Review: Episode 6 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2026

This is my sixth review of the heats of this year's Portrait Artist of the Year competition. 

View of the segment painting Jeremy King

It follows my standard format and consequently covers:

• the three sitters
• the nine artists
• self-portrait submissions
• themes arising in the episode
• who the sitters chose
• the shortlist for a place in the semi-finals of PAOTY 2026
• the winner
• the sitters for the next episode.

Episode 6: The Sitters

Kojey Radical - holding his pose

They are

• musician Kojey Radical -  a British musician, creative director and mixed media visual artist. His style has been described as a mix of grime hip-hop, alternative rap, and spoken word. He's regularly nominated for various awards.
• Jeremy King is a leading professional restauranteur. With his partner, he has focused on taking leading restaurants of the past which have somewhat faded and reinvented and reinvigorated them. He created the Wolseley on Piccadilly which was a longtime favourite of Lucian Freud - who painted his portrait. (see an article about this)
  

Known as the “consummate host”, Jeremy King has always created “fiercely independent” restaurants, with no detail overlooked, impeccably designed and totally focused on the diners’ enjoyment and comfort.

• comedian Michelle de Swarte - an English actress, comedian, presenter, and former model. She starred in the Netflix series The Duchess.

Episode 6: The Artists

Episode 6: The Artists

The `Artists are:

PAOTY 2025: My "DUH" Moment + "Please be Kind"

I had a DUH moment last week while reading your very many comments about the various episodes of Portrait Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 13) on my Making A Mark Facebook Page.

First of all, very many thanks to all those who are leaving thoughtful comments. They're not only appreciated by me. I think most following my reviews are also coming back to read the comments. I've seen some really excellent and constructive points made and valued.

This two part post is about

• my DUH moment - when I suddenly realised something not yet mentioned 
• Please Be Kind: feedback from the PAOTY team about commenting - and their request for "people to be kind"

Appeared on the Artist of the Year Instagram/Facebook accounts
after the broadcast of Episode 5

My DUH moment

DUH!!! Something has just occurred to me which more than explains this statement from the PAOTY team. Which connects with something else very odd that I observed but have said nothing about in public - as yet…..
my comment on my Facebook Page

There's a really obvious point to make about the winner of Episode 5 - which nobody has yet.

Review: Episode 5 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2026

Making A Mark has been reviewing episodes of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year every year since Series 4. 

This is my review of Episode 5 of Series 13 of Portrait Artist of the Year (2026). This was actually Heat 1 in terms of the filming at Battersea.

Episode 5 Artists with their Self Portraits
L to R: Ruth Fitton, Shyem Ramsay, Jacob Skinnard, Amy Zhou, Rafaela De Ascenio, 
Leo Bignell, Sophie Cleave, Sara Netherley and Rickie Niehaus

It follows my standard format, which covers:

• the three sitters
• the nine artists
• self-portrait submissions
• themes arising in the episode
• who the sitters chose
• the shortlist for a place in the semi-finals of PAOTY 2026
• the winner
• the sitters for the next episode.

First a quick update on my "broken neck". After the shock horrors of early last week, I have since spent several hours (and hours and hours) in the Royal London A&E trying to get two flexion X-rays of my neck, as requested by the neurosurgeons, to check whether I did indeed have two fractures of the cervival (neck) part of my spine. I finally got the X-rays on Monday - but still haven't got the results! I'm currently taking pain medication on a routine programmed into my Apple watch! I personally think it's more likely I've got collapsing cervical vertebrae from my galloping osteoarthritis. The word "degeneration" has been used more than once!

Episode 5: The Sitters

Left: Rylan Clark and
Right: Jamie Lloyd who had pink paper "blossom"
descending on him throughout the sitting.

The three artists (and a dog) all seemed to be very well behaved!

They are:

• Rylan Clark - an English television and radio personality and presenter, well known for his participation in the X factor (2012) and Celebrity Big Brother. He subsequently became a very popular presenter of a number of high profile programmes for various tv channels. (I personally thought he was very unlucky not to get the Strictly gig and his is the name most mentioned to remedy the current levels of dissatisfaction with the male new Judges!)
• Alison Balsam OBE - a retired professional trumpet soloist from 2001-2025. She is an arranger, producer, and music educator. Balsom was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards and has won three Classic BRIT Awards. She has also participated in a number of activities in the music world. She's married to the film director Sir Sam Mendes (making her Lady Mendes). She brought her dog to the sitting.

Alison Balsom and her dog plus trumpet!

• Jamie Lloyd - a British theatre director and producer. He is a prominent figure within contemporary British theatre and has won many awards and accolades. He is a proponent of affordable theatre for young and diverse audiences, and has been praised as "redefining West End theatre". In 2025, British Vogue labelled him as “one of the most celebrated theatre directors in the world” and Time Out described him as “the biggest director in the world.” In terms of appearance he is covered in tattoos - including across his bald head.

Episode 5: The Artists

What I always find interesting when doing this section is finding out who is following these artists. 

When reviewing their Instagram accounts, I'm looking to see if they have people following them who are 

• well known portrait artists that I am following (via my Making A Mark Instagram) 
• or artists that I have already identified as worth following having encountered their artwork in exhibitions I've been to.

I'm also always very impressed by artists who have been following me BEFORE I look them up online!! :) There again, quite a few tell me they find these reviews very helpful. 

THE ARTISTS, in alphabetical order, are:

Do charcoal drawings hang in National Portrait Galleries?

There's a fair few artists who would like to see portraiture embrace a wide range of media for portraits. 

If you, as an individual, are commissioning a portrait then you ca choose the artist you want and the media you would prefer it to be done in. For example, as an ex dry media artist (who used coloured pencils and pastels + pen and ink), I'd probably want mine in dry media.

This is about:

• considerations for commissions of charcoal artwork by National Portrait Galleries
• examples of charcoal drawings 
• in the collection of the NPG
• hung on display in the NPG

Considerations for Commissions by National Portrait Galleries

However, if you are commissioning for an important collection eg a National Portrait Gallery you might encounter a few more considerations relating to hanging, movement and conservation. 

This became a point of discussion on my Facebook Page following publication of my review of Review: Episode 4 Portrait Artist of the Year 2026 which was won by Manny Woodard. 

Two portraits by Manny Woodard - displayed in Final of
Episode 4 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2026
(left) Self portrait submission (right) portrait of actress Arti Shah

After the discussion, I took a look at the actual collection of charcoal artworks in the National Portrait Gallery.

Charcoal artwork in the National Portrait Gallery Collection

Here are a few facts

• there are over 220,000 artworks in the collection - dating from the 8th century to the present day
• of these, only 118 are in charcoal
• of these, only 4 are on display.

Which Media wins PAOTY?

The following is a query from my post on Facebook about my review of PAoTY Episode 4 2026

Does this mean the artists are prejudged and precluded from winning by their chosen medium?
Esme Roberts

I decided to go through those who have won and look at the media which has helped them win. To date we have had 

• Oils x 7
• Acrylics / Mixed media x 2(?)
• Charcoal x 1
• Coloured Pencils x 1
• Monochrome Print x 1

Traditional oil paint remains the most dominant winning medium - but Judges have also awarded the win to artists using other media.

However note, from the details below, that not all continue to use their primary media for the £10,000 Commission Portrait. I'm guessing this, in part, depends on which institution the commission is for.

(Note: it remains a mystery as to whether the £10,000 first prize is paid by Sky Arts or the institution. However it's a not untypical artist's fee for a decent size portrait by a portrait artist of repute.)

LINKS BELOW are to 

• either the artist's website 
• or my reviews of the episodes (which started at the end of Series 3)

Media used by PAOTY Winners

Series 1 Nick Lord used Acrylic, Spray Paint, Oil Pastel, Paint Markers on Canvas (?)

• Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC in the Final and Sophie Dahl as his commission
• painted Hilary Mantel for his Commission using  as his commission for the British Library

Series 2: Christian Hook painted 

• Sir Ian McKellen in the National Portrait Gallery and boxer Amir Khan as his commission
• his commission was to paint Alan Cumming for the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland

The internet (but not his website) tells me that he paints using a mix of acrylics, water-based oils, traditional oils, and mixed media.

Waiting to hear who has won, Christian Hook in the middle

Series 3: Gareth Reid used Nitram Charcoal and red Pastel in the Final. He won with a portrait of Tom Courtenay and a Commission painting of The Hon. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb His commission was of Graham Norton and was for the National Gallery of Ireland - so he switched to oils for that.

Series 3 Final Portraits of Sir Tom Courtenay
and the Commission (The Hon. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb)
Nitram Charcoal and pastel
by Gareth Reid

Series 4 Samira Addo won with 

• oil on canvas portraits of Emili Sande and a Finals Commission Zandra Rhodes, the fashion designer for the Fashion and Textile Museum. 
• She then did a portrait of Kim Cattrall (oil on canvas) for the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool

portraits of Zandra Rhodes and Emili Sande
by Samira Addo

Series 5: Duncan Shoosmith won with 

• portraits painted in oils on boards of Laura Linney (in the Final) and Dame Cleo Laine (commission for the Final). 
• He then painted Sir Tom Jones in oils for the £10k Commission

Paintings in the competition by Duncan Shoosmith (left to right) Self Portrait, Jodie Comer, Laura Linney (in the Final) Courtney Pine, Dame Cleo Laine (Commission for the Final)

Series 6: Christobel Blackburn won with oil on linen portraits of Lemn Sissay and a Commission Portrait of Nile Rogers, for the Royal Albert Hall
(She won just as Covid was starting - and somehow I missed doing a blog post re the final and the Commission)

Portraits of Lemn Sissay and her Final Commission

Series 7: Curtis Holder won with coloured pencil portraits of Eddie Izard. He also did a £10k Commission portrait of Carlos Acosta