Alepsis Hernandez hoisted the victory cup at the inaugural Tooth and Nail female art battle at the Icehouse Arts Complex in Long Beach on Saturday.

She squashed her three foes and then gulped down a beer that she had poured into the championship chalice.

Tooth and Nail was billed as a live female art battle hosted by “Hello, Welcome”—a recently formed arts consortium that operates out of the fifth floor of the Icehouse.

The event was organized by Allison Bamcat, one of the competitors. A dozen Hello, Welcome staff members judged 30 applicants and decided upon the four women who would be in the contest.

The artists had 90 minutes to create a mural on a 12-by-12-foot wall.

A paint-spattered Michelle Ruby Guerrero said she was exhausted after spending an hour and a half creating “Chucho Imitating the Pink Panther”.

“This was a 90-minute workout for my body and my brain,” she said.

When time ran out, the women were judged by the volume of the cheers from the more than 400 people who climbed up the stairs to take in the competition. A decibel meter determined Hernandez was the victor.

Hernandez eschewed the three-color palette the women were limited to and created the monochromatic “True Meaning of a Man.”

Lisa DeSmidt of the Arts Council for Long Beach was on hand to watch the battle. She was impressed by both the event and the Hello, Welcome arts group in general.

“This space is the opposite of pretentious. It’s fresh, eclectic, entrepreneurial and there are no judgments. They’ve done this on their own and it’s Long Beach specific.”

Bamcat had assembled a team if should she need any help (she didn’t). One of the squad members was Joey Stupor.

“Hello, Welcome has become a tribe of artists who love each other,” he said. “Meanness is not allowed. Well, sometimes we yell at each other, but it’s nice yelling.”

Allison Bamcat works on a flamingo which was part of her mural. Photo by Bill Alkofer.