PORT ANGELES — Call it speed painting, performance on canvas or “15 minutes of embarrassment or success,” in the words of the host.
The second annual Brush Off, an on-site contest for artists of any age and style, is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Studio Bob, the event space at 118½ E. Front St.
Admission is free to artists and spectators, while donations, which go to the contest winner, are encouraged.
Bob Stokes, Studio Bob’s owner and the ringleader of this art circus, urges would-be contestants to stop by soon after 5 p.m. Saturday to put their names into the hat. Once that’s done, the artists can visit other Second Weekend art-walk venues hosting receptions (see report at right).
Come 7 p.m., a random drawing will be held to assemble the six competitors. Studio Bob will provide brushes, paint and 32-inch by 48-inch primed boards for them, though artists may choose to bring their own brushes.
Once the painters are picked, Stokes and cohosts Doug Parent and Jeanette Painter will turn to the audience for subject suggestions.
Those will be chosen randomly out of the hat, too, and assigned to the artists.
Then the Brush Off really begins: painter No. 1, equipped with a subject, chooses a Pandora.com radio station with a particular style of music: rhythm and blues, hip-hop, whatever.
Then the artist goes to the canvas to punch, splash, daub or caress it with colors.
When all six have performed, the audience will vote for the top painter, whose winnings will be the contents of Studio Bob’s tip jar.
In a sense, however, each artist will win. Stokes plans to mount all six paintings high outside Studio Bob, in the alley between Front and First streets. The art will look down at the Michael’s awning for a year, Stokes said.
All six paintings will be displayed for one year in our new outdoor alley gallery that will adorn the back entrance of Studio Bob.
But isn’t 15 minutes a little quick for real art?
Nope, said Port Angeles’ Jeff Tocher, a performance painter at many a concert.
“The heart of the painting comes in the first 15 minutes,” he added.
Jeanette Painter, another Port Angeles artist, was one of the six at the inaugural Brush Off last year. She chose vintage R&B as her soundtrack and received “outer space” as her subject.
“It was such a fun event,” she said, not just because she got to paint, but also since she loved watching what the rest
did.
Another 2014 Brush Off contestant, Port Angeles’ Tammy Hall, is known more for her driftwood sculptures than for her paintings.
Given Mount Olympus as her subject, “she rocked it,” said Painter.
The six paintings from last year’s Brush Off will be on display Saturday night.
And Stokes, who hosts art shows and other events every second Saturday of the month as well as the Drink and Draw art gatherings at 7:30 p.m. each Thursday, wants to develop the audience-participation idea.
“We’re thinking about doing some form of this every six months,” he said.
The Brush Off “is very casual,” added Painter.
“It’s just a fun, creative energy. Everybody’s welcome.”
