Artists in the competition had only two hours to complete their work. During this time, all registered participants set up their supplies and painted or drew in downtown Winter Park. Blank canvases were be stamped the morning of the event to ensure that all paintings are created during the limited time frame.
I decided to sketch Renee Lammers who painted the Albin Polasek “Emily Fountain“. Prior to the whistle announcing the start of the competition, she did a thumbnail drawing in a small tin which just held tiny sheets of paper and a pencil. She saw me starting to sketch and came over. She was concerned that I was sketching Emily’s butt. She suggested I come over to her bench which had a better view of Emily and her harp in profile. the second the whistle sounded she stood and used the thumbnail sketch to block in her painting. A Winter Park resident looked over Renee’s shoulder watching every brush stroke. I almost sketched the resident and then thought better of it.
I walked the park counting the artists and watching their progress. About 19 artists competed with most remaining in Central Park. Several artists ventured to the farmers market which is usually illegal to paint. Another artist ventured as far as Casa Feliz. The air horn used to start and stop the competition was eco-friendly being just a soda bottle with 80 pounds of air pressure.
After the paintings were completed, they were displayed on the artists’ easels in Central Park for an Art Stroll from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The public voted for their favorite piece to win the People’s Choice Award. Prizes were awarded in the following categories: First Prize – $250 went to Mike Pintar; Second Prize – $150 went to Matthew Cornell; Third Prize – $75 went to Arielle Study; People’s Choice – $100, sponsored by the City of Winter Park went to John Nadeau.
The
Earth Day Quick Draw Competition is a lead-up event to the Albin
Polasek Museum’s signature annual event, the Winter Park Paint Out plein
air festival. The 9th Annual Winter Park Paint out will be held from
April 23 to 29, 2017, with an entire week of free programming and
events. Visit winterparkpaintout.org for more information and a schedule of events.