Sky Arts Artist of the Year Competitions: Call for Entries

Sky Arts has published its Call for Entries for its two "Artist of the Year" competitions - for portrait artists and landscape artists. 

Below you can find out the key facts of what you need to do to enter. I'll also try and remember to do a more specific post for each and a reminder prior to their deadline for entries - just in case you forget!

Common to both

Both have:

For the winners

• a prize of a commission valued at £10,000
• the title Sky Arts Artist of the Year - for either portrait or landscape

For all participants

• LOTS of publicity for you and your art
• traffic to your website and social media sites - so long as you remember to create then and publicise them!
• looks good on your CV

Basic of the Entry Process

• You need to submit a self-portrait or a landscape of your choice  - made within the last five years and limited in size (both in reality and as a file size)
• Artwork you submit can be a lot more important than many people think to whether or not you win a heat
• Your artwork will only be viewed on screen  by the Judges - so it needs to read well on screen - and won't be seen in person by the Judges until you get selected and bring it with you to your Heat.
• You must complete an online form

Basics of the Heat Process

• paint an artwork (of sitter of location) within 4 hours (with a lunch break in the middle)
• you have no choice over the sitter or the location
• you have no choice over where you are located
• you will be interrupted by cameras and people getting in front of you
• those who don't mind talking to camera AND are articulate will get a lot more air-time than those who don't like talking and/or cannot talk intelligibly (i.e. never ever forget this is actually a TV programme first and a competition second)
• those who don't like talking to camera are unlikely to progress because this is after all a television programme!
• lots of people will talk about you and your art online - and some will be very opinionated and public i.e. this is NOT a competition for those with thin skins who don't like unasked for critiques. If you put your art out there in an art competition people will comment - it's what happens.

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2022 (Series 9)

This is the page where they have all the details of what to do and how to enter the PORTRAIT competition

DEADLINE for Entries is NOON on 11 FEBRUARY 2022.

This tells you how how to take the best photograph of your self-portrait.

(You can also read advice on how to create a digital image in Image Management for Artists on my Art Business Info for Artists website)

Some things to think about

• Have you ever painted a portrait from life before?
• Do you know how the structure of the head works?
• Can you capture a likeness?
• Have you only portrayed celebrities to date? Do you know how to create a portrait which doesn't involve working from a portrait?
• Does your artwork look like many other people's or is it distinctive?
• Will you be available for the filming - planned to take place at Battersea Arts Centre in March and April 2022 - and can you afford to get there?

PORTRAITS TO DO LIST 

• Make sure you know how to take a good digital image of your self-portrait - or know a person who can
• Work out how you need to change your practice to complete a portrait in 4 hours
• Draw people's heads all the time - you learn a lot and can work faster if you know your way around a head which is different to those you've portrayed previously
• Get people to sit for you on a voluntary basis
• Work out the best way of capturing a likeness - as opposed to painting the bits you enjoy doing!
• Create a portrait within 4 hours that you are happy with - and then do it again - and again and again.
• Submit an excellent self-portrait

Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 (Series 8)

This is the page where they have all the details of what to do and how to enter the LANDSCAPE competition

DEADLINE for applications is NOON on 14 April 2022.

However they very often extend it! (It depends on how many quality applications they receive)

Some things to think about

• Are you used to painting plein air?
• Can you cope with carrying on as the the weather changes - for better or worse? They don't stop for anything.....
• Can you cope with the light changing as the time passes or the weather changes?
• Have you ever painted a landscape - beginning to end - in four hours?
• Have you ever painted landscapes with people watching / filming / asking questions?
• What makes your landscape art different and interesting and something they might want to see more of?
• Will you be available for the filming - planned to take place around the UK in June 2022?

LANDSCAPES TO DO LIST 

It's not untypical for the best landscape paintings to be produced by those who can paint whatever is in front of them to a deadline.

• Make sure you can produce a good digital image of your landscape submission - minus any mount / frame
• Think about what makes for:
• good landscape art
• poor / boring landscape art
• Practice plein air painting - a lot!
• Work out to revise your process so you can produce a landscape image in under four hours
• Then work out how to speed up
• Work out what you need to do to focus better and block out interruptions
• More practice!!
• submit a good landscape with your entry

Postscript

You can find out more about what happens - and yet more things to think about - in my reviews of all the episodes of recent series. Artist of the Year winners have thanked me for them!
See my posts in the link below (and look at links to previous series and posts at the end of episode reviews)

• portrait artist of the year
• landscape artist of the year