Kim Day wins Landscape Artist of Year 2026

This review is about the Final of Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 which was won by Kim Day.

The Pods next to Falkirk Wheel

The Final of Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2026) was held at The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland last summer - and was broadcast on Sky Arts on Wednesday evening (followed straight afterwards by the programme about the commission for those wondering when that's on. My review of that will follow by Sunday).

Following this review of the Final, there are two more posts to go 

• Review of the Commission 
• Review of the Series as a whole.

About this post

As always the programme about the Final is always something of a bit of an odd show since

• 5 other participants are missing
• there is the need to recap the journey to the Final
• plus a more indepth profile of each artist AND
• the story of the three artists doing a commission between the semi-finals and the Final

Below you can read about

• Artists in the Final
• Venue: Where/when the Final was held plus observations about the subject
• Observations, Themes and Tips
• The Commissions
• The Final Painting
• The Winner

At the end you can find 

• all my reviews of previous programmes in this series at the end of this post. 
• how to read reviews of past series
• Plus how to apply for the NEXT series which will be filmed this summer in six heats in three places around the UK.

But before I begin.....

There's an aspect of this competition which is not explained well in the programme. I'm writing this now because I've noted a LOT of comments complaining about who won on FB.

• A lot of people appear to THINK that the winner is determined by the artwork they paint in the final (i.e. 4 hours). 
• This is not the case. 
• Unfortunately, what really happens seems to be spelt out less clearly than it needs to be given the number of people who think this.

To go back to the beginning, who wins a heat depends on:

• the submission AND
• the heat painting i.e. it is NEVER just about the heat painting.

Who wins the whole series depends on:

• the submission AND
• the heat painting AND
• the semi final painting AND
• the commission AND
• the painting in the Final i.e. it is NEVER just about the 4 hour painting in the Final.

Let me put it another way. WHY would they ask them to paint a commission - of what ever size they like - in however long they want to spend on it (within the time constraint of a week - I think) if it did not matter a LOT?!

Bottom line, the portfolio of paintings build up over the course of the series - from the application to the Final and provide a good insight into who an artist is and what they can do. 

One might characterise the programme as a long-running audition.

Almost without fail, I have observed almost all winners across many series as having a very clear style and proficiency in specific techniques and a range in terms of what they like to paint and how they like to paint - and a very stong portfolio built up over the course of the competition.

It's my strong belief that it is the OVERALL PORTFOLIO - with a particular emphasis on BOTH the commission and the heat painting which tells the Judges who is the best artist for the commission.

It's the most logical and best way to judge the overall competition.

I stand to be corrected, but that will involve the programme makers in providing a very simple and explicit explanation of the process that is used to judge the competition - and restate this in every episode for ALL the viewers as well as the participants.

It's just very sad that this is not communicated and explained simply and clearly to viewers. 

This approach is one of the principle reasons why I bang on and on and on about the importance of the submission.

Ditto same applies to the commission for the Final.  An outstanding commission will tip the balance and win the Final. I've seen it happen across both PAOTY and LAOTY a few times.

NOTE: My personal preference would be to skip the final painting of "something" which they all do together and make it a programme about three different commissions of a significant landscape similar to the commission - with no pod - as an audition. That way you can also keep the winner secret!

So - now we've got that straight - on with my review of THE FINAL AUDITION FOR THE COMMISSION and TWO ARTWORKS!

Artists in the Final

As if you need reminding, however this is relevant to all those think they know better than these artists

Review: Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2026

Last year I was rather tough on the Annual Exhibition 2026 of the Royal Society of British Artists. Principally because I thought they had hung far too many artworks and consequently it was difficult to "see" the art.

As a result I sent a four page critique of the exhibition to the President highlighting various aspects of the exhibition I thought needed addressing and suggestions as to how. I gathered from last week that he had used it as a checklist to review all the aspects I suggested could do with attention.

This year I'm very pleased to say that this year we have a much improved exhibition to view with fewer artworks hung. Plus a much nicer experience at the TWO PVs. The "payoff" seems to be that more artwork is selling.

The West Gallery on Monday

I've now visited it three times:

• at the NEW Private View for Art Collectors - which was very pleasant. We could all see the art properly and the red spots started appearing!
• at the Artists' Private View last Thursday evening when I got to meet a brand new first time exhibitor who I first met 11 years ago. She was so very pleased that her abstracted artwork had sold before the exhibition had even opened!
• Monday afternoon when I was able to get round the West Gallery and view all the artwork in more detail. Plus sat and chatted for ages with former President Mick Davies and printmaker Austin Cole about "exhibitions" which was again very enjoyable.

You can visit the exhibition 

• at the Mall Galleries
• until Saturday 7th March (10am to 5pm)

You can view the artworks online - and buy - via the online exhibition 

You can view the e-catalogue online 

BOTH give you an idea about media, size and price of artwork on display

RBA Annual Exhibition 2026 - view in the East Gallery

You can also see artworks hung on the walls in the three galleries in my Facebook Albums (after yesterdays' hiatus!)

• East Gallery
• North Gallery
• West Gallery 

Facts about the Exhibition

Artwork comprises paintings, fine art prints, drawings, sculpture, ceramics and other 3D work in all kinds of media and but mainly (but not exclusively) a figurative / representative style - and you can see them at the Mall Galleries until Saturday 7th March.

The Mall Wall in the East Gallery

There are 438 artworks hung in the show (compared to 554 last year) - which is still more than I would like to see (c.400 is the optimum number for me) split between:

•  244 artworks by members - nearly 60% (compared to 275 in 2025)
•  194 artworks by open entry artists - just over 40% (compared to 279 in 2025)

Consequently 

• a marginal reduction in members' artwork but a major reduction in the number of artworks selected from the open entry.
• Open artists might like to note that they had 2351 open entries so those selected represented about 8% of the open entry.  Hence you need your very best artwork to get selected!

As a result, this year it's an exhibition which is much easier to view. There is more space between artworks which enhances the individual artworks as well as preventing eye fatigue when viewing art - as happened to me last year.

As a result, they are selling more artwork. Just over half way through, they are one short of the sales for the whole exhibition last year. 

Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 12)

This is about the CALL FOR ENTRIES for the NEW FORMAT for Series 12 of Landscape Artist of the Year see 

• SEE my previous blog post announcing the change in the way it works BRAND NEW FORMAT for Landscape Artist of the Year Series 12 (2027) announced!
• the deadline for submissions is Monday 23rd March 2026 - so basically you've got three more weeks.

There are lots of pros and cons below. I suggest that, in my opinion, you need to be both experienced and committed to landscape art and camera happy to do well.

Given the MAJOR change in the way the programme will be delivered, you can expect that scrutiny of entries will become MUCH more intensive.

In summary, the changes are as follows:

• 10 artists will be chosen for the whole series (rather than the 8 different artists for each heat episode - so 10 artists NOT 48 artists). Similar to number chosen for other competitions such as Throwdown or Bakeoff.
• One artist leaves each week (similar to the format used by the BBC ten years ago for The Big Painting Challenge - but this time with a focus solely on landscape and apparently without any small challenges or learning activities)

This televised art competition gives artists four hours to paint a UK landscape. One artist is eliminated each episode, and one finalist is ultimately crowned the winner. Landscape Artist of the Year website

• ALL the (remaining) artists create artworks at ALL the locations - which means every artist needs to be able to guarantee that they can make themselves available for filming.  (Don't forget locations far from home may involve two travel says as well either side). This of itself will rule out a lot of artists. More comments below

If you want to take part in the show, you’ll need to confirm that you are available for seven filming dates on weekdays in June and July, plus one in September.

• More scope for:
• showing what you can do in terms of range and consistency
• getting used to being filmed so you perform better (that's not what they say but it is what will happen) 
• Artists can still turn up to paint as "Wildcards" BUT there is NO Wildcard competition
• If you apply, your work will be reviewed by prominent judges from the art world - BUT no word as yet as to who Judges will be. (I'm doubtful as to whether they are experienced landscape artists)
• Appearance Money! If selected for the show, you will receive 
• £500 for each episode you take part in, 
• plus reimbursement for travel, accommodation, and meal expenses.
• Commission: An additional £10,000 commission will be awarded to the winner.
• The deadline for entries has been brought forward to Monday 23rd March 2026. (It was originally advertised as a date in the middle of May)

At the end of the series, the Judges will determine who becomes Landscape Artist of the Year on a MUCH larger group of paintings produced in all the different locations before the Final. i.e. 

• three to apply
• six in the heats
• one in the semifinal 
• = 10 paintings BEFORE THE FINAL!

Which can only be positive for the programme, the artists and the viewers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sky Arts Artist Of The Year (@artistoftheyear)

More information

• This is the page about the change
• This is the CASTING PAGE page which sets out how it all works in 2026 - in more detail.

Frankly, I think the information provided is less than is needed. Hence why this blog post continues as it does.

What sort of artist are they trying to recruit for the PODS?

Having just ten artists for the entire series would, I expect, mean a different approach to selection.

Review: Semi Finals of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Ouse Valley Viaduct

This is a formal Review of the Semi Finals of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 11) which took place and was filmed at the Ouse Valley Viaduct in July 2024.

It starts with a preamble about past semi finals and their locations - and some tips which artists might like to bear in mind if they are participating.

Which artists reached the final of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026?

Location and Weather 

The very weird semi-finals locations to date

I will repeat what I said last year

All that the semi final location choices do is

• (typically) provide big structures - which won't be present in the commission locations
• provoke difficulty
• generate disappointing paintings
• guarantee that a talented artist(s) will mess up - and not make the final

In this instance, it also bears no relation whatsoever to the Commission and likely locations that the winning artist will visit

If you think "this can't be right", you can check it out below.

LAOTY Semi Final Locations

I started my reviews in Series 4 and the links in the list below are to my reviews of each semi-final - where you can see pics of all the structures.

YET AGAIN we got a BIG STRUCTURE for the Semi Final

• 2015 - Potters Fields Park in central London - painting Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the City of London
• 2016 - Margate Harbour - painting views of the harbour
• 2017 - Castle Farm in Kent (the exception which proves the rule - given what happened the next year) - painting enormous fields of lavender
• 2018 - Felixstowe Docks - a container port with very big cranes and ships and stacks of containers - complete with an ocean going container ship turning up halfway through. (The eventual winner of the series knew it was coming as given a vague idea of where the semi finals were she'd had the foresight to look up both tide tables and arrivals and departures!)
• 2019 - Oil Rigs in the Cromarty Firth - extremely peculiar vertical structures sat in the middle of the Firth?
• 2020 - change of timing of broadcast (the year of two PAOTYs)
• 2021 - the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford in East London (filmed under Covid constraints in 2020 and broadcast changed to Jan-March slot in 2021) - looking south down the River Lee - towards the Olympic Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit in the distance.
• 2022 - Forth Bridge - a VERY meccano set over the Firth of Forth
• 2023 - Thames Barrier- next to the River Thames!
• 2024 - Bucklers Hard - in Hampshire
• 2025 - Portsmouth Historic Dockyard - with a view of the 19th century warship HMS Warrior

I think the theory might be, if you can make an attractive artwork from what are very typically unappealing big structures, you're probably going to be capable of portraying the commission subject. 

Except they will keep choosing natural landscape for the latter! e.g. Croagh Patrick - a very large holy mountain in Ireland - for this current series 11.

I absolutely disagree with my postulated theory. I can't think of a worse test. 

Natural landscape painters do not tend to respond well to big structures. In general, they're trying to get back to nature and away from big structures. I'm not quite sure why this thought has never occurred to whoever procures the locations.

TIPS For LAOTY Semi Finalists (and Pod artists)

Again I can do no better than repeat my previous advice for semi-finalists

• Expect a big structure at some point 
• polish your perspective chops
• A panoramic format might be a very useful option for your support
• Take suitable tools for drawing/painting structures e.g. take a ruler (for measuring)
• large pieces of stiff card (for very fast delivery of sharp edges)
• flexi curve or french curve for bends
• Binoculars - because sometimes the structure is a VERY long way away!
• Make sure you know how to paint effective water quickly and easily

The 2026 Semi Final Location

The location for the Semi Final is the Ouse Valley Viaduct on the Balcombe Estate in in the High Weald AONB of West Sussex. The viaduct opened in 1841 and is used by the trains which travel between London and Brighton. It has:

• got 37 arches and was built using 11 million bricks
• been described as the most elegant viaduct in Britain. 
• has an iconic infinity view when seen from inside the arches.

I can't help feeling the pods were the wrong side of the viaduct for capturing the shadows of the viaduct on the land. There again that would have meant looking into the sun.

The artists initially seemed to spend some time pondering what the sun might do - along with working out a composition and either drawing or blocking in.

Then it was down to the serious business of interpreting how to set about (what the Judges called) a "monolith".

View of the pods side on to the Viaduct.

The Weather

In a series of endless sunny days and hot weather, this was a semi-final on "an incredibly baking hot day on location" with absolutely no shadow.

I keep wondering how the pod artists cope in terms of being baked alive! I know I absolutely couldn't do it - I'd go all woozy and pass out! I "think" (as in "I'm not sure") that they had some sort of cover for the pods which maybe deflected the rays.

The Artists in the Semi Final

The artists after they finished painting - in a nice shady spot

We had two surprises not one!  There were eight artists in the Pods and they were:

• all the Heat Winners - as summarised in Tuesday's blog post LAOTY Semi Final 2026 - The Heat Winners
• PLUS the chosen wildcard from the Wildcard Winners in each heat. They chose Deborah Frank from Episode 3 at Dover Ferry Port (See Review and her Instagram post). She was rone who did the very impressive close cropped pic in oul paint of just one part of the harbour walls. 

Deborah Frank is a practicing artist living in West Essex, England. Currently completing a BA in contemporary portraiture, at The Art Academy London (her website)

• PLUS the best of the rest - in terms of pod artists - which actually makes some sense, because some heats definitely had more good artists than others.. The selected "best of the rest" was Tom Winter from Episode 5 on the Thames (see Review: Episode 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - HMS Wellington & the South Bank). He's the chap who is a whiz at buildings and perspective.

NOTE: from the comments on my Facebook Page there seem to be quite a lot of people who think there is an episode which is the showdown between the wildcard artists to select the best for the Semi Final. This is NOT the case. The Judges choose a Wildcard at their own discretion - on the basis of their wildcard painting on the day. I'm assuming they've probably got access to the digital version of their submission as well.

The Semi Final Paintings

Here they all are at the end of the day. As you can see there are:

• 3 x panoramic
• 3 x portrait
• 2 x landscape

The only two people who "went big" were "the wildcard" and "the best of the rest". Those who get a lucky break do tend to come out fighting to justify that decision!

At the end of the semi-final, they had eight similar paintings of the same subject, which were all different. I think the good ones stood out.

LAOTY Semi Final 2026 - The Heat Winners

This is about all the Heat Winners who will be participating in the Semi Finals of Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 - to be broadcast on Wednesday.

Which basically cuts down on what I need to write in the review of the Semi Finals - plus gives you a bit of a challenge to try and work out who might be the Finalists!

The focus for the semi-finals is The Ouse Valley Viaduct, West Sussex - see below. So reminiscent of a mountain in Ireland! 

The Ouse Valley Viaduct

Who's Who in the LAOTY Semi Finals 2026

Below is a reminder of the pod artists in the Semi Finals

• all the heat winners + their profiles
• all their submissions + heat paintings

Who do you think will be in the Final of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026?

See if you can work out in advance who might advance to the Finals.

Heat 1: Derwent Water, Lake District

Kim Day was the winner. I think she's got to be one of the favourites for the Final - but it all essentially depends on how good she is at making something out a boring large brick viaduct!

Kim Day with her submission

My profile of her was as follows

Kim Day (Instagram) - She lives on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset and works as a freelance concept artist for the film and television industry. She has a BA Hons Fine Arts painting degree and a Masters from the NFTS | Royal College of Art in Design for Film. She works on Saunders Waterford 638gsm papers or stretched Linen with Acrylics, compressed charcoals and pastels pencils and pens, combining each medium to add variation to her mark making and colour quality.

My review commented as follows:

In essence, she starts with the big shapes as tonal colours and then adds smaller marks (using I think acrylic markers) which lend and suggest detail

• Tai was very impressed by her artwork seen together. He thought it was brilliant.
• Eva liked the overall harmonious colour palettes of both artworks. She also picked up on the fact that Kim had identified and used the purple and pink undertones on the fells.
• Generally they were all very impressed by her use of colour and the way she filled her paper with landscape. Her subject didn't drop off or peter out.

Submission and Heat Art work by Kim Day

Her artworks were described as

• having a delicious sense of colour.
• providing a sense of place
• responded to the majesty and statute of the place while interpreting it according to her own way of seeing things

Which to me sounds like a very likely candidate for the Final - but we are, of course, at a very early stage if we think what the commission is about.

This was my Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026)

I find it useful to see what she has said - in a guarded limited way - on Instagram. You can often find a bit of a hint. See what you think.....

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kimberley Day (@day.finearts)

Episode 2: St James Park, London

Nigel Glaze was the winner of the heat located in St James Park - looking at Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial across the lake.