Artists balance creativity, speed in 20-minute competition

Artists went head-to-head in a fast-paced painting showdown called an art battle at the Marquee Ballroom on Friday. The participants set to work with one eye on their canvases, the other on the clock.

Lauren Sweeny, a competing artist, said it is an opportunity for visual artists to create in front of an audience.

“You forget that you have this talent and this passion and that people don’t share in that experience,” she said. “It’s just so nice to see everybody’s excitement.”

“It’s so easy to bring people out to enjoy music and shows and stuff, but you never really see people coming out to see a bunch of visual art,” said Grotto Salsman, who also competed.

The 12 participating artists had 20 minutes to finish a piece. The artists were given a canvas and could use any equipment they brought with them.

The battle had two opening rounds. The audience counted down the artists before each round and the minutes following were a flurry of brushes, paint and charcoal.

Music played as the crowd chatted and circulated to watch the process. The artists leaned close to their easels, their faces aglow from the stations’ spotlights. Onlookers craned their necks to get a better look.

When a round finished, the audience voted online for their favourite painting. Two artists from each round with the most votes faced off in the final.

About 200 people attended the event. Art Battle Halifax has been going on for 13 years, and the winner of Friday’s competition, Kim Baltzer, will compete in the provincial finals in June. 

The idea for Art Battle Canada started in Toronto as a game among a group of friends, said Andre Samson, the organizer of Art Battle Halifax. “It was just like a speed off art competition, something they wanted to do for fun.”

The competition has spread across the country with events in Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver. Regional winners go on to compete for the national title.

Samson said the competition is a new challenge for some artists.

“It levels the playing field,” he said. “You could be the type of artist who is extremely meticulous but doesn’t mean you’re good at 20-minute art.”

He said the time crunch can be helpful to artists; the pressure to complete a piece can carry over to their work in the studio.

“If they get stuck on an idea, it forces them past, and they are able to move forward rather than dwell on something,” he said.

Sweeny made it to the final round and completed two paintings. One featured an octopus contained in a lightbulb. The other was of two matches: one aflame, one burnt out.

These paintings and all the other work from the competition were auctioned off at the end of the night.

Sweeny said the event has given her a place to network with other artists and sell her pieces.

“It’s just lots of like-minded people,” she said. “It’s great to put your name out there.”