This is my review of Episode 2 of Series 11 of
Landscape Artist of the Year 2026. (LAOTY)
You can see listings for all previous reviews of most of the
previous LAOTY series - which ALL have lots of tips on my
Art on Television
page.
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| Pods set up on an angle next to the lake in St James Park |
Episode 2: St. James's Park, Central London
Location and Weather
The location was
St. James's Park
in central London - which is the oldest of the Royal Parks.
It was created so that King Henry VIII could ride from his palace in Whitehall
up to where he hunted in Hyde Park. This is
a video
about it by Royal Parks, which enables you to see more of what the people
there at the heat could see.
On the map of the park below you can see a red mark. This is where the
artists' pods were located at an angle looking west to Buckingham Palace and
the Queen Victoria Memorial which are just outside the park at the western
end.
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Map of St James's Park - in between The Mall and Birdcage Walk - with Buckingham Palace and The Queen Victoria Memorial at one end The red patch is where the pods were located next to the lake. |
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Top down view of the location of the Pods in St James's Park - and the view they had up the lake to Buckingham Palace and the Queen Victoria Memorial |
Filming was on one of the hottest days of the year in June 2025.
There's quite a few pics of artists enjoying lollies and icecream!
I know this park extremely well and was very keen to see what the artists
would make of it.
- I comment later in this post, in "The View", about what I think about the view which was chosen for this heat.
- You'll also see a couple of artworks I've done in the park and about this location in this post - in relation to points being made.
The Artists in the Pods
Episode 2 pod artists are listed BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames.
- Including a synopsis of their background
- Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
- Social media platforms are also referenced - but typically only one
The schedule for the day started at 6:45 am at St James’s Park. I live in Oxford, so I stayed at a friend’s house in London and took the earliest Underground of my life to Green Park, carrying my carefully curated backpack for the contest. Painting Under Pressure: My Day on Landscape Artist of the Year by Alice Kwan
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| Artists relaxing on the grass in the park after painting is finished |
The artists are
- Tanya Farrugia (Instagram) - Lives in Solihull and is a semi professional artist who also works as a family support worker.
The whole day was fantastic from start to finish. Thank you to the amazing crew @StoryVaultFilms who were so friendly and attentive, making us feel completely at ease and enjoy an unforgettable experience.
- Nigel Glaze (Instagram) - Born in Birmingham and now lives in North Wales where he works as a professional artist and psychotherapist. He earned a BA Hons (1st Class) from his studies at the Falmouth School of Art (1982-85) and an MA Degree in Art Psychotherapy at St Albans School of Art. Exhibits widely across Wales in group and solo shows. He's interested in directing attention to places where people don't often look - as exemplified by his submission.
Painting, in my view, is a human endeavour, a struggle in trying to capture a human experience. The image is an interplay between the visible and a sort of psychological connection whereby a feeling, or an idea is developed.
- Alice Kwan (Instagram) - A part-time self-taught artist who was born in Hong Kong and now based with her husband in Oxford. She has a Diploma in Fashion/Textiles and now works for the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. She has written a blog post about Painting Under Pressure: My Day on Landscape Artist of the Year in which she reveals she was selected without even having watched the show! However she made up for this by making sure she did lots of plein air sketching before the filming day.
Working from observation and from memory, I use loose lines and a muted palette to create atmosphere rather than photographic detail.
- Mike Lumb (Instagram) - Studied fine art at Manchester Polytechnic. He's now a civil servant from County Durham who studied art at Manchester Polytechnic. His submission is a rural road in Teesdale. His Instagram account also indicates very clearly he is very used to painting very rural hilly landscapes, which to my mind would make him a hot contender! He managed to get a couple of articles about his experience in two local papers!
- Peter Morris (Instagram) - an architect and interior designer from London. Only started painting about a year go. Seems to be a bit of a TV Junkie as he is apparently also doing Grand Designs and wants to do Interior Design Masters. He also uses AI and acrylic paint markers and gel pens.
"It (AI) is a new tool and I find it fascinating"
- Andrew Sanders (Instagram) - Took early retirement from a career in Insurance and is now an amateur painter in acrylics living on the Isle of Wight and is also a member of NAPA. You can see a wide range of his paintings on his Instagram. He uses vibrant colours to layer and then scratch out in a systematic way to reveal underlying layers.
"realistic colour left the building some time ago"
- Chris Scott - An older artist who works as a part time solicitor from Shrewsbury and paints evenings and weekends but has never ever painted plein air. He has been painting and drawing as a hobby for over 20 years and has learned "how to" via YouTube videos. he likes dark monochomish paintings. (My first thought is he may have cataracts and lost the ability to see colour. I vividly remember what it was like for me). He has never painted outside before. He typically does loose watercolour landscapes, often featuring British countryside but was working in oils for the programme.
- Jess Shrubb (Instagram) - A recent graduate from Northampton. She has a BA in Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art Drawing from Falmouth University - and got herself an interview on BBC Radio Cornwall - Falmouth artist takes on TV challenge. She likes detail. Also, not quite the usual dress for plein air painting - a bit more Love Island than LAOTY!
The Wildcard Artists
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| The Wildcards made the most of what shade they could find under the trees. |
Normally the wildcard artists head for the sunny spots with their sun umbrellas. Before very long, I gather they were all heading back under the trees for the proper shade.
Oddly they were all focused on the lake whereas very many paintings of St
James's Park all focus on the people
Every week, in my review, I highlight what I observed as being some
of the themes arising from the location, the day and the nature of the
artists in this week's episode.
Themes & Learning Points
This week it's A MAJOR WHINGEFEST!
