Art Battle Manchester

Visit to #artbattlemanchester XXI -Daub The Docks #salfordquays 5/05/23

Setting off to go to this event we were a little apprehensive as it was outside our experience and comfort zone. 
Arriving at Studio 10 after enjoying a meal nearby we were greeted with a couple of graffiti artists doing a painting and spraying a van.  The queue  wasn't too bad so we entered and were given a wrist band and three tokens.

After entering we noticed the canvasses set up for the competition. we also manged to see a timetable for the event. we the headed up to the landing for a look round. here the competitors had set up stall selling their artwork. There was also stalls for the registered local charity, #Salford4Good . I even added a quick sketch of the security guard to the sheets people were sketching on, (Sue even did a small sketch next to mine). A chance for anyone to take part.

After looking round we moved to the balcony ready for the first five contestants to do their painting in thirty minutes. Just before they started we were entertained by a string quartet. Soon the countdown started. Watching it was strange how slowly the time went, I'm sure the artists didn't feel the same though. Timing was all important and the bird painting seemed to be finished too early but all the other artists finished on time. We were then asked to go and put our first token in the bucket of our favourite artwork. There were a range of techniques used but my personal favourite was the charcoal portrait. After counting up the winner and runner up were chosen and the charcoal portrait won this round. 

 Going outside were then entertained by skateboarders and fire eaters. Fortunately the night wasn't too cold and it was part of the experience of this night. After listening to the music again it was time for the second group of five painters to start. This time i found it harder to pick a favourite painting. My favourite work didn't look finished so although it got my vote it wasn't picked for the final.

After the winners were announced there was a break before the four finalists were put on the easels so that there could be a final vote for the overall winner  using our last token.

As we were waiting I got talking to a couple who we had seen earlier on the balcony. They asked my opinion on who I would think would win. I told them my favourite was the portrait but because the brightly coloured lips were done by the celebrity Dr. Ranj, I realised that may sway some of the voters. In the end the portrait was the winner on the evening.
During the event people had been secretly bidding for all the final paintings and the two mentioned earlier received the highest bids. All the paintings sold which was good as half the money raised went to the charity. After the winner Lauren Liu Lin was awarded her prize there was an auction for a painting that had been painted during the day of the Quays and we were then ready to leave, seeing the finished spray painting on the way out.

An enjoyable evening the was a relaxing experience. We were a little disappointed that although the venue was big enough it was sometimes hard to see the artists at work. Looking at earlier battles the one we saw was in the round with the artists painting in a circle and the audience being able to move about easier. The standard of the paintings were mixed as were the final pieces. A lot of money was raised for charity and I'm sure there will be future events.
I was asked if I would take part,  when talking to the couple earlier, I think I could do a painting in half an hour but didn't fancy the stress of doing it live and was already stressing over what I could do.