Art Battle has set a new bar for itself.
After two years gaining traction in the community and among local artists, it outgrew Groop Gallery and was amicably moved to the kind of venue used in other centres for this sport-painting phenomenon.
The move to Heartbreakers Cabaret this year kicked it up a few colours on the pallet because of the wider space it offered audiences, and the focal arena it offered the artists in the competition.
Friday was fight night for the gladiators of paint, only "hitting the canvas" has a whole other meaning in this kind of bout.
An unprecedented number of people were able to attend the event, since the Heartbreakers space is built for crowds.
About 200 people were in attendance at the Art Battle peak, watching as a dozen local painters splattered their talent as fast as they could go in three rounds of four painters each.
Each painter was given the same tools to work with and 20 minutes to make their best mark.
Part of the fun was watching how each artist approached the situation, from Jennifer Pighin and James Spankie piping their own music into their heads via headphones, or Keith Carlson bopping his head along in time with the techo beats dropped by live DJ Rubytrout while others simply gave every indication they were too focused to hear anything.
The crowd alternated between cheering in delight and staring in amazement.
Sometimes you'd think a mountain or a flower was about to emerge from the early paint lines applied by the artist, and then some unexpected finish would reveal a completely different final image.
These were pros, and it showed.
Even the less-experienced among the 12 produced applaudable works. Some were landscapes, some were florals, some were abstract or conceptual, and all had their appreciators.
There was always a buzz of some sort, as the artists were encouraged and the paintings were mulled by the viewers.
Trevor Stanley fanned his paint with a metal tray to dry it more quickly, while Christina Watts used a blade instead of a brush to lay down the paint.
Crystalynn Tarr held the brush like a magic wand, at times, instead of the customary pencil-like grip.
Mandy Paavola looked like she was punishing the canvas by spanking the surface with brush force.
Darrien Minnie started slowly then built to a frenzy.
Shae Morin set down his brush long before the warning bell and was mingling with the audience while the other three in is heat were still putting paint to canvas.
"Hey, when it's done, it's done," he said with a shrug of confident completion.
One finalist was selected by the audience after each round. The top three were Christina Watts, Jennifer Pighin and Trevor Stanley who painted a second image for the overall win.
Watts came away the victor.
She earned a cash prize and will advance to the provincials in Vancouver.
