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During the 24 hours that encompassed Relay For Life in Rancho Santa Margarita, one of the most riveting figures belonged to a long-haired man in a straw hat who had killer taste in music.

An artist.

Javier Alvarez Palomar, commonly called Maestro, took the stage at Central Park Amphitheater and enthralled the crowd as he produced a pop icon with just a few colors roughly applied to a black canvas.

• SPOILER ALERT: The identity of the painting is in the editor's note at the end of this story. The painting took 13 minutes 36 seconds to produce, the accompanying video is 6:21.

Palomar donated the painting to the Relay, which auctioned it off. The winning bid went to Michael Vaughn, who is general counsel for one of the Relay's big sponsors, Applied Medical.

Vaughn's winning bid was $1,000, and he promised to raffle the painting at Applied Medical—the city's largest employer—and donate that money to Relay For Life as well.

"It keeps on giving, and it's an opportunity to raise additional funds to give back to the community," Vaughn said.

Alvarez was part of a huge day of entertainment that was spearheaded by entertainment coordinator Kourtney Rutter. Although most of the entertainment was music, Alvarez was a popular attraction. He has a studio in Laguna Beach and his website can be viewed at TheAlvarezGallery.com.

Editor's Note: The painting created by Alvarez depicted John Lennon. Alvarez created the work upside down—the canvas, not Alvarez, was upside down.