Story and photos by William Smith
The
five local celebs who battled each other in the Battle of the Brushes
painting competition Friday night (Nov. 19) at Memorial Auditorium had
two things in common: little to no art experience and a willingness to raise money for a local cause.
Burlington
superintendent Pat Coen hadn't painted anything since third grade.
Retired Girl Scouts COO Donna Logan said she was once proficient in
stick figures.
Coen and Logan, alongside fellow
local celebs Michael Abouassaly, David Oetken (known for his fireworks
at J&M Displays in Yarmouth), and Ann Menke (founder of Menke &
Company CPA) had two hours to impress the judges with their canvas
creations.
Each had at least one assistant – a
veteran artist of their choosing.
Coen’s primary assistant was his niece
Eleanor Krieger, who had a pencil sketch of her own to auction off
later in the night. Local artist Margaret Ertz assisted Abouassaly,
Oetken enlisted the help of Chris Mulder, and Craig Fleece assisted
Donna Logan.
Ann Menke had Burlington
impressionist David Garrison on her side, who dressed in a knee length
Chicago Cubs jersey to match her baseball theme. For half of the two
hour competition, he stood above her, using soft ropes to “manipulate”
her painting hands.
Each piece was auctioned off at the end of of the night, with proceeds going to the Art Center of Burlington. Coen brought along another assistant and relative, Lou Krieger-Coen, who emulated an Iowa farm auctioneer. Pat Coen played along, dancing his way to the stage to “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” while dressed in a baseball cap and overalls.
