Eight artists armed with brushes, paint and an empty canvas were given 20 minutes Saturday night to produce a painting to be immediately judged by 55 people who paid for the privilege of witnessing live art created on the spot.
Known as an “Art Clash,” and the top four vote-getters moved on to round two and were given 30 minutes to come up with their next creation. When the field was reduced to two, the final vote determined the winner.
Sponsored by the Side Street Studio Arts in downtown Elgin, the nail-biting competition — augmented by music from Weezer, the Beatie Boys and other alt-rock favorites — was the first of four such events that will be held on March 12, April 9 and May 7.
The winners of each of those contests will face off in the big finale on June 17.
Saturday night’s competition featured artists David Bremer, Kathy Fredrickson, John French, Kahl Jahnke, Adrian Mesino, Natalie Pivoney, Ken Simonsen and Sierra Tuazon.
When Jahnke and French tied for the win, an audience vote-off was needed for Jahnke to be declared the ultimate victor.
“There were a lot of really good artists here tonight, and it took a bit of luck to win,” Jahnke said.
The artists were allowed to paint whatever they wanted, and those in attendance allowed to move around the room to get a closer look at each contestant in action. The only requirement was to “walk counterclockwise around the painters,” attendee Alice Moring said.
While she has been involved with painting sets for school plays and putting together props for Elgin’s popular Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween street party, competing live and having your work immediately evaluated is something she’d never want to do, Moring said.
Erin Rehberg, Side Street’s cofounder and executive director, said they’ve held more than 20 live arts competitions since 2013, running the gamut from painting to poetry to dance.
“Because of the pandemic, as we come out of it or whatever phase this might be, this is our first event like this since March of 2020,” Rehberg said.
They decided to do a painting competition because that’s what patrons requested, she said.
Jahnke said he decided that morning that his first painting of the night would be a cupcake with a face. He followed that up with a portrait of a man on a yellow background, who looked a bit like author George Orwell, playwright Eugene O’Neill and actor Michael Fassbinder — depending on your perspective.
Jahnke said he could see those references, but none of them were in mind while he was painting.
“There wasn’t any inspiration. It was purely improvisation,” he said.
Tickets were $10 in advance and $15 at the door, with the winner taking home part of the evening’s proceeds. There’s no fee to enter, and artists can sell the works they create that night.
For more information on upcoming Art Clashes, go to www.sidestreetstudioarts.org/artclash or call 847-429-2276.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
