Various parts of downtown Qualicum Beach were once again the subject for dozens of paintings during the 25th Grand Prix d’Art on Saturday, July 28.
Nearly 40 artists took part in the plein air competition where participating artists are randomly assigned a part of town to work from, and must complete a painting in three hours.
Pieces ranged from large to small, from realistic to impressionistic, and with some artists working on detail up to the final minute, while some worked on more than one piece.
The winners were announced just after 3 p.m., with four earning honourable mentions, as well as third, second and first place prizes:
1st: Tom Taylor
2nd: Willam Watt
3rd: Jim McFarland
Hon. Mention: John Hofman
Hon. Mention: Jill Paris Rody
Hon. Mention: Nicholas McMaster
Hon. Mention: Ludek Sotola.
Taylor said he was thrilled to come away with the top prize, saying “I came for the fun and I got a bonus.” This was his third time taking part in TOSH’s Grand Prix, but has participated in other Grand Prix events in Steveston and Ladner. Taylor said he was quite pleased with his piece, saying that othere artists encouraged him not to overthink his work and keep adding on detail, so he finished with about 15 minutes to spare. “It worked out well.”