Anton Pavlenko and Michael Orwick recently held an event at Dragonfire Studio and Gallery, in Cannon Beach, Oregon, during which the two switched off three times during the painting of two canvases. They don’t paint similarly.
Anton Pavlenko, left, and Michael Orwick prepare to duel at Dragonfire Studio and Gallery.
Orwick’s pieces are atmospheric and often tonal; Pavlenko’s paintings are painterly but more naturalistic. But at the end of the “Dueling Easels” experiment, two solid pieces were the result. A 10-minute video summarizing the adventure is viewable here.
The first 30 minutes established the composition and feel of each piece.
Pavlenko and Orwick at work.
The first 30 minutes of painting set the composition and much of the palette for the piece. The hand of the other painter was clearly discernible, but the initial lay-in definitely set the dominant tone, and skewed a piece toward that first painter. In the end, the artists finished the painting they did not start, which helped to balance out the primacy of the lay-in.
The finished pieces on the gallery wall.
Orwick’s daughter, Elena, also got in on the act, adding her flavor to a canvas. She is an artist in her own right, with several shows under her belt at the ripe age of 10.
