Three, two, one … Paint!
The Deer Lake Craft Festival is kicking it up a notch this year and adding a live painting competition to the fun.
The 47th annual event, presented by the Burnaby Arts Council, is returning to the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts Nov. 16, 17 and 18.
Artists will go brush to brush in a battle for supremacy on Friday evening, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Shadbolt’s main atrium. Featured artists for the occasion will be Kwakwee Baker, Honeytta Eyvany, Sandra Trubin, Jesse Wamboldt, Jessica Wiebe and Juan Pablo Vega.
All the artists come with battle-ready resumes: Baker, Wiebe and Vega have all taken part in the arts council’s summer Park’s Edge Paint-Off events, while Eyvany placed third in the 2017 summer event and Trubin took third place in 2018. Wamboldt, meanwhile, was the winner of the 2018 summer event.
“Many people have never seen how paintings are created, and it is an exciting spectacle to get a glimpse of what the creative process looks like first hand,” says a write-up about the event. “Mingle that with an emphasis on speed and the chance for prizes and recognition, and it's a recipe for a fun, engaging event with thrills, excitement and culture.”
The artists will finish their work Friday evening, and the winner is selected by visitors, who can vote starting on Friday at 7 p.m. Public voting will end on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m.
Art lovers can take part in a live online auction for the artwork. Bidding begins on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. and ends on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. Half the funds raised go to support the artists, and the rest goes to the arts council.
See www.32auctions.com/CraftFestivalPaintOff for bidding when it opens.
