A week ago, Ryan noticed this graffiti underway in a building near his office at Bryant Park.

After a bit of sleuthing, he found out it was to celebrate the upcoming ‘Art Battle U‘ where student artists paint live on stage. So we bought tickets.

The battle was held tonight at Webster Hall – and it was amazing. We arrived to see four artists each dabbing paint on canvases while loud music played and a crowd gathered. Already they were beginning to look pretty great.

For another half an hour, they worked on the canvases as the DJ played – my early favorite was the portrait of a girl.

Halfway through, there was a break for the artists so the host entertained us by freestyling and introducing another rapper. I also took a bit of a wander and checked out some lovely ladies who were having their naked bodies painted with bold designs.

Then we got back to the art – and it was amazing to see how one piece that I’d previously not really rated started to take the lead. The dark blue swirls of the girl’s figure were illuminated by fiery sticks and splashes of yellow, white and orange.

When the time was up, we began to vote for our favorites – and the beautiful portrait and a Damien Hirst-esque double skeleton were the first to go. Then our cheers determined the winner… I hollered for the woman’s fire dancer figure, while Ryan yelled for the unbelievable precise cowboy skeleton.

The cowboy skeleton took it.

This was so much fun. It’s totally unlike the things I usually do, and it was amazing to shake it to some hip hop and watch some top talent at work before my eyes. Plus, it was interesting to see another side of Webster Hall.

Good spot, Ryan!