Paint Off, Paint Out, Dualing Brushes, Face Off - These are all ways to describe the most exciting event at art shows where painting demonstrations occur.
Two or more artists paint the same subject in front of a crowd of art lovers. The onlookers are invited to watch and learn the artists' methods. They can ask questions and comment, and they can participate in the good natured teasing that usually occurs.
It's not a roast, or a competition. There is no best of show prize at the end. Rather, paint offs are between accomplished artists who respect each other and feel confident demonstrating live in front of observers. The artists are not there to show off, although their artwork is typically amazing in these situations. Consider that they are not in their own studios, they have a limited amount of time to produce praise worthy paintings, and they are dealing with less than ideal environmental conditions. Lighting is never right, heating and cooling vents try to dry the paint before it gets onto the canvas, they have to look professional and keep a game face even if they forgot their favorite tube of paint or goof and have to redo sections of what they are working on. Seriously, they make it look so easy, and it's not.
I'm not sure about other artists, but I can tell you why I enjoy participating in paint offs. I love showing people how many very different ways there are to approach the creation of art. It amazes me that we study every single day, yet we can never say we have finished learning. How can something as simple as applying paint with a brush be so complicated? When you witness a paint off, you get a glimpse into all the decisions being made while an artist works. Every color, every brush stroke, every second at the easel a decision is made that results in an original painting. Even if I tried, I could not paint it exactly the same a second time around. That's how many variables there are.
In this time where technology is the very fabric of our existence, it is such a joy to be part of an event that first occurred in the 17th century. Alla prima painting (painting in one session) was popularized by painters such as Velasquez and Caravaggio. In the middle of the 19th century, this style of painting became popular among impressionist painters who loved the spontaneity. Some of the more famous painters who worked in an alla prima style are Cezanne, Sargent, and Sarrolla. It's easy to imagine these masters at their easels, painting with peers for delighted audiences.
So please, come join my accomplished and dear friend, artist Tricia Ratliff and I, at Huckleberry Fine Art Gallery in Rockville, MD. On the evenings of June 19 and 20, Tricia and I will be the artists in a paint off, the likes of which has not been experienced before in the D.C. corridor!
