Be honest, you said that title in the voice of famed ring announcer, Michael Buffer. Right?!?
I know I did when I found out that I was accepted as one of the painters chosen to compete in this year's Art Battle!
What is Art Battle? Sixteen local painters, a blank canvas (18x24 or larger), paints, brushes, music pumping, hot lights, twenty minutes and a grand concept in one's head. Yes, twenty minutes to complete a painting all the while the lights shine, that music pumps and the crowd sways, circles, photographs and records. Just....inches....behind us. I'm not kidding. Right over our shoulders. The room is packed and they circle, watching and commenting. What's funny though, I never noticed them. So intent was I on the painting that the crowd never bothered me. What I did not take into account was the music and lights. The overall intensity that filled the room. The vibe is incredible.
I picked up the wrong brush....I was done right there.
Wrong brush? Yes, the wrong brush. I had practiced for two weeks prior to the battle. Two weeks in the studio sometimes three paintings a day. Three different paintings, twenty minutes each time. Perfecting my movement, my strokes, wet on wet painting, learning how different colours will react. Listening to the music I thought would be best to help me get in that groove. I was in the zone, confident but now cocky. Ready....to....rumble.
What I failed to take into account was the intensity in the room. The DJ's really groovy tunes competing with mine (earbuds not recommended), the heat from the lights and the accumulated masses, the reaction of the paint to the heat of the lights and the intensity, the intensity, the intensity. The vibe given off by the crowd, even though I couldn't really "see" them, was an amazing experience.
I picked up the wrong brush....I was done right there.
All that practice went out the window. All my planning. What do the military generals say about planning?
“No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. He was the Chief of Staff of the Prussian army before World War.
Although I never looked upon my peers as the enemy, I wanted to do well. I didn't. The paint was flying, the music thumping, the crowd circling and I chose the wrong brush. I also, in that moment chose to have fun and to learn. I went with it all, laughed as paint splashed on my bare-feet and face. Yes, I painted barefoot and yes, paint lies, especially when flung from a brush.
Chistina Watts won that year. Using, among other things, a toilet brush. YES! A toilet brush. Ingenious.
I learned a great deal at that Art Battle. Don't take shit too serious. Be prepared for the intensity, have fun and above all else;
Pick, up, the, correct, brush!
I hope to see you there. I'll be the bare-foot, over fed, long haired, painting gnome.
If you are a local artist and wish to register and apply for Art Battle - CLICK HERE