her painting in the first round of the competition. (Hilary Caton/CBC) But it made it, and dozens of curious onlookers of all ages gathered around the easels set up in the middle of Pier 8's outdoor rink to see what all the fuss was about.
"We're a gateway drug for art," said Plashkes. "We take people who haven't really thought of themselves as art lovers and art appreciators and we put them in a scenario where they're forced to choose (between art pieces)."
According to Plashkes, it's all about discovery and getting people to ask themselves why they connect with one piece of art over the other and subsequently getting them to feel passionate about art and what it means to them.
Co-founder, Chris Pemberton was also in attendance and led the audience in a countdown, reminiscent of one at a New Year's Eve bash, to start the competition.
In a matter of minutes, what starts off as broad strokes and globs of paint transforms into images of swans, landscapes, tall ships and portrait paintings. And that's just in the first round.
Local talent
"It's nice to see the process that creates the work you see in the galleries around Hamilton," said Petra Matar, one of audience members. "They all have their own styles, the artists."
One of the dozen artists competing was Stephanie Seagram, a local artist who's been in Hamilton for five years and runs a studio, 270 Sherman.
She bailed on the use of the easel and opted for the rink floor instead.
Stephanie Seagram painted with her canvas on the ground and wore headphones while she worked. (Hilary Caton/CBC) "I use a lot of kinetic motion in my work and I use acrylics and inks, so they flow," explained Seagram after the first round.
"My arm moves in a pendulum motion, so I need that space. It also doesn't work as well when I'm (standing) straight. I also throw my paint."
To help "insulate and tune out," Seagram wore headphones during the entire competition. In the end her impressionistic painting of tall ships — with its use of the primary colours and black and white — won over the crowd and qualified her to move on to the next round, along with artist Tian Yu, who created the equally popular "double swan" painting.
The second round saw "heavy hitter" Carlos Delgado and Olivia Ongagui take the top spots with a portrait of a general and intricate tall ships ocean scene.
'Terrifying'
The top four artists painted their hearts out, but there can only be one winner and it was Seagram.
Carlos Delgado, pictured creating a painting of a horse, was also one of the finalists. (Hilary Caton/CBC) "I'm shocked. I did it," she said in reference to her decision to sign up to compete in the first place.
"I was terrified. I knew it would be one of the most terrifying things for me to do so I said 'I've got to do it.' If wasn't doing it, I'd be standing here wishing I was…. It paid off."
No paintings were destroyed during this battle, as is Art Battle custom when no work gets anything more than an opening bid during the auction portion of the battle.
"We do just some paint smearing usually. It's a very popular method of destruction," said Plashkes.
"Every once in awhile we'd bring out a chainsaw and cut them in half, but we're trying to tone it down a little."
Art Battle will begin hosting regular monthly events in Hamilton in the fall.
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