How does a visual artist get from a conceptual stage to a completed work? Better yet, how do three artists finish a canvas in less than 90 minutes?
That, in a nutshell, is the basis of the Golden Brush painting competition, the third of which takes place next week at the Old Mill Boathouse in Port Moody.
Organizers Kevan Seng and J Won Suh recently teamed up with ArtsConnect to host the social fundraiser for artists and art events.
"People don't usually get a chance to see artists at work, especially in a pressure-cooker environment," said Helen Daniels, executive director of ArtsConnect.
"It's fun and different," said Seng, who got Golden Brush rolling after staging a similar project at Chapters at Granville Street and Broadway Avenue in Vancouver in 2009.
Then, he was raising money for books for an elementary school and had three teams paint three works for three days. When people gathered around to see the process in action - for the full three hours - Seng knew he was on to something.
He recruited Monika Blichar of MAB Ventures and the Make and Break Arts Foundation to help launch the first Golden Brush last July at the Elliott Lewis Gallery in Vancouver.
Five teams with three artists each - including Jay Peachy of Anmore - laboured for an hour with audience members watching, commenting and socializing behind them.
The winner? A colourful splatter painting titled Collaboration II byRaymond Chow, Arlana Green and Ron Sombilon.
Seng said the event went so well that a second Golden Brush competition was organized a short time later for October. But this time there was a theme: Green Sustainability. The winners, including Coquitlam's Dave Danchuk, a self-taught artist specializing in scrollsawed portraits, painted a picture of environmentalist David Suzuki using an image from a smartphone.
For the third Golden Brush in Port Moody on March 24, there will four teams of three Tri-City and Vancouver artists each illustrating "spring."
The teams are:Masha Levene, Mandara Lebovitz and Tammy Pilon;Sarah Ronald, Judith Atkinson and Rainer Daniels;Kris Kupskay, Rose Eysmond and Heather Anderson; and David Ullock, Ben Hefford and Tyler Schwindt.
After the show - once the paintbrushes and hairdryers are put down - an auction starts where attendees can bid on limited edition prints of the paintings done that night.
And the winning entry will be selected by jurors Karen Rockwell (Port Moody city councillor), Susan Jessop (Port Moody Arts Centre gallery coordinator) and Astrid Heyerdahl (Evergreen Cultural Centre visual arts manager).
The four artworks will be on display at Port Moody city hall, Creative Home Furnishing and Colours, a new arts supply store in Port Coquitlam that also contributed the competition canvases.
Seng said following the fifth Golden Brush, the winning original art works will also be auctioned off.
The Golden Brush painting competition is on March 24 at the Old Mill Boathouse (2715 Esplanade St., Port Moody). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with live painting starting an hour later. Tickets are $10 and include DJ'd music and a cash bar. For more information, visit www.gbartevents.com.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
