The heat for Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2019 was held at Herstmonceux Observatory in Sussex - and experienced the worst rain ever on Landscape Artist of the Year!
(I'll be doing the review of Episode 1 tomorrow - as I was in New York when it was broadcast).
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| Tiny pods (top left) next to huge domes and lots of shiny mirror spheres at Herstmonceux Observatory |
This is the fifth series of the show, which is produced for Sky Arts by London and Glasgow-based independent production company
Storyvault Films. 48 artists took part in six heats over the course of June and July
"Artist of the Year" is one of the most popular programmes produced by Sky Arts and the audience for the landscape artist of the year programme seems to grow with every series.
LAOTY boasts the titles of “best-performing, non-scripted series of all time” and second-biggest series ever for Sky Arts, with viewing figures growing over the course of the series.
You can view it
- on Tuesday evening at 8pm on Sky Arts
- anytime you like using the NOW TV app to watch on a mobile device or your own TV - if you have a subscription (which is what I do - see my blog post about how to do this)
Now for the episode which aired last night.
The Location
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| This is what the subject SHOULD have looked like - on a good day! |
I suspect the above images of the set-up of the pods in front of the Observatory were taken before or after the hours in which they were in use by the artists - when the skies were grey, there was thunder overhead and the rain was bucketing down - for hours on end!
This was the reality in the rain....... Judging by where the artists have set-up and the amount of rain on the front half of the platform, it very much looks as if the front half of the pods were unusable.
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| Very wet pods in the rain under a grey sky |
Herstmonceux Observatory is no longer the official observatory (which moved to Cambridge in 1990) - although the telescopes are still there. It's now an educational building for science related matters - and the mirror spheres represent the solar system!
The Judges as always are
Kathleen Soriano and
Tai-Shan Schierenberg and a very pregnant
Kate Bryan.
The Artists
Links to websites are embedded in their name and links to their social media sites follow their name.
>
Interestingly Sky Arts are now routinely highlighting the website and social media links of each artist in each episode -
on this page - however they've also had somebody insert links who has EXCLUDED the colon in virtually every URL - so they don't work!
You can find the LIVE LINKS below!
Four Professional Artists
There were
four professional artists
- Pippa Cunningham (Instagram) - from Brighton, Sussex. Studied printed textiles and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1994. She paints in a gestural, sketchy and bright colourful way - and her paintings often include overseas locations. She has undertaken commissions to do paintings for a diverse range of clients. This was her submission
- James Hayes (Instagram | Twitter) - Born in Cork in 1987. He studied architecture at Dublin University College - Bachelor of Science (2009), Bachelor of Architecture (2012) and Masters of Architecture (2013) and holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Professional Practice in Architecture (2016) from the University of Westminster. He is a chartered architect in Ireland (MRIAI) and the UK (ARB). He is a free-lance illustrator, visual artist, practicing architect (and all-round wearer of different creative hats..) based in the south-west of Ireland. He encompasses a range of media from hand-drawing to oil painting to a form of hybrid digital image making - combining traditional techniques with a few modern ones - based on his architectural background. In my opinion he draws extremely well - but I'm unclear how much is derived from digital images. This was his submission.
- Patsy Moore - lives and works as an artist and tutor in West Sussex. Exhibits regularly with the Association of Sussex Artists and on several occasions with the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour. She teaches art via a weekly art class, one-to-one individual tuition, demonstrations and workshops with art societies, residential and non residential art holidays and art classes onboard cruise ships.
- Stephen Royles (Instagram) - Born in Withington, Manchester, 1982. Lives and works in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Studied at Bath Spa University, 2003 and U.C.L.A.N, BA (hons) Fine Art, 2006. He focuses on urban landscapes - so I guess they thought he would be good at weird buildings! This was his submission.
Four Amateur Artists
- Roy Carless - lives in Hartlepool. He won the Wildcard Artist in the Episode of Landscape Artist of the Year 2017 at South Gare on Tees (see this blog post which features his painting)
- Drew Carr (Facebook Etsy) - a Glasgow based architect - who paints landscape paintings based on running and travel adventures. This was his submission. (He needs a proper website!)
- Tamara Savchenko (Facebook Instagram Twitter) - from Russia; lives in Exeter. Likes to focus on straight lines and in particular triangles. Exhibits her art regularly and is a member of Devon Artists Network, Exeter Abstract Art Group, Exeter Cultural Partnership and The Cult House, London. This was her submission
I lived in four countries, graduated as a doctor and had a PhD in medicine. I worked as a librarian, a researcher, taught anatomy in a medical school in Russia; a sales assistant, an Avon representative, a science technician and finally a science teacher in the UK. In addition to it I have been a mother of two children and a wife to a successful professor of physics.
- Chi Yien Snow (Facebook Instagram) - Relocated to Clevedon, near Bristol from London in 2017. Mother to two young girls. Graduated with a degree in film and animation. Spent over 15 years working as a graphic designer. Works in acrylic and oils. This was her submission
....and this is her blog post
GOODNESS GRACIOUS GREAT BALLS OF HERSTMONCEUX about the day the episode was shot - and what it's like being an artist in a pod!
50 Wildcard Artists
50 Wildcard artists were nearby but painting a completely different view - of
Herstmonceux Castle - which has a moat with brown water according to Tai!
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| Wildcard artists arriving and beginning to set up in front of the castle |
I think we've all guessed where the wildcard artists will be when the pods are set up in front of the castle!
Here's a comment in
a newspaper article by one wildcard artist who had maybe not given quite enough thought to thorough preparation for this event. (seemu summary of learning points below)
Mr Boyle, a cabinet maker but also a keen amateur artist who dreams of turning professional, said his choice of using chalks backfired when it rained.
"It was a wash out," he said. "Most people's paintings got wet and mine got soaked. I have still got the painting but I'm not really that proud of it. I was using chalk on paper so obviously it could not have been worse for when it rained. I was crouching under an umbrella most of the day. I had never actually painted outside before either, so it was quite challenging. Normally I am in the studio and take hours over it mainly from photographs or sometimes sketches or just from memory."
"Despite the rain it was very interesting experience and I got some valuable advice from the judges."
Reading for those who aspire to taking part next year
Faye Bridgewater has written a great blog post - with excellent photographs of what it takes to be a wildcard artist on an extremely rainy day. She was the lady with the broom and the very large orange poncho.
I never knew there were RULES about umbrellas - although I don't think anyone was being picked up on breaking the rules given the nature of the rain!
Themes and Learning Points
As with all my other blog 'Artist of the Year' posts, I tried to detect some learning points within this episode - read on for more of these.
