Kamloops’ first season of Art Battle is wrapping up this week with a finale that will showcase the best of the best from the past year.
Winners and all stars from past competitions will be battling it out in the city finals on Thursday, June 1st for a spot at the B.C. finals in Vancouver, where the winner will go on to compete in the national competition in Toronto later this summer.
Local artists who have dominated past battles will be vying for the city finals title. All have been regulars on the Art Battle stage, bringing their personal flare to the tournament-style live painting competition. Here’s who will be bringing their A-game this week:
Zach Abney
Abney was the winner at Art Battle 452 in November and was voted top artist during the holiday all-star event 2 Days and 20 Minutes. He is a resident artist at the local collective Studio 322 and leads the Red Room paint nights.
Kelly Wright
Local mural artists Kelly Wright was one of the early competitors at Art Battle and has competed in more battles than most artists, organizers say. Returning as one of the all stars, Wright is best known for his work on large-scale murals in the city’s downtown core. Check out some of his work on his website.
Clement Yeh
Yeh has been a regular on the Art Battle stage, returning to compete at city finals as one of the all-star artists. He’s a studio artist, instructor and curator with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing from the Alberta College of Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Concordia.
Amie Stoltz
Stoltz was the champion at Art Battle 419 last July. Known for her grunge style, Stoltz works in water colour, acrylic and digital. Her designs can be seen on everything from apparel to home decor. Check out her funky style and creations at the Art We Are or on her website.
Ryan McFarlane
McFarlane was the winner of Art Battle 486 in January and organizers say he is recently back from a trip to Europe they hope will inspire his work in the upcoming battle.
Bailey Koopmans
Fan-favourite Koopmans has yet to win a battle, but placed many times and competed in two all-star Art Battle events. She is a self-taught artist who works mostly in digital.
Jessica Scott
Scott has frequented the Art Battle stage and will return to city finals as an all star, bringing her surrealist-fantasy style back for another round. Scott makes her designs permanent as a tattoo artists at Blue Orchid Tattoo.
Jessie Ouwendyk
Ouwendyke is the Art Battle 242 champion and competed in Art Battle’s 2 Days and 20 Minutes all-star event. Check out some of her work at the Art We Are.
Jullian Greenman
This local tattoo artist is the most recent winner, taking the top spot at Art Battle 523 in April. Greenman trained at Emily Carr and works at Sakred Skin & Studio in downtown Kamloops. As the newest champ, he’ll be opening the show with a 40-minute live painting session before the competition gets underway.
Dale Parkes
Parkes competed last summer in Art Battle 419. A registered architect, Parkes is a senior lecturer in the architectural and engineering technology department at TRU and has painted throughout his life.
Peter Darah
Darah competed as the wildcard artist in his first Art Battle earlier this year, when he made it to the final round. He returned in March and was the winner of Art Battle 502.
Artists are pitted against each other in three 20-minute rounds. They create the best work they can from start to finish. As they work, viewers move around the circle of easels watching the the process and voting for their favourite at the end of the round. Artwork is up for auction after the battle.
Tickets are $25 and available online.
