Friday, December 06, 2024

Review: Semi Finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2024


This is all about the semi-finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2024 (Series 11) which was broadcast on Wednesday night. 

It covers various observations about the Semi-Final (the reality and the programme) including:
  • The Semi Finalists (Heat winners)
  • The Heat Portraits
  • The Sitter setup and setting
  • Themes of the semi-final
  • Judging and Finalists
  • Sitters for the Final
(PS Did anybody notice the "not deliberate" mistake?)

I've been to semi-finals at the Battersea Arts Centre twice and the way they change it for the semi-finals makes you wonder how on earth the artists will be able to cope. The segment structure is gone and there is a very imposing set surrounded by eight easels!

The Semi Finalists (Heat Winners)


The Semi Finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2024 is about to start....

"A lot of very ambitious painters" 
The semi finals include 8 heat winners - who are six women and 2 men! 

 The Heat Portraits


Just think about it from the semi finalists perspective. They've met the other semi-finalists but have absolutely no idea about the competition and how competent they are until they enter that big hall at Battersea Arts Centre and see the other Heat Portraits hanging next to their heat portrait. I'm guessing that might generate a few butterflies in the tummy
 
The wall of Heat Portraits

I highlighted the semi-finalists in my post on Wednesday The Semi Finalists - Portrait Artist of the Year 2024 and - as there is no wildcard additional artist this year (which has happened in the past), I'm going to leave it at that.

The Artists in the PAOTY Semi Final 2024
Note the different size of the supports they are working on.
Moving up to the semi-finals means moving up in size for most.

They are - in Episode order:
To be frank, for me there were only four serious contenders and a maybe.

Before it started - and while writing my previous post I decided that the two I was absolutely certain would get to the Final were Jennifer and Paul (i.e. VERY experienced, fabulous eye for a person/painting, get on and paint people) - and after that there were two or three who could produce a good portrait on the day.

Plus it includes my commentary on what happened in the Semi Final. Just to note that it's my practice to never comment on those who do appalling paintings in the heat - but only reference themes which emerged during the programme.
 
HOWEVER as we get to the final stages of a very public art competition for a big money prize, I tend to become a tad more explicit in my commentary on how artists did - albeit I lean towards describing what happened as opposed to naming the artist. 

Bottom line the feedback / critique becomes more direct the closer you get to the prize. My philosophy is if you don't want people to comment, then you really think need to think very long and hard before entering art competitions with big money prizes.

The Setting and the Sitter


The Setting


A great perspective on the distance between Jenna Waldren and the sitter

There are three reasons why artists might get nervous and/or anxious are:
  • they're one of eight artists painting the same sitter in a large semi circle around the sitter - and not one of three painting a sitter in a segment
  • they are MUCH further away from the sitter than in the heat - and very much further than any normal portrait painter would be from a sitter in real life. Hence one of the reasons why I'd never ever be critical of anybody who references a photo or digital image during this episode.
  • all the artists can see all the other artists' heat portrait paintings on the back wall of the hall as they come in. It's very easy to see people who are better than you (you think!).

The Setting: Portrait of grandmother Rachel Kempson plus chandelier and lots of tulle

The Sitter


The sitter was Joely Richardson, who is a member of the very famous Redgrave acting family (mother is Vanessa Redgrave, grandfather is Sir Michael Redgrave) who is also a well known actress. I think she had hair pieces in for the day as the hair and dress for the day were magnificent!

Her special item was the portrait which normally hangs in her house of her actress grandmother Rachel Kempson, commissioned by Michael Redgrave.

The setting made the context appear very grand. Lots of draped tulle, and a massive chandelier!

Themes


Proving you can do a commissioned portrait


What's the point of the semi final - apart from reducing 8 artists to 3?
"They mustn't lose the fact they're going to be commissioned to do a portrait" Judge
For me, the whole point of the semi-final is to create a comfort zone within the Judges that they have artist(s) who can very definitely rise to the occasion and do a £10,000 commission.

That is emphatically not the same thing as doing a commissioned painting for a friend of the family or even one where you charge quite a lot of money which remains well short of £10k. 
  • The reality is that those who can charge £10k for a commission do NOT enter this competition. They have no need to. 
  • It's only those who'd like to be recognised as up there with those who are regarded as serious portrait painters who really want to do well. 
  • It is that big. It can create a long term career as a portrait painter. It's why a lot of people enter the competition.
So at the end of the day, when watching the semi-final, the only thing I'm looking for is somebody who looks like they can produce a worthwhile and impactful commission for £10k. Which, in turn, makes the Judges look like they know what they're doing. (Which has not always been the case).

The distance - and the bigger painting


The huge distance between sitter and artist means that a number of things must happen:
  • the conventional approach of "painting a head" does not really work
  • most get bigger canvases and bigger brushes and paint bigger paintings
  • ALL artists need digital images or photos to work from - you simply cannot see anything more than the basics of the head.
One artist decided to portray the scene exactly as she saw it - and ended up with a very tiny head in the middle of a large canvas. But she was true to what she saw - and highlighted how very silly this arrangement is.

The challenge of the chandelier


I think more than one semi-finalist regretted including the chandelier. It is such a HUGE distraction from what should be the centre of attention i.e. the sitter!

The question is - was it introduced into the semi-finals as a bit of a test. To see who got distracted by it and made the painting too much about the chandelier and not enough about the sitter.

If you review the portraits again it makes you realise, how wise some people were to leave it out completely.

The importance of avoiding overworking


To get to the end - within the 4 hours - you need a plan. That plan needs to be as much focused on "what not to do" as it does on what needs to be done and how to approach the portrait painting in 4 hours.

One of the key things "not to do" is over-working. Ideally, an artist is putting a brushmark on the support - and leaving it well alone until the end.

I wasn't convinced that all the semi-finalists knew what they were going to do. I was impressed by the fact that quite a few turned up with much larger supports which, of itself, tends to reduce the scope for over-working since most of the effort goes into getting the larger canvas covered!

Judging and Finalists


What are the Judges looking for?


I noted a number of comments by the Judges about what they were looking for and/or expected to see
"a real mixture of good character studies and a good likeness"
"It needs to be a good likeness and an interesting painting"
In other words these are the sort of criteria they are bringing to the judging of the portraits produced in the semi-finals

The Portraits


A brief comment on each portrait - in the order they were standing
  • Jennifer Anderson - an unfinished portrait study. Last time she painted on copper but this time she went bigger and painted on canvas. The sort of thing an artist might do when painting for a commission. She demonstrated the degree of finish she is capable of, her handling of light, colour and tone and how beautiful her paintings can be - but it wasn't the best likeness. Ultimately her pitch was about the kind of portrait she can produce. Paraphrasing the Judges, she imbues her portraits with light, radiance and creates a living breathing individual.

Portrait of Joely Richardson by Jennifer Anderson

"Who wouldn't like to be painted by Jennifer?" Kathleen Soriano

Close-up of the portrait of Joely Richardson by Jennifer Anderson
  • Brogan Bertie - a very striking portrait which was a product of the placement he had. This allowed him to place the head of the grandmother behind his portrait of Joely. Very stylized and nice handling of colour. It's a good painting - but is it a good likeness? For me making the portrait in the background so very big ruled it out for me. For the Judges they liked the idea of melding the portrait of Rachel and Joely. Ultimately though, it's a marmite painting, typically liked by those who place painting above portraiture. (BUT this is a portrait competition - not a painting competition!)
Portrait by Brogan Bertie
  • Jenna Waldren - the smallest portrait in the semi-finals. Very beautiful and a good likeness - but didn't establish her as somebody who could paint bigger portraits or do anything other than flat backgrounds. Basically - failed to make that 'advance' from heat to semi-finals which made her a serious contender. Plus painting the background at the top horizontally when she's done the rest vertically keeps drawing my eye....
Portrait of Joely Richardson by Jenna Waldren
  • Rosie Phillips - Lovely profile painting of head and shoulders - but she also included a lot more on a large canvas - which was a brave move. I thought she was unlucky - except that some of the proportions were wrong - which does make me wonder whether she realises the extent to which she gets proportions wrong. The Judges thought her painting "very theatrical".
Portrait by Rosie Phillips
  • Paul Lee - impressive painting and I though his was probably the best likeness. It's a good portrait AND a good painting. What I liked about it was the composition and the balance between the sitter and the portrait in the background. There was no question who was the subject of the painting - however the chandelier was more of a distraction than it needed to be. It's not essential, it doesn't need to be included and I'd have left it out.  Paul Lee has the additional bonus of the fact that his painting was chosen by Joely Richardson to keep.  
Portrait by Paul Lee
Paul Lee painting Joely Richardson - with the chandelier barely there
  • August Lamm - she likes painting hands and this portrait included the most enormous hands relative to the size of the head and the rest of the body. IMO this was not the time for distorting perspective. Not a serious contender.
  • Kirstin Mackinnon - a painting of what she could see. Very atmospheric, very dramatic, almost a romantic history painting style. But the figure was small and the head was tiny - although good. It didn't make the case for her being a potential person who gets given a commission for a portrait of a person as opposed to a painting of a scene.
  • Polly Pincott - Not as ambitious or as finished as some of the other portraits. She was at one end of the line of painters and instead of painting what she saw - which should have been a profile, we instead got a 3/4 view. Plus it was only a head and a bit of shoulder - which basically did not go the extra mile at this semi-final stage. 

The Finalists

It was a magnificent day of painting Tai Shan Shierenberg

The Finalists are:
  • Jennifer Anderson - I was in no way surprised. I'd have only been surprised if she had not been selected.  As somebody said on FB "just check out her CV". She is a very serious contender and I expect her to win. Not least because she is a very serious and experienced Scottish artist - with the potential to paint a Scottish sitter for the Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. These things actually matter for public commissions - it's called pleasing the client.
  • Paul Lee - supported by very many viewers
  • Brogan Bertie - this is the one which caused most comment online. Not entirely supportive.
Having reviewed the comments online, the consensus is no problems with either Jennifer or Paul - but significant reservations about Brogan Bertie. 

I have to say I do wonder at times what it is that Kate has over Kathleen and Tai which means her view of "good contemporary art" holds sway over common sense. It seems to happen too often for there to be any other explanation.....

Next up - The FINAL!


The sitters for the Final are a married couple who are both actors - Andy Serkis (age 60 from Lord of the Rings) and Lorraine Ashbourne (age 63 - of Margaret Thatcher in the Crown and Bridgerton fame).

The picture I've seen of them as sitters suggests a pastiche of a historical couple.

Sitters for the Final of PAOTY 2024

Should be interesting as they both have very striking faces - once seen never forgotten!


Reviews & Learning Points (PAOTY Series 5-11)



Series 11 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2024)
Series 10 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2023)

Series 9 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2022)
Plus

Series 8 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2021)

Series 7 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Autumn 2020)

Series 6 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Spring 2020)

Series 5 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Winter/Spring 2019)

Series 4 of PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Winter / Spring 2018)

PLUS if you want to find out more.....

Posted by Making A Mark on Friday, December 06, 2024
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