The fastest painters in P.G. are about to slap canvass and draw. The second edition of Art Battle - Prince George is coming to a back alley ambush, behind the Groop Gallery. High noon is Sept. 19 and tickets are on sale now.
Also going fast are spots in the contest. A dozen paint stations are available and about 10 of them were already spoken for by the end of this week. Could be, the rest are gone now too.
But if you can't spill paint at this year's showdown, you can definitely watch, and all eyes will be fixed on Corey Hardeman, the defending champion. Not only did she take the city title last year, she won in Vancouver at provincials, and represented B.C. at Art Battle Canada held last month at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
"It was huge for Prince George," said local Art Battle organizer Lisa Redpath of the Community Arts Council. "When I told the provincial organizers that I was sending Corey Hardeman down, and how great she was as a person and as an artist, they called me back to tell me yeah, wow, I was right about her. She really is a great ambassador for the arts. And we are so proud of her."
Hardeman is one of those already signed up for the new round of qualifying, but so are some others with formidable names in the local art world.
"It is a level playing field," Redpath said. "She'll have to work for it."
Art battles are timed events. Painters can practice their image of choice in advance, but when they arrive at the competition canvass they are under the pressure of a stopwatch and they don't know exactly what collection of paint colours they will be given. They have to improvise on top of rehearse.
"Last year we got special permission from Art Battle Canada to shape the rules ourselves, a little bit, so it was 45 minutes last year, but this year we have to follow the national rules," said Redpath. Each artist has 20 minutes to render their finished product and impress the voters. More than one round is held, to improve the odds of the truly speedy and engaging image makers.
"We weren't sure how people would respond to it, but people loved it last year," said Redpath. So the sponsor organizations - Community Arts Council and Groop Gallery - are adding new features to the surroundings of the event. "We are anticipating a different event than last year. It will be behind the Groop Gallery in a big tent. It's a battle in the alley. It's actually a big area back there, it's really got an urban feel, so we hope that will be a catalyst for some good art."
The artists are not charged an entry fee, and share in any profits from the sale of the paintings, so audience participation is critical to the financial success of future Art Battle-Prince George episodes. Tickets are $10 to attend. The paint flies at 7 p.m.
