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VIDEO: Nanaimo’s top artists don’t buckle under pressure at art battle

Jan 26, 2018 | 11:41 PM

NANAIMO — Under the hot lights and with the eyes of a hundred people on them, 12 of Nanaimo’s most daring artists created masterpieces in 20 minutes.

Nanaimo’s first art battle, at Evolve nightclub Friday night, saw them working feverishly from scratch while music played and the crowd circled them, peering over their shoulders at their works in progress.

 

 

Organizer Susanne Grundison said it’s an incredibly stressful environment, which forces the artists to think and work differently.

“Artists typically like to sit in their workshop without anyone around them, so for an artist to come here and try to produce a work of art, it’s completely out of their comfort zone and absolutely wonderful to watch.”

Onlookers and art enthusiasts voted for their favourite pieces during the first two 20 minute rounds before the top four faced off in the third round.

Their works, all varied, came together as the crowd counted down the final seconds, transforming from hasty swathes of paint to form portraits, landscapes, avant-garde shapes and haunting silhouettes.

Chantelle Delage, who brought her whole roller derby team for support, won the night with her aquatic-based art, finishing with a painting of a whale diving into the ocean.

There’s two more art battles on Vancouver Island, one in Cumberland and the other in Campbell River, before it returns to Nanaimo on March 16.

 

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit