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On the evening of July 6, 2019, a new BC Interior Art Battle Champion was crowned at Cactus Jacks Nightclub in Kamloops.
Jolene Mackie of Kelowna proved her artistic prowess during the high-intensity event, turning out two incredible paintings in just 20 minutes each.
No newcomer to the Art Battle Scene, Mackie participated in one of Kelowna’s first ever Art Battles in 2012 where she also won, however, her 2019 victory comes after a seven-year break between battles.
“It definitely was not an expected win at all, it had been a long time since I participated in a battle and I just decided to try it again to see what I could come up with within the 20 minutes,” said Mackie.
While Mackie’s motivation for jumping into the Art Battle ring is fueled by curiosity and fun seeking, she was no exception to the usual pre-competition jitters.
“All of it was super daunting especially the build-up,” she said.
“You think of all the planning in addition to painting in front of people, under a time limit with materials [you're] not familiar with, and those factors build the anxiety in advance.”
According to Mackie she was up against some stiff competition from the other participating artists, who included two wildcard painters. One was a seasoned Art Battle veteran from Kamloops and the other an international visitor from Belgium.
"All of the artists were really amazing. It was a neat lineup of diverse talent — I was in the second round so I got to see the first six compete and I remember thinking ‘yeah there is some really good competition here, really good artists, awesome painters,” she said.
With that being said, she found comfort in her trade, excitement in the energy of the crowd and some peace of mind knowing that she was prepared.
“As soon as I start painting my mind kicks in and tells me ‘oh yeah I do this all the time, I know what I'm doing,' so there is a little comfort zone just in the activity itself,” she said.
“It was a really neat crowd, they were super into it and so supportive — I actually practiced a little bit too for the regionals, so I had a bit of a game plan. It changed when I was in the moment, which happens, but it resulted in what it did which is super cool.”
According to the event’s coordinator Michael O’Brien, Mackie “stole the show” despite the impressive talent she was up against.
“All of the paintings were really, really strong —the competitors were the best of the best that our region got to see over this year from Prince George, Kamloops and Kelowna —It ended up being a showdown between Kamloops and Kelowna but Jolene stole the show,” he said.
O’Brien also believes the talent showcased at the finals only adds to the resume of items that attribute to Kamloops’ title of ‘Canada’s Tournament Capital.’
“This is our third year with live competitive painting in Kamloops and it is getting better and stronger this fits right in with the whole ‘Tournament Capitol’ mandate,” he said.
“It proves that it doesn’t have to be just physical sports — creative sports are just as strong and are becoming just as popular. We are really thankful for the community's support on this!”
As for Mackie, she is set to jet off to Toronto to compete in the National Art Battle Championship on July 25, 2019, an experience she says she is ‘stoked’ for.
“For me more than anything, I am excited to just spend some time in Toronto, to meet other amazing Canadian artists and to see what they do, I am in it for the experience and am stoked to go!” she said.
Even if you can’t make the trek to ‘The Six' to cheer on Mackie, she still encourages her local supporters to attend any upcoming Art Battles they have an opportunity to.
“It is a really neat event to go to as a viewer and to see what people can do in 20 minutes with paint,” she said. “It’s a really cool forum for people who maybe aren’t art connoisseurs to see art as entertainment and to engage in it.”
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