SKY ARTS LANDSCAPE ARTIST OF THE YEAR SERIES 10: MEET THE ARTISTS

The tenth anniversary Series of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year saw over 2,000 applications and whisked talented artists from across the UK away to incredible locations to compete to be crowned ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’. Cass Art has supported the show since it began in 2015, supporting all participants with art materials throughout the competition.

The artists are challenged with just four hours to capture scenes from the refined gardens of Hampton Court Palace to the majesty of Mount Snowdon, all under the watchful eye of judges award-winning artist Tai Shan Schierenberg, independent curator Kathleen Soriano, and art historian Kate Bryan. All this for the chance to win a £10,000 commission to paint a landscape in the south of France for London’s Courtauld Gallery. 50 additional artists painted along at each location in a bid to be chosen as a wildcard winner and be in with a chance of receiving an invitation to compete in the Semi-Final.

We caught up with the heat winners and wildcards from this series to discover the materials they love to use and their experience of the show…

HEAT 1: HAMPTON COURT PALACE, SURREY

WINNER - BEN MACGREGOR

Hi Ben, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 1 winner! You previously took part in Series 6 making it to the Semi Final. What was the experience like the second time around?

Thank you, honestly, I put a lot more pressure on myself the second time around, back in 2020 I had no real expectations other than wanting to get as far as I could. This time I felt an uncompromising desire to get to the semi-finals again – at least! That said; I did have an amazing day, the whole experience was just as fun and exciting as it was the last time and Hampton Court was the perfect location for me to show what I could do, not only because it’s already pretty surreal and fantastical but the palace means an awful lot to me having grown up down the road. It was a huge honour to paint there.   

Your submission piece was of a road cutting through the Wiltshire countryside. What was it about that scene that made you want to capture it?

It was a particularly beautiful day, a few of us were in the car heading to my Auntie’s birthday party, she was putting on a micro festival with loads of friends and family, the weather was amazing, everyone was excited, and I knew I wanted to capture the scene and the joyfulness I felt in that moment, as soon as I saw it.   

You have a distinctive abstracted painting style, Judge Tai Shan Schierenberg called the way you put paint down ‘Idiosyncratic but intriguing’. Can you tell us how this style developed and talk us through your process?

I’ve never found it particularly interesting to try to replicate the visual experience of looking at a landscape, in a literal sense. I always attempt to drag the viewer into a slightly surreal and abstract version of it, which is still recognisable but weird enough to entice a second glance. The judges described it as ‘one foot in reality and one foot in Ben’s world’, which I really liked. In terms of the putting down of paint, I use certain types of transparent oil paints on a specially prepared canvas surface which gives the brush marks a real visual presence and a kind of effervescence.   

What are your go-to art materials for painting?

I use many brands of oil paints which I’ve discovered through trial and error, as well as well-worn brushes!  

Thanks Ben! See more of Ben’s work at benjaminmacgregor.co.uk or @bennie.mac on Instagram.

WILDCARD WINNER - SUE SMITH

Hi Sue, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 1 wildcard winner! Tell us about your experience on the day – did you have a game plan?

Having watched Landscape Artist of the Year since it started, I was very excited to be chosen as a wildcard to paint at Hampton Court Palace. I didn’t want my nerves to affect the day so I decided, from the offset, that I was going to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy every minute. Painting alongside so many other artists was such a great experience and there was a real feeling of support and camaraderie.

I didn’t have a game plan as such but, with the weather forecast for extreme heat, my initial plan was to get a good start early on and to drink plenty of water!

When Tai approached me and said that I had been chosen as the wildcard winner I was stunned. It was the perfect end to the day.

With such a huge variety of scenery to choose from at Hampton Court Palace, how did you decide upon the small area of the gardens to paint on the day?

Ordinarily, I paint the South Downs in Sussex and I wanted to stay true to myself and my style so I quite quickly decided to face away from the palace and paint the gardens. I took a few photos from different angles to get rough compositional ideas and did a couple of charcoal sketches before deciding on a fairly tight crop of the garden with the contrast of curved lawn and manicured topiary in the foreground, and the more natural trees in the background.

Tai commented on the sense of mood in your work, how did you create this?

I wanted to create a painting that reflected the timelessness and romance of the Privy Garden. To achieve this, I began by using quite fluid paint to block out the basic elements and main tones of the painting. I then used more muted colours which, together with loose expressive brush marks, helped to create that feeling of mood. The use of slightly warmer, more saturated colours in the foreground added to the sense of depth and atmosphere.

You worked on a coloured ground which brought a warmth to the piece, can you talk us through your colour palette?

I always work on a coloured ground and more often it is a watered down yellow ochre and white mix, which I allow to show through to add that warmth to my paintings. I generally use a fairly traditional palette of colours: two blues, two yellows and two reds plus white but I particularly like Prussian blue, Paynes Grey and Raw Umber to help me achieve some of the more muted colours. On the day, I also used Hookers Green and Sap Green too. It was such a hot day and as it progressed the paint was like glue on the brush so I added a few final touches with a blue pencil to give a little movement to the painting.

Thanks Sue! See more of Sue’s work at sfsmithart.com or @sfsmithart on Instagram.

HEAT 2: MOUNT SNOWDON, NORTH WALES

WINNER – CLARE ROSE

Hi Clare, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 2 winner! What was it like for you on the day?

My granddaughter Izzie and I travelled from Pembrokeshire to Snowdon the day before filming in Snowdonia. Being chosen to be a pod artist on LAOTY was an incredible affirmation as an artist, so I genuinely felt that I had already won as a professional painter. Consequently on the day, I didn't feel competitive with anyone but myself - my main aims being to make an honest and hopefully decent translation of the scene presented to me and to enjoy everything! I felt very fortunate to be given the wonderful Yr Wyddfa to paint, the sublime drama of shifting skies, light and shadow coupled with the rolling landscape, was just awe-inspiring. My large canvas kept me fully occupied for the whole day, while the frequent interviews/filming with the amazing production team from Storyvault Films, the lovely judges and gorgeous Steven M, meant I was really up against it timewise. But they are making a TV show after all! So I worked through my lunch and tea breaks, I literally didn't stop painting all day, so I didn't see any of the wild card paintings or the other pod artists’ work until the judging, which I regret! Fortunately during breaks, we pod artists got to chat and laugh, compare notes and make friends, a real bonus as so much time as a painter is spent in splendid isolation. Izzie got to meet and talk with her star crush Steven M and also did some great painting in her sketchbook. All in all, it was one of the most life-affirming experiences and winning the heat still feels unreal and completely wonderful.

Your submission piece was a snowy street with a foreboding deep grey sky. In the pods you also captured the brooding majesty of the landscape at Snowdon. Judge Tai said you ‘evoke mood with light’, that you are a ‘courageous artist’ and a ‘master of light and atmosphere’ – high praise indeed! How do you imbue atmosphere and mood in your works?

I had studied Tai’s work and progress for my BA and MA and have been in awe of his work for many years, so to have such feedback from him was simply incredible!

I find the act of being in the landscape totally immersive and often quietly extraordinary.  It’s a bit like going to the theatre, where the plot, cast, scenery and lighting are constantly shifting so you must pay attention at all times! In my paintings I'm looking to translate and recreate those feelings of drama and excitement and I will emphasise these experiences through the use of contrasting tones and sweeping perspectives; intense colour and vigorous textures. However, while I'm happy to use ‘artistic license’ to heighten the drama, the ‘feel’ of the final outcome must remain true to my own experience and integral sense of that place.

Your ambitious composition set the scene at the foot of Mount Snowdon, with the National Slate Museum in view across the lake. You worked on a yellow ground quickly blocking in gestural brushstrokes and washes of thin colour, building the painting at speed. Can you walk us through your painting process?

I pre-primed a Winsor & Newton cotton canvas with gesso and when dry, a dilute Yellow Ochre wash (Golden Heavy Body Acrylic). I used acrylic here as I may have decided to work a tonal underpainting in more acrylics, but on the day there just wasn't time! We had arrived at 7 am but were not allowed to start working AT ALL until 9, so I spent this time looking intently at the surrounding landscape. By the time we began I had decided what might work, making a very quick compositional thumbnail (scaled down canvas proportions), drawing in my sketchbook to confirm that the canvas would be better employed in the portrait format. With this big canvas, I started with my largest brushes -1 and 2 inch hog bristles to begin, sketching the basic composition and tonal shapes in with thin oil glazes of ultramarine and burnt umber. I made rough measurements of the buildings in relation to the mountains, trees and lake. Subsequent layers of paint were applied more thickly (fat over lean) and I scraped off and reapplied in many areas, many times.  Initial washes were allowed to remain in the background areas of the painting helped create a sense of air and distance and glimpses of the base colour maintained a cohesive ‘key’ throughout the painting as a whole. I introduced more colours, mixing on the palette and cleaning it and my brushes frequently to avoid muddying. It is hard to overwork a very large painting in a very short space of time and I was fortunate indeed to have had that enforced 2 hour, early morning space to just look, think and feel!

What are your preferred art materials for plein air painting?

My preferred plein air art materials are my faithful Mabef French Sketch Box easel, W&N Box Edge Cotton Primed Canvasses or my own Birch Panel Boards. I primarily use oil paints but often prime with an acrylic Yellow Ochre for summer landscape painting as this warm, mid-tone earth coloured base dries quickly and will offset  any over use of greens and because it works incredibly well with its complimentary colour, Deep Purple (Dioxazine), a colour I often observe next to and within the greens and yellow shadows of foliage and trees. An ochre base also maintains the light of the white gesso beneath. Other oil paints I used here include Yellow Ochre Michael Harding Oil, Terre Vert W&N Artists Oil, Deep Purple (Dioxazine) Michael Harding Oil, Winsor Lemon W&N, Green Gold W&N, Cobalt Blue W&N, Phthalocyanine Turquoise Michael Harding Oil Cadmium Orange W&N and Titanium White W&N. Brushes - Pro Arte Hog Series and Pro Arte Synthetic Oil brushes series 201. Palette Knives. RAGS! Cass Art Gesso Universal Primer, Michael Harding Refined Gum Turpentine.

Thanks Clare! See more of Clare’s work at clareroseartist.co.uk or @clareroseart on Instagram.

WILDCARD WINNER – SOPHIE RYDER

Hi Sophie, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 2 wildcard winner! Tell us about your experience on the day – was it what you expected?

I drove up from Cornwall the night before so had a long drive to get to Snowdonia but it was well worth it. The sun came out on the day which was lucky as I hadn't come prepared for the rain and I even ended up sun burnt at the end of it! Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, and the wildcard community is just immense. I had a couple of interactions with the judges on the day which was an experience in itself and having them critique my work was invaluable, but then to win the wildcard competition just topped off the day! 

With such a majestic scene to capture, how did you decide which part to focus on for your composition?

There were so many points of interest I could have focused on in the landscape. I did consider facing away from the other wildcards but I found myself most drawn to the view the pod artists were asked to represent. I did paint much further back though so was able to incorporate the pods into my composition. I thought it was important to get a real sense of place and the enormity of the mountains surrounding us, so the composition I landed on allowed me to achieve that. 

Your painting was an abstracted graphic vision of the landscape with flat coloured shapes constructing the scene. How do you simplify a landscape into simple shapes?

My approach to painting is about breaking down the landscape into a series of shapes. I blocked out the artists in front of me and started by drawing a series of lines to simplify the landscape; where the water meets the land, where the land meets the sky, where one mountain meets another, and the process goes on. Shapes start layering on top of one another and the landscape is revealed. 

Your piece also captured the overcast colours of the day in muted tones of greens greys and blues. What paints were you using and do you have any tips for colour mixing?

I work in acrylic as a find that the quick-drying time benefits my process of layering colours. I tend to use Daler-Rowney System 3 acrylics and I water them down slightly to achieve a flatter paint surface. In terms of colour mixing, I tend to start with one colour and then alter that one colour on my palette to create a series of similar colours from that one colour. For example if I'm painting a moody sky I would mix a grey and then I would take a bit of that grey and then create a new colour by mixing the grey with a bit of ultramarine blue and crimson red to get a muted purple tone, and so on. I tend to shy away from using bright colours so mixing a bit of black and white in my colours to dull it down does the trick. 

Thanks Sophie! See more of Sophie’s work at @sophiealexandraryder_artist on Instagram.

HEAT 3: CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE

WINNER - KIERAN GUCKIAN

Hi Kieran, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 3 winner! How did you find the experience of being on the show?

I really did have a brilliant experience doing the show. I was pretty nervous when we arrived and you see how big a production it is but the team is so good at making you feel relaxed. I know everyone shares that feedback on the production crew. They made it really easy and looked after us so well. The judges and Stephen also really help put you at ease.

Once I was in the pod and we were painting I felt great and tried to treat it as any other day out painting. I had worked to a four-hour limit and a certain size in the weeks coming up the heat to be ready and that certainly helped. Also bringing my own easel made me feel right at home on the day. It's always great to get to meet other artists, see how they work and approach things and make some new connections. I was very humbled to be selected to go through. It was a such a great and diverse lineup of artists with me that day so feel very grateful to the judges for selecting me to proceed.

Your submission piece was of a mountain ridge and ravine in County Wicklow, and Kathleen compared your work to Caspar David Friedrich’s and his paintings of nature and the Sublime. Is Caspar someone who has influenced your work and which other artists inspire you?

I do really love some of Caspar’s work, it's quite dark and mysterious, some of it which I love, I especially love his painting ‘The Sea of Ice’ I believe it's called. I have so many artists I love but David Hockney, John Lavery, Orpen, Manet, Paula Rego, Turner and Constable have all been influences on me. I really love Joan Eardley’s work too, her landscapes are amazing. 

You selected a dramatic crop of the landscape, focusing beneath the bridge and towards the train tunnel to creative an interesting narrative. Is narrative important in your landscapes?

If possible I like to have some mystery in my work. In the landscape I find sometimes places can be overwhelming not just in a beautiful way but sometimes with a sense of fear you can get. I find this especially in mountains or at coastal places where there's a slight sense of foreboding, you can get both those sensations at the same time, awe of beauty but a bit of fear too. Think I’m trying to relay that sometimes. I like to zone in on an area sometimes rather than having the wider view. 

Beginning with a warm orange ground, you built the painting in dark tones of greens and browns. You were using a limited colour palette, can you tell us what colours you use?

I tend to work a lot with Cerulean and Ultramarine Blues, then yellows (Cad Light and Ochre) with Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. I also work with Alizarin Crimson and Phthalo Green as a dark base for a lot of my grey tones mixing into that. I stick mostly to that set with maybe Naples Yellow. 

Thanks Kieran! See more of Kieran’s work at kieranguckian.art or @kguckian on Instagram.

WILDCARD WINNER – ROSE DUFTON

Hi Rose, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 3 wildcard winner! How did the day play out for you?

Thank you so much! The day was a whirlwind and so much fun! After an early start, the atmosphere among the wild cards was incredible. Everyone (myself included) was thrilled to be there, full of energy and eager to start painting! Thankfully, everything ran smoothly, and since I’m used to painting outdoors that part felt familiar. Even if the cameras didn’t! I am a huge fan of the show and it felt like I was inside my telly watching an episode of the show, it was incredibly surreal! Thankfully I got into the rhythm of painting and enjoyed chatting with the judges and fellow wild cards throughout the day. The whole day was a fantastic experience, and I was both shocked and honoured to be selected as the winner on the day!

You chose to focus on a large tree in front of the bridge, what made you decide upon that composition?

Trees are a frequent subject in my work, and there's something I find so fulfilling about attempting to capture their quiet presence. So when I spotted this wonderful tree to the side of the bridge, it felt natural for me to focus on it for the day. To be honest, the bridge itself was uncharted territory for me, I was nervous to paint it and I wasn’t quite ready to let it take centre stage on the day! It was lovely to hear that the judges agreed with my decision on composition.

You have a very interesting way of putting down paint with energetic, loose brush marks creating a sense of movement. The colours you used gave the impression of light coming through the leaves. How did your painting style develop?

I would say my style is constantly evolving, as I love experimenting with new materials. As a materials-driven artist, trying out different techniques and processes is essential to my creative practice. In the past I primarily worked with watercolours, but moving to acrylics came about through experimentation and a desire to paint more en plein air. I'm deeply inspired by the Impressionist movement, especially artists like Monet and post-Impressionist Pierre Bonnard. I aim to capture a similar sense of energy and movement they did in their works. Painting outdoors often requires quick execution to capture the changing light and atmosphere which naturally infuses my pieces with a sense of energy. That's one of the reasons I enjoy it so much and try to get outside to paint as often as I can.

Can you walk us through your go-to materials for landscape painting?

For plein air painting I use the New Wave U.GO Pochade box, I paint with acrylics and like lots of brands but I think some of my most used have to be Golden & Holbein. My favourite green to paint trees with has to be Sap green. I also love the Holbein Acrylic Gouache range, with pale lilac being my favourite. I also like using mixing a matt medium into my palette, usually the Golden matt medium or a Liquitex one. I enjoy painting on panels and the Ampersand art panels are really great quality and lightweight for travelling with.

Thanks Rose! See more of Rose’s work at rosedufton.com or @rosedufton on Instagram.

HEAT 4: ST PANCRAS BASIN 

WINNER - SUSAN ISAAC

Hi Sue, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 4 winner! How did you find the experience of being on the show?

Apart from the eye watering early start (I’m not a natural lark!), and once I’d got past the initial nerves, I found the day very enjoyable. I felt especially lucky to have that particular location for my heat as I have studied industrial architecture in the past and I felt spoilt for choice of subject. There’s a very friendly relaxed atmosphere about the event. It didn’t take too long to forget about the cameras, which silently swarmed around the set like giant animatronic puppets, and to focus instead on the periodic interviews. It helped that I’ve painted outside before, and chatting to interested people becomes habitual. I’d definitely recommend getting comfortable with public painting ahead of going on the show. The team were all delightfully friendly and encouraging and it was also fascinating to see how the programme is constructed and to be a part of that process.

Your submission piece featured an impasto street scene between two colleges in Cambridge with subtle but impactful colours applied liberally in the sky, and your piece in the pod left a large area for an experimental treatment of the sky at King’s Cross. How important are skies in your work in portraying mood and narrative?

Depending on the composition of the landscape, I sometimes reduce the sky to a minimum by taking the horizon to the top of the painting. However, on the day of my heat, by choosing to include a section of the tall gas holder struts in my design, the sky was inevitably going to play a large part.

I often, but not always, leave committing to a final decision on the sky towards the end of a painting. The mood of the entire landscape can be overridden in a moment. And especially when I’m working outdoors, over a period of time, the sky can be very changeable. It's liberating then to be able to make a choice from what I’ve observed throughout the day. It’s also an area of the painting that can offer an opportunity for some drama in what otherwise might be a static composition. In addition, my choice of sky might also reflect my own state of mind.

Your composition was a slice through the scene, capturing the industrial feel of the space. You started quickly on a deep yellow ground, with bold black brush marks. Do you always start a painting in this way and can you walk us through your process?

Because of the time limit for LAOTY I needed to simplify my process and use quicker drying paints to emulate, but speed up my layering technique. This is something I’ve been developing since taking part in plein air competitions. My choice of background colour has an impact on the mood of the painting and also dictates what colours I’m likely to choose thereafter. In St. Pancras Basin I wanted to work with colours in a higher key than usual to convey the warmth of the day.

An exciting composition is critical for me to feel confident and therefore enjoy the process. So planning and then mapping out the structure - either in charcoal, ink or thinned oil paint is how things usually begin. The lines are then painted over or enhanced using a dark purple mix for further emphasis here and there. I apply my oil paint thickly with a large palette knife as well as using a variety of brushes. I also scratch into and print objects onto the surface. Sometimes I pour thinned paint over areas of the canvas. These techniques work to build up the painted surface, especially when I have the luxury of a longer period of time.

What art materials would we find if we visited your studio?

After much experimentation I prefer to work on stretched canvas which has been thoroughly gessoed. I either stretch my own loose canvas or buy ready-made ones – such as Winsor & Newton. I use a lot of oil paint in my impasto technique, so I tend to buy in bulk Daler-Rowney Georgian tubes, so as not to inhibit my use of paint. I have used various thickeners, but I tend to prefer relying on the paint itself, sometimes thickened by drying it out first on a sheet of cardboard. I might also work into the paints with oil pastels such as those by Sennelier and Daler-Rowney.

I like a very flexible palette knife for painting, and Winsor & Newton make one that’s just the job. I also use a rubber kidney borrowed from my clay sculpting equipment to apply paint. Aside from that, I have acquired a variety of synthetic and hog hair brushes by different makers. I sometimes work with acrylic paints- most often for underpainting, using various makes such as Rowney Cryla and Winsor & Newton Galeria. I also love sketching on site with watercolours including Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith and Sennelier.

Thanks Sue! See more of Sue’s work at susan-isaac.co.uk or @susanisaacartist on Instagram. 

WILDCARD WINNER – LEX ROBERTSON

Hi Lex, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 4 wildcard winner! Tell us about your experience on the day – did everything go as planned?

Luckily it all went well on the day for me, the location was just a tube ride for me to get to, the only issue was trying to carry a large canvas on the tube! It was also very sunny on the day so I ended up with an unexpected tan by the end of the day! I was also lucky to have my partner by my side throughout the day so if anything did happen, he was there to help. 

You chose an interesting view point, painting the barges and buildings obscured by a large tree and foliage in the foreground. What drew you to that particular part of the scenery?

What drew me first was trying to find the best angle to get a good view of the Waterhouse as that was the first element of the landscape that really got my attention. I also wanted to use the large tree as a framing device in my picture to draw the viewer in and create the sense of scale. The barges in the mid-ground were inserted to draw interest under the tree as well as reinforce the canal’s prominence in the landscape and provided some interesting colours to splash into the picture. 

Your painting was full of movement and light, reminiscent of Impressionist landscapes. Which artists are you influenced by and how do you depict light in your paintings?

David Hockney has always been an inspiration for me, especially his Yorkshire paintings, I really enjoy his rejection of the camera’s view for a human experience of the landscape, being able to capture the scale and colour a camera cannot. I have also been drawn to impressionists such as Monet, Morisot and Arthur Streeton finding all their approaches to capturing light and atmosphere in landscape deeply enthralling, as well as the confidence of their mark-making being something I try to emulate in my own practice. I wanted to capture the environment of the day so I felt including the strong light and shadows I observed, hopefully, was able to tell the heat of the day. 

What’s in your plein air painting kit - anything you can’t do without?

My Winsor & Newton French easel is the most important thing I have as it is fairly lightweight, but has a lot of storage space and is able to hold the canvases I make as they are usually very large and heavy. I also paint aggressively and fast so having such a robust easel is a must. I also can’t do without professional grade Winsor & Newton oil paints as it has such a richness in the quality of pigment that I need, as colour plays such an important role in my work. Lastly, I use a lot of solvent to thin down my paints, so Roberson Studio Safe Orange Solvent is something I can’t paint without, as it handles the best out of the safe solvents and is a lot better for my health as painting can be hazardous job!

Thanks Lex! See more of Lex’s work @lexrobertsonart on Instagram.

HEAT 5: SLATE QUARRY, LLANBERIS

WINNER – SARAH STOKER

Hi Sarah, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 5 winner! What was it like for you on the day?

It was a fantastic day, if mentally exhausting. Lovely and strange to meet all the judges after watching them on TV for a decade. A bit surreal if truth be told and as I’d been so stressed in the weeks running up to the heat it felt a bit like an out of body experience! 

Tell us about what interested you in the landscape and how you chose your composition on the day.

I liked the colours in the slate and the shapes they formed so wanted to include the full mine. Also to give it scale I put in quite a bit of foreground. 

By using alcohol inks on a white, shiny surface, each mark you make has a unique quality caused by the transparency, and a light seems to emanate from the painting. Is it difficult to control the ink in this way and how much do you let the ink do its own thing?

I’ve spent hours trying to work this out. All colours and brands react differently and are also weather dependant to how quickly they fix due to evaporation. The pens are the easiest but very time consuming. 

Which inks do you use and what are your other go-to materials for landscape painting?

I use all brands and don’t have a favourite except for with the pens, I’ve found Spectrum Noir to be really long lasting with a great colour range. 

Thanks Sarah! See more of Sarah’s work at sarahstoker.co.uk or @sarahstokerdesigns on Instagram. 

WILDCARD WINNER – LELIA KNEESHAW (GERAHTY)

Hi Lelia, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 5 wildcard winner! Tell us about the day – were you nervous or feeling confident?

I woke up at 5am to a beautiful day. It actually turned out to be really hot so I was very glad to have a hat! It was really nice to talk to all the other Wildcards while we were waiting to register. A lovely and interesting group of keen painters a lot of whom had made epic journeys to get there. When we were told to start it was a bit daunting but I started with a rough sketch and that really helped to focus on how to get going.

The judges wandered around amongst us and were friendly and fun. The four hours flew by and it was a challenge to get the painting completed so the last half an hour was a bit frantic. Some of us went to watch the judges discussing the pods work which I really enjoyed.  

The judges were impressed by the style and energy of your mark-making, how did your style develop and which artists are you most influenced by?

I guess my style of painting is constantly evolving but I always like to start by sketching the view in a fairly neutral colour and then choose a few other colours and stick to those throughout. I like different sized and shaped brushes so that there is a variety of marks. I do paint in watercolour and gouache as well and I think that has an effect on how I use my oil paints.

There are so many painters who I admire. Here are a few… it would be lovely to think they had influenced the way I paint! The Glasgow Boys eg Arthur Melville, John Lavery and James Guthrie. I really love the Camden Town Group especially Charles Ginner, Harold Gilman and Spencer Gore, The Bloomsbury Group, Paul Nash painted wonderful landscapes, and last but not least Manet… I particularly like his figures and portraits.

Judge Kate Bryan enjoyed the composition you chose, including the quarry and surrounding hills. Were you excited by the landscape on arrival and how did you choose which elements to include?

Llanberis is very beautiful with spectacular views in all directions.  On the day the sun was everywhere except the quarry so I decided to focus on the skyline and surrounding hills to capture the different elements. The sky was really important to give some contrast to the wooded hillside which was rather dark and dense. There were a lot of clouds and that also gave the view and composition something a bit dynamic.

What art materials would we find in your studio, do you have any favourites?

I like painting with Old Holland or Michael Harding oils. There are some gorgeous colours and they are hard to resist!

Thanks Lelia! See more of Lelia’s work @lelia_painting on Instagram.

HEAT 6: BRISTOL HARBOURSIDE/HOTWELLS

WINNER – MOLLY LEMON

Hi Molly, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 6 winner! What was it like for you on the day?

Thank you! To be honest the day feels like a bit of a blur so it was nice to watch my heat on the TV and see it from another perspective. I was really nervous but everyone was so lovely and kind which helped make the day fun. I was surprised at how easily I found being interviewed, I guess years of filming myself for Instagram and YouTube has paid off! When it came to making my print I remember feeling totally out of my depth sketching the harbourside, the houses, bridge and boats. I'm so used to depicting rural landscapes so I was challenged by all the straight lines and brightly coloured houses in front of me. I feel really lucky that I had a good printing day that day, some days you make art you like and other days everything goes wrong, it could so easily have turned out very differently!

It’s not often we see wood engravers on the programme, it gave you the added challenge of having to look at the scene in a mirror, so the scene is depicted the right way around in the print - can you walk us through your printmaking process when working en plein air?

It felt really good to be representing printmaking and more specifically wood engraving on the show. It's a tough challenge to create a reduction print in just 4 hours but I wanted to show it was possible. I often engrave en plein air but this was the first time I used a mirror. I generally just accept if I'm working from life that my prints will be backwards, but as I was competing against painters I thought I should come up with a way to depict the landscape the right way round (without working from a flipped photograph). Working outside is tricky due to the weather - wind blowing paper around, bugs landing in the ink, the risk of rain, plus the light is constantly changing. I feel it's worth the challenges though because I've found it often leads to more successful artwork, you don't have time to overthink, the marks are spontaneous and you are far more connected to the landscape you're in. 

Your submission piece and the piece you made on the day were very small scale, just a few inches across, is that due to the time limits of working outdoors or do you enjoy working small scale in general?

I remember before I found out I'd got onto the program I got a call from the production team checking my measurements were correct as they couldn't believe my submission was that small! Wood engravings tend to be small as it involves working on end grain hardwood, it might take a 100 years for a piece of boxwood to grow a trunk diameter of 12cm. I tend to work slightly larger when in my studio but my largest print is 23x12cm. To be honest I'm a really impatient person and the larger I work the longer it takes to complete so smaller blocks do appeal to me! I was worried though if my small print would have enough impact to stand up against my fellow contestants' paintings.

What’s in your plein air printmaking kit?

When I'm working en plein air the main thing that differs from being in my print studio is the press, everything else stays the same. In my home studio I use an antique Albion press but when working outside I use my Pooki Press. I use a bone folder to burnish the prints as well. My woodblocks are supplied by fellow wood engraver Chris Daunt. To engrave the wood I use tools made by E C Lyons. They have a variety of different shapes and sizes, my favourites are a small spitsticker, multiple line tools and round scorpers of any size. The inks I use are Cranfield Safe Wash Relief Ink and their litho ink, I've been lucky enough to visit their factory in South Wales in the past and know they are made by people who really care about creating quality materials. 

Thanks Molly! See more of Molly’s work at mollylemon.com or @mollylemonart on Instagram. 

WILDCARD WINNER – SIMON WHITE

Hi Simon, congratulations on being selected as the Heat 6 wildcard winner! Tell us about your experience on the day – what was it like painting with all the wildcards? 

I was one of the first of the wildcard artists there at the Bristol Harbourside early in the morning. So I got plenty of time to study the surroundings and eventually when the rest of the artists arrived there became a great community of artists. Many (like myself) entering for the first time would exchange ideas and travel plans getting to the site. When we got to our destination to paint, the weather was calm and with the threat of rain later in the afternoon, we all seemed to get straight into getting the first marks down. The wildcards that I spoke to were all very supportive and very open to what they were focused on. It was a terrific experience that we were all aiming for the same goal just to enjoy the day and the experience.

The judges enjoyed your energetic, colourful depiction of the Bristol hillside, you painted on a yellow ground, giving a pop of colour to an otherwise grey day – can you tell us more about your process?

I put a ground to my piece pre-empting that it might end being sunny, as it was the day before but on the day it helped with the paint by bringing out the tones and colours. I think it helped as a blank white canvas would have been a bit difficult with the amount of range of colours of the buildings on the other side of the harbour.

Unfortunately, it was a very wet day in Bristol, how did you find battling against the elements and do you have any tips for plein air painters?

It was cold, wet and yes when the elements arrived near the last hour of the competition it was out with umbrellas. I took lots of kitchen roll with me just in case, luckily it didn’t affect the work as painting with acrylic paints they dried quickly. All I needed to do was add the charcoal outlines when the rain stopped.

What are your go-to art materials for plein air painting? 

I would use a Winsor & Newton canvas board, a selection of flat brushes from Daler-Rowney mainly from the Student collection as they were easier to clean rather than using hard brushes and Winsor & Newton standard black willow charcoal. 

Thanks Simon! See more of Simon’s work at simpaulart.com or @simpaulartist on Instagram.

 

ARE YOU THE NEXT WINNER?

If you think you have what it takes to be the next Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year, entries for Series 11 close at midday on Friday 2nd May 2025. Find out more and apply at skyartsartistoftheyear.tv/landscape. Good luck!

 

 

Feeling inspired? Check out Sky Arts Artist of the Year Masterclass, a new series featuring tutorials from a host of talented artists who have taken part in Portrait Artist of the Year or Landscape Artist of the Year. In this 40-episode series, they demonstrate easy-to learn techniques for budding artists at home. Find out more at skyartsartistoftheyear.tv.

Image credits: Photography © Sky Arts, paintings © Storyvault.