Eliyahu Gasson | opinions editor

The crowd counts down from 10, and it’s time to paint.

Artists will gather at Spirit in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood Thursday at 7 p.m. for the latest installment of Art Battle Pittsburgh, a bimonthly painting tournament.

Eleven planned artists and one wild card will compete in the tournament, with the winner getting $250 and the chance to compete in the state tournament, followed by Art Battle International. Their pieces will also be put up for auction, with 50% of the proceeds going to the artists.

“It’s like Iron Chef for artists,” said Jeff Tobe, the producer of Art Battle Pittsburgh.

Artists have 20 minutes to use any medium they’d like (except for aerosols) to paint on an 18×24 inch canvas.

Caroline Heckman won Pittsburgh’s last Art Battle in September. She’s returning this time as a featured artist, which means she’ll be painting during the event and her work will be auctioned, but she won’t be competing.

“It’ll be very calm for me. I’ll get to chill and paint and everyone will be competing on the main stage,” Heckman said.

Also important, Heckman said, is to go in with materials you’re comfortable with.

“I typically use acrylic paint … it’ll dry a lot faster for me, so I can work quicker with it,” she said.

Heckman said she is most comfortable with portraits as that is the type of thing she painted when she competed.

“Rather than going in with a plan of what I want to paint and restricting myself, I just go very loosely with no ideas in mind … I’ll do unique, almost alien-like faces, and they represent whatever mood I’m feeling in the moment,” she said. “Trust the process and don’t overthink it too much.”

But most important, she said, is that competitors have fun.

Nirvana Gaffey is returning for a third time as a contestant. She said that she’s learned lessons from the last two competitions.

“It was a wonderful learning experience … you have all of that energy from everybody cheering you on, and you’re like ‘wow, this is really fun’ … I feel more confident in painting that fast and getting what I want on the canvas,” Gaffey said.

Gaffey is a professional artist in Pittsburgh. She describes her work as “street art, a little bit of pop art, fun and vibrant.”

“I love to bring joy to others [through] fun characters,” she said.

Gaffey said she’s excited to compete in Thursday’s Art Battle and has high hopes for herself.

“I’m gonna do wonderful,” she said. “I always have an amazing time. I always meet the best people. It’s amazing to collab with other artists and just be in that space.”

Art Battle is an international competition. Tobe was first exposed to it in Toronto where he watched his friends compete. He approached the organizers about bringing it to Pittsburgh.

“They said ‘it’s really coincidental because we identified Pittsburgh as a growing arts community and we want to be there,’” he said.

Art Battle Pittsburgh has been around for a year. Thursday will be the first event since they moved to Spirit, a larger venue than their previous home at Atithi Studios in Sharpsburg.

Duquesne students over the age of 21 with a valid student ID can attend Art Battle Pittsburgh for free by signing up at artbattle.com/rsvp. Others can purchase tickets for $20 on their Eventbrite page https://tinyurl.com/3fm776ts.