More than 1,400 artists capture beauty of B.C. in day-long painting competition

More than 1,400 amateur and professional artists set up their easels outside to capture the beauty of Southern B.C. for a competition on Sunday.

Opus Arts Supplies hosted its annual "Outdoor Painting Challenge" at its stores across the Lower Mainland and in Kelowna.

"We encourage people to go out into the community, and just paint," said Trevor Code, a store manager.

Each participant was given a free canvas by organizers.

They had from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT Sunday to complete a painting using inspiration from a designated "painting zone" surrounding one of the art supplier's stores.

More than $21,000 in gift cards and art tools were up for grabs in children, youth and adult categories.

Code said judges look for images that capture "what it is to be in a community and be expressive."

How that manifests itself, can vary, he added.

"We've had prize winners who have picked up pieces of earth and put it in the paint," he said. "We've got prize winners who do the most photo accurate representations of where they were sitting."

Many of those who participated produced stunning work in the time they were given.