Competitors took their places in a circle of easels in the middle of the school’s gymnasium, and were given 20-minutes to paint whatever they wanted – without using a reference photo, or going a second overtime.

Attendees voted for their two favourites of the 24 paintings created by the students from CWDHS, John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, College Heights Secondary School and Westside Secondary School.

Each of the paintings created during the battle was available for auction, and 26 were sold, raising a total of $532. ��Half was donated to the Centre Wellington Foodbank, and the other half went to battle winner and CWDHS student Bella Freil.��

Six other artists made it to the final round: Kate Adema, Maddison Muir, Anna Main and Ava Noorlander from CWDHS; and Paige Bannon and Jasper Sampson from John F. Ross.��

The Centre Wellington students are no strangers to speed painting – there’s a club at the school called Battle of the Brushes that meets weekly to practice creating 20-minute paintings.�� ��

College Heights Secondary School student Carissa Deering signed up for the Live Art Battle because they wanted to test their limits and see what they could create. Deering told the Advertiser she decided what to paint on the spot during the battle.

College Heights

Carissa Deering is part of the art club at College Heights – that’s where she found out about the Live Art Battle.

“Speed painting isn’t my thing,” they said, but they wanted to give it a chance to push their limits, and would likely participate again.

Deering does lots of painting and sketching in her free time, she said.

But when it came time to start painting during the competition, their mind went blank.

So she improvised on the spot and painted something she knew she’d be able to finish quickly – an image of a young woman with a dramatic dark slash of paint across her eyes.

John F. Ross

John F. Ross student Jasper Sampson heard about the Live Art Battle from his friend at CWDHS, Kate Adema, as well as his art teacher.��

He decided to sign up “to have some fun,” check out the competition’s “vibe,”��and see what the other artists created.��

He described his peers’ work as “super epic,” and was impressed by their level of talent.

He was particularly impressed by the students who used acrylic paints during the competition, noting he chose water colour because it’s the fastest medium.��

For Sampson, competing in the Live Art Battle was “stressful but fun” and he would definitely sign up to do it again. ��

Westside Secondary School Grade 11 student Nakhai Letts said when he paints, he paints his emotions. In the background is John F. Ross student Jasper Sampson.

Westside

Nakhai Letts is a Grade 11 student at Westside Secondary School in Orangeville.��

Letts said before the competition he hadn’t painted for a long time, but he signed up because he thought it would be fun.

When Letts paints, he paints his emotions, and during the battle he was feeling nervous but enjoying the process, he told the Advertiser.��

The outside of his painting depicts his nervousness, while the blue on the inside reflects his enjoyment.��

Letts said he would have preferred painting with spray paint, but that wasn’t on the list of approved materials.��

Letts’ little brother and mom came to Fergus with him for the battle.��

Centre Wellington District High School student Bella Friel was the winner of the board-wide art battle on May 8. Friel has ambitions of being a life-long artist and is set to head to Conestoga College next year to earn a bachelor of design. Photos by Robin George

Centre Wellington

The battle winner Bella Friel from CWDHS also had her three-year old brother with her at the Live Art Battle.��

During the first round she painted a snowy owl – which she chose because she loves all animals, especially birds of prey, she told the Advertiser.��

She said she’s painted owls before, so she felt comfortable doing so without a reference.��

In the second round Friel painted a side-profile of a face with long wavy black hair.

Friel said she’s enthusiastic about art and has drawn for her entire life.

She hopes to spend her life persuing her artistic passions, and will be studying design at Conestoga College next year.��

And at CWDHS, Live Art Battle organizers and art teachers Bobbi Bentham Reynolds and Jen Main have hopes the battle will become an annual event.��

The post Students raced to paint canvasses during board-wide Live Art Battle at Centre Wellington District High School appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.

But thanks to a partnership with the Elora Fergus Arts Council, 24 students in Grades 9 through 12 are proudly displaying their art pieces on the wall of a boardroom at the Centre Wellington Community 91���Ѽplex.��

The art exhibit is called Challenge, and the students were given the freedom to choose how they wanted to portray challenge through their art, teacher Jen Main told the Advertiser��during the exhibit opening on Feb. 22.��

Anna Main’s artwork, in the top right corner, represents the challenge of facing change. Photo by Robin George

Some of the students focused on personal challenges including mental health, isolation and identity, while others chose challenges that impact the whole world such as climate change.��

Art teacher Bobbi Bentham Reynolds said it was a “pretty big deal” for the students to see their art on display somewhere other than the high school.��

And students Anna Main, Robynn Grills and Ava Noorlander all said it felt great to see their work hanging on the 91���Ѽplex wall.��

“I feel pretty proud of myself,” said Grade 12 student Main. “I’m happy that other people can see my art,” she added.��

The theme of Main’s artwork is change, and it has a strong message: “Change can be scary. Change can be hard. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad,” Main said.��

Robynn Grills’s art shows a workspace in a teenager’s bedroom and represents the challenge of facing endless hours of studying. Photo by Robin George

Grade 9 student Grills’ artwork is about the challenge of spending endless hours studying. It is an acrylic painting of a bedroom, the place many teenagers do much of their school work.��

She said it’s also about counting down the days until she can put her knowledge to use – and her bedroom can go back to being a place for sleeping “and a place I can be myself, instead of just another place for school.”��

Grade 9 student Noorlander’s artwork depicts black and white drawings of critically-endangered parrots, with a bright red background. Around the border of the multimedia piece are drawings of causes of the parrots’ decline, including hunting, trapping for the pet trade, and deforestation.��

The piece speaks both to the challenges these birds face trying to survive and the human challenge of trying to restore their populations and habitats, and Noorlander hopes it “spreads awareness about endangered parrots.”��

Ava Noorlander’s art shows critically-endangered species of parrots, and represents the challenges they face to survive as well as the human challenge of restoring their populations and habitats. Photo by Robin George

Elora Fergus Arts Council board member Barb Lee said she reached out to Main and Bentham Reynolds to set up the art exhibit as part of the 91���Ѽ’s committee for Art in Public Places.��

“We really wanted an opportunity to display youth shows,” Lee said, and “Jen and Bobbi just embraced it.”��

Lee said they chose the 91���Ѽplex because lots of kids spend time there so are likely to see the student’s art.

The art will remain on display at the 91���Ѽplex until April 30.��

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