Review: Episode 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - Bristol Harbourside

The heats - as per the running order of episodes Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - finished with a cold and wet one - right next to some cold wet water at Bristol Harbourside.

Pods on the edge of Bristol Harbourside

Comments included below are by people who follow me on Facebook - unless indicated to be by an artist, wildcard or Judge.

Episode 6: Bristol Harbourside

This review - of Episode 6 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

NOTE: This might be Episode 6 but it was actually Heat 2 and was filmed on Wednesday 12 June 2024 in Bristol (which rather suggests that the Suspension Bridge was Heat 1). I think they decide the running order of Heats - as Episodes - after they have filmed and know the outcomes. That and the fact that the two heats in the same area are never consecutive on the screens. Anybody care to divulge the actual filming date of their heat?

Location and Weather

The location was Bristol Harbourside

A side on perspective of Bristol Harbourside

I kept trying to work out where the pods are - because this programme has this unhappy habit of sending cameramen to film the view from locations where the pods are NOT located! Plus we had lots of top down views - none of which contained either pods or wildcards (presumably done in advance)!

Consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence ENDS TUESDAY

I'm extremely late to this topic so this is a wakeup call for anybody else like me who did not realise this consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence was happening

The consultation ends on Tuesday 25th February i.e. YOU HAVE TWO DAYS LEFT TO COMMENT. You have two days left if you have a view on how this might impact your career or your income. (I may update this post)

• You can access the consultation here. Responses are by way of a survey of questions. (https://ipoconsultations.citizenspace.com/ipo/consultation-on-copyright-and-ai/)
• respond to the questions in the survey
• say how it would affect you
• or send a letter saying what you want to say via an email
• You can also submit your response by email to: copyrightconsultation@ipo.gov.uk
• The deadline to respond is 11:59pm on Tuesday 25 February 2025.

Cover of the formal Consultation Document published by the Government
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5330-5, E03259461 12/24, CP 1205
PDF, 1.23 MB, 40 pages

The consultation arises because of what has been characterised as

pressure to amend the UK’s copyright laws to make it easier for predominantly American tech companies to train their AI models on other people’s creative work without permission, acknowledgment or payment. Creative industries are among the UK’s crown jewels – and AI is out to steal them | The Guardian

Below you can read about

• what the government has said
• how to respond - according to DACS and AOI
• places where you can find out what others are saying

What I RECOMMEND YOU DO is read carefully the recommendations of how to respond from both 

• DACS (a "not for profit" set up to maximise and collect copyright income) and the 
• Association of Illustrators (AOI) 

What the Government has said

About Mokuhanga - Japanese woodblock printing

Following on from Thursday's post, which highlighted two unusual media used in Heat 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025, this post is about Mokuhanga - Japanese woodblock printing.

The other new media was alcohol inks which was covered in yesterday's post Alcohol Inks - information and WARNINGS about use!

Mokuhanga - Japanese woodblock printing

Image of tools used in the production of Japanese Woodblock printing
courtesy The Japanese Gallery article about woodblock printing

What's different about Mokuhanga

• best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre of single sheets
• widely used for text as well as images
• various woods can be used, but the preferred wood is cherry wood 
• uses water-based inks and Nori Starch paste, rather than oil based inks (which are typically used for woodblock printing in the West)
• inking is done with a brush rather than a roller.
• the baren used to press the ink into the paper is made from bamboo leaf and paper
• it produces more subtle prints rather than the bold coloured prints associated with oils

A team of people were usually involved in the production of japanese woodblock prints. These were:

• the publisher (who usually had overall control of the process), 
• the designer/artist, 
• the block cutter and 
• the printer.

The V&A has a section on Japanese ukiyo- prints

How does it work?

This is a very nice video of a Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Workshop - A Printer's Tools and Workspace - by a nice Japanese lady with very good English subtitles

I managed to translate one word - baren! ;)

 

Essentially, the process is....

Alcohol Inks - information and WARNINGS about use!

I'm guessing that after this week's LAOTY Episode (see Review: Episode 5 Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - Dinorwic Slate Quarry) there's going to be a fair few people dashing out to buy and try alcohol inks.

What I didn't realise is that this programme should have come with some health and safety warnings!

I went looking for more information about acohol inks as I was sure that others, like me, wanted to know more about them

I'm very glad I did - because this post about ALCOHOL INKS now includes some significant WARNINGS!!

Below ARE my quick jottings of what seem to me like decent sites providing more information about  alcohol inks.  I looked at a lot of different articles and snaffled a few words and phrases from some of them i.e. I am NOT an expert. 

If you know more and/or better, please let me know

Alcohol Inks

Alcohol Inks - what makes them different?
Photo by noah eleazar on Unsplash

What are they?

Interestingly, there isn't an article on Wikipedia about them! Despite the fact they are both toxic and dangerous!

BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT USE THEM ON A WHIM: I've learned enough to now know that you need to know a LOT before using them. 

DO NOT LET CHILDREN WORK WITH ALCOHOL INKS

Alcohol Inks - the UPSIDE

Review: Episode 5 Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - Dinorwic Slate Quarry

We were back in the Welsh countryside this week - but with an industrial angle!

I don't think the view selected for Heat 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 could be called "attractive: . More like a manmade scar on the countryside....

LAOTY 2025: Heat 5 - artists lined up to hear the results of the shortlisting

Episode 5: Dinorwic Quarry

This review - of Episode 5 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

Location and Weather

The view of the Dinorwic Slate Quarry from the pods
the vertical slate seam to the left and the slag tips to the right

The location was the old Dinorwic Slate Quarry located between the villages of Llanberis and Dinorwig (formerly Dinorwic) in North Wales.

The two largest slate quarries in the world at the beginning of the 20th century were both located in North Wales. Penrhyn was the largest (which is the one I know) and this one was the second largest. It opened in 1787; at its height of production it employed 3,000 people and it closed down in 1969 and became the site of The Slate Museum.

The artists had a view of an imposing and monumental view of the vein of slate, which is very nearly vertical and hence there is a very vertical quarry. Vegetation is growing again on the hillside. To the right was more of the quarry and the slag heaps.

An actual landscape and a nice, meaty challenging one at that!

Interestingly the pods were split into two rows of four - either side of the vertical scar - and I'm guessing that was to allow the wildcards to see it too.

The split pods - with wildcards behind.
Is this going to be repeated in future?

Tai thought it was quite ugly and very difficult to do. He highlighted how the scar in the hillside goes in so that the shadows will be constantly changing on a sunny day - as it was.

Another comments was that the hillside was scarred and those scars had been inflicted by humans

I found it unattractive and also very difficult to make look interesting as most of the day it was all one tone. It seemed to me the only way to make it look interesting would be via mark-making or exaggeration.

The heat was filmed on a very hot dry day in June 2024.  People were using their umbrellas and protective tents to shield themselves from the sun!

"It's very hot so it's going to be a challenge!"

 

The Artists in the Pods

Analysis of Sales at The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

After the annual exhibition of the The Pastel Society (PS) and my review of the exhibition comes my metrics post!

• Which price ranges achieved the best sales? 
• Is this the same for members and those selected from the Open Entry - or does it vary?

This is another of my regular posts reviewing sales and prices after the annual exhibition. It covers:

• General commentary on 
• sales of artwork and how and when art is sold
• Buyers at the Mall Galleries - where the PS hold their annual exhibition
• Sales at the 2025 Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society focusing on:
• the number of sales and 
• the prices that pastel artwork sold for 

The reason I'm writing this post is because I'd like to see:

• more artists do better
• more artists make sales
• more artists improve their annual income from their artwork
• THROUGH more intelligent pricing of their artwork

Bottom line, the most realistic price for your artwork is the price which enables a sale. Otherwise, why bother pricing at all?

General Commentary on Sales of Artwork

How and when art is sold

These days art sales are typically generated in one of three ways

• the associated online website for the artwork - and the fact this goes online before the exhibition in the gallery opens
• sales at the Private View - where it's a common expectation that a goodly proportion of artwork will be sold given this is an opportunity for artists to be nice to collectors!
• sales while the exhibition is open to the public.

In the past, art societies used to have Buyers' Views for people:

• who were known collectors and/or
• had previously bought at the exhibition.

Art Societies don't seem to be doing these as much these days. Maybe because of the online exhibition - which is published well in advance of the exhibition opening and the fact people are more used to online sales. It's certainly the case that artwork regularly sells before an exhibition opens

Nevertheless, I still think there's a case to be made for the "pampering time" for previous art buyers/collectors when they don't have to fight for space with the legions of "friends of the artist" and can actually see the work properly.

I don't go to as many private views as I used to, mainly because to my mind they should be artists and buyers and "influencers" in the absence of a private view. 

I left this one early because of the crush - see Review: The Pastel Society 126th Annual Exhibition (2025) 

It's nice to have an event for friends of the artist BUT if it creates such a crush that it causes people to leave and/or deters sales, then that is a problem. 

My solution would be to introduce a constraint for all members and those selected via the open entry of strictly one friend only at the PV.

After all, friends can come any time, but artists typically only come once and it's on PV day! Plus buyers and collectors do like to meet the artist - and I see precious little effort by art societies generally to making sure that can happen. 

On the day of the PV, it's perfectly possible to stage manage a different focus at different times eg buyers at lunchtime; members getting together in the afternoon and friends allowed in the evening. That way we might actually get to see some art. I find I always have to go back if I go to the PV - just to be able to look at the art properly.

Sales have also been less than usual due to the constraints on people's budgets in the last couple of years. It seems to be easing slightly - but sales are still not yet back to where they used to be - and it's worth thinking about how to help them along....

Who are the buyers at the Mall Galleries?

Essentially annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries are about AFFORDABLE ART for most of those who visit, view and buy art.

This is about my well known mantra characterising buyers at the Mall Galleries. 

Typically they are essentially "middle class, middle aged and middle income"

They typically like buying artwork priced at less than £1,500 - and they like it even more if it is priced at less than a £1,000.

You should bear this in mind as you review the charts and commentary below and as you check the profiles of the price ranges of artwork sold in the charts below

Sales at The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

This is a chart of the sales at the recent Open Exhibition 2025 of the Pastel Society.

I got my numbers by going through the data on sales available from the online exhibition.

Analysis of the number of artworks sold by price range
in The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

The Pastel Society exhibited 382 artworks and sold 84 paintings (22% of the hung artwork). 

This is a marked improvement on the 2024 performance (see below).

Call for Entries: John Moores Painting Prize 2025

The John Moores Painting Prize is a biennial and very prestigious biennial competition and award for the best contemporary painting. It has a £25,000 First Prize. It opened to entries TODAY.

First the summary - then the history and a note of famous past winners - and finally the details.

SUMMARY

• The John Moores Painting Prize is open to all UK-based artists working with paint.
• You can only enter online (i.e. no postal entries). Payment is also online only.
• Those who can enter are 
• aged 18 years or above on 24 March 2025 and 
• live in the UK or are UK-based.
• The deadline for an entry is 5pm Monday 24 March 2025
• All entries need to be for sale.
• All entries are judged anonymously over a two-stage selection process - but I strongly recommend you take a look at the Judges profiles first.
• It culminates in an exhibition next year at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool (Saturday 6 September to Sunday 1 March 2026).

In the absence of all those art competitions which have fallen by the wayside in recent years, this is one art competition that all painters should take very seriously - not least because who has won it previously.....

History of the Award

The John Moores Painting Prize is the UK's most well-known painting competition, bringing together the best contemporary painting from across the UK to Liverpool.

The John Moores Painting Prize is named after its founding sponsor and local philathopist Sir John Moores in 1957. It always had very strong associations with the City of Liverpool. This internationally renowned prize competition is organised in partnership with  and continues to support artists and bring the best contemporary painting to Liverpool. 

Besides running the Littlewoods Empire, which made him one of Britain's richest men - even richer than the Queen, John Moores was also a keen amateur painter who had trouble finding places to exhibit his paintings - so he founded this competition to find others with the same predicament who he could then exhibit locally with. 

The John Moores Painting Prize competition has awarded more than £700,000 in prize money across 32 exhibitions, showcasing more than 2,400 works of art.

• It presents a rich history of post-war painting in Britain. 
• The first exhibition was held only six years after the Walker Art Gallery re-opened following the Second World War. 

The continuation of this art competition with its valuable first prize - when others are falling by the wayside - is because it continues to be sponsored by the John Moores Painting Prize Trust.

The winning work and short-listed pieces are always exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery as part of the Liverpool Biennial festival of visual art

John Moores with David Hockney
His first prize was £1,500, which he used to send his parents on holiday to Australia

It's had some very notable past prizewinners and paintings which won including:

• 1959 - Patrick Heron Black Painting - Red, Brown and Olive : July 1959 (now in a private collection)
• 1967 - David Hockney Peter Getting Out of Nick's Pool Presented to the Walker Art Gallery by John Moores in 1968
• 1972 - Euan Uglow Nude, 12 vertical positions from the eye
• 1993 - Peter Doig - Blotter

‘Blotter’ won the John Moores Painting Prize in 1993. This was a turning point in Doig’s career and he was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1994. ‘Blotter’ is regarded as one of his best works.

• 2014 - Rose Wylie - PV Windows and Floorboards

See a virtual exhibition of John Moores Painting Prize Exhibition - Winners since 1957

2025 Prizes and Jury

Prizes

• The John Moores Painting Prize (First Prize):  The First Prize winner will receive
• £25,000 and 
• a prestigious solo display at Walker Art Gallery
• The Lady Grantchester Prize, offering £5,000, with a residency and £2,500 worth of art materials supplied by Winsor & Newton. Applications from artists in their final year of study or within five years of graduation are especially encouraged to apply for the latter award.
• EACH ARTIST chosen for the John Moores Painting Prize exhibition will receive an exhibiting fee.

Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - St Pancras Basin

This, for me, was a rather unsatisfactory episode of Landscape Artist of the Year from the viewers perspective. Mainly because it  

• was totally confusing as to what the view was
• provided different artists with different views
• kept giving us top down or high up perspectives on the place
• nearly all the artists seemed to be very "hemmed in"
• overall, it made for a disappointing episode

Shortlising announcement in Gasholder Park 
at St Pancras Basin in North London

....and I haven't even got started YET it being another URBAN cityscape! 

Can the production team and the Judges not bear to drag themselves away from London? Is this a cost-cutting exercise?

I’m thinking that my chances of getting into the competition would be better if my submission painting showed the bleakest urban landscape possible!

 

Episode 4: St Pancras Basin

This review - of Episode 4 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

Location and Weather

The view was all over the place - as were the pods.

The location was St Pancras Basin - just north of  St Pancras Station. 

• You can find it here on Google Maps. 
• It was originally built by the Midland Railway in 1869 with the aim of loading load canal barges with the coal brought by the railway, mainly from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It fell into disuse after the coal drops were dismantled.
• Regeneration started - or rather had some false starts - in the 1980 and 1990s
• The 1996 decision to move the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Waterloo to St Pancras became a major catalyst for change as part of what became a grand plan to redevelop all the old industrial land behind the two stations of Kings Cross and St. Pancras. The results have been very impressive across a number of metrics

Top down view of most of the site that provided views for the artists

This is a competition which requires eight pods lined up in front of a view - with space for the wildcards and for the production team to work

This site has very limited space and the area is completely hemmed in by:

• The Regents Canal - and St Pancras Basin full of barges
• The high level railway lines coming in and out of  St Pancras International Station
• the gasholders - rebuilt on the north side of the site as a result of the changes made at St Pancras station for the Eurostar.
• the new flats built on what was a brownfield site
• the new centre built at Coaldrop Yard

As a result, the eight pods were not all together. Six were on a spot close to the railway bridge over the canal and two more were further away on a piece of grass, next to a tree. Except they looked like three to me so even more confusing....

I found the whole location gobsmackingly complicated and confusing. I couldn't make sense of where anyone was and what views they had to look at and paint. The split-site pods may explain that last bit! Thanks for pointing it out.

The Split of the Pods
six to the left near the bridge over the canal; two to the right on the grass

I don't think I've ever seen all the pods split up in this way before

However the weather seemed to be sunny and hot with some cloud - at least judging by the attire of some of the pod artists......

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 4 pod artists are listed and profiled BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames; including:

• a synopsis of their background
• Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
• Social media platforms are also referenced

LAOTY on YouTube - complete programmes and critiques!

I was very surprised to find that one of the comments on my post yesterday about Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) was from a long time friend of mine who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area who had watched that episode on YouTube!

Now I know episodes from various television programmes were sometimes recorded and uploaded to YouTube by those wanting to get visits - but it's not allowed. Copyright etc etc.

Nevertheless, I took a look - and there it was.

So this is by way of telling you what I found. I'm not linking to any and they may disappear very soon when Sky Arts catches up with them.

But these are the ones which are out there

LAOTY on YouTube

Series 10 (2025)

• Episodes 1 through 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10

Series 9 (2024)

Somebody with the initials TW is making a playlist

• Episodes 5 through 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 9 (4 are hidden - presumably 1-4)

PS I've just read the "The Times" review of the Final of this Series on Apple News - and all I can say is I don't know how broadsheets survive!

Series 8 (2023)

TW strikes again!

• Episodes 5 through 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 8 (4 are hidden - presumably 1-4)

Series 7 (2022)

also by TW

• Landscape Artist Of The Year S07E08 Winners Film

Series 6 (2021)

• Ophelia Redpath’s Winning Vision | Landscape Artist of the Year - this is the heat episode which Ophelia won.

Other than that there's an awful lot of 30 second trailers.

More critiques!!

Plus somebody called Jo McKenzie who is an art tutor living in the USA makes 10-15 minute videos critiquing the submissions and paintings produced by pod artists - which are interesting. 

I think Jo is walking the right side of the copyright line as she, like me, is reviewing the paintings (whereas I'm reviewing the programme) and as some (most?) of us know, criticism and reviews are a "fair use" exemption to copyright laws - see my Art Business Info for Artists website and the page about https://www.artbusinessinfo.com/copyright-and-fair-use-for-artists.html

Copyright Infringement
and "Fair Use"

​Basics for Art and Artists 

Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025)

The "landscape" for Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year was a civil engineering structure - the very wide Clifton Suspension Bridge connecting the two very steep sides of the Avon Gorge in Clifton in Bristol.

View of the Pods in front of part of Clifton Suspension Bridge

Episode 3: Clifton Suspension Bridge

This review - of Episode 3 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

Location and Weather

The view was of the Clifton Suspension Bridge which spans over 702 ft (214 m) across the Avon Gorge and is  nominally 249 ft (76 m) above the River Avon.  It had the longest span of any bridge in the world at the time of construction.

• designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859)
• started in 1831and completed in 1864.
• Brunel only finished the towers before he died in 1859
• the suspension chains recovered from the earlier Hungerford Suspension Bridge by Brunel and reused for this bridge
• it has a very informative website and also a museum.

The view also included one very steep side of the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods which grows up it.

Fortunately the weather was fine with some cloud but no rain.

The Pods were located on the terrace at the rear of the Avon Gorge Hotel on Sion Hill in Clifton Village. (You too can sit out on the terrace and have a go)

This is the view they were looking at

View from the Pods

The Wildcards had a rather more ACUTE angled view from an area of grass at the top of Sion Hill.

Top down view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Avon Gorge Hotel
and the grass at the top of Sion Hill

The Wildcards adjacent to Sion Hill

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 3 pod artists are listed and profiled BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames; including

• a synopsis of their background
• Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
• Social media platforms are also referenced

The artists in Episode 3

I don't remember the bit in the entry requirements which said that if you are a chap you must also have small goatee beard....

• Ian Cox (Facebook | Instagram) an artist and fine art printmaker from Devon who chose to work in charcoal for the submission and heat. He used charcoal dust to allow him to get tonal shapes down fast - which seemed like a jolly sensible idea to me - plus fine charcoal pencils.
• Kieran Guckian (Instagram) - Born in Dublin, Kieran attended Crawford College of Art and Design graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Painting. He switched from his career in web design to becoming a full time artist a year prior to the heat - so this was a big opportunity for him.

I'm always drawn to landscapes that have a sense of time and am happiest painting in the mountains.

• Jonathan Hargreaves (Instagram) - an oil painter and illustrator based in Sockport. He used to cycle for Team GB. Apparently he has featured on Sky Arts on a number of occasions - but does not say how. My blog indicates that he won Heat 2 in 2017, participated in Heat 1 in 2018. I liked the fact he chose to include the balustrades which grounded "how" you could see this view.

If you’re not familiar with the program it’s like an arty cross between the National Lottery and Squid Games. 

• Sarah Harris  (Instagram) a mixed media artist based in Warrington. She produced a very large and rather psychedelic submission featuring a graphic building and flowers. I struggled to find any landscape artwork on her website. (Do Selectors not look at websites at all?)
• Charlotte Kenyon (Facebook | Instagram) - She likes architecture and cityscapes and works in gouache on paper. She favours attention to meticulous detail when painting structures and likes opaque shapes. I really like her Sea Kale, Walberswick Beach. Gouache on paper.

• Chris Priestly (Instagram) - a painter and writer based in Cambridge. He also illustrates children's books. He's got a very apt post on Instagram about the experience - worth a read.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christopher Priestley (@christopherpriestley)

• Jo Rance (Instagram) - a contemporary british painter living and working in Cambridgeshire. He work is informed by her local countryside, flora and fauna through the seasons and via drawing on location. She has a background in textile design and she graduated from Loughborough University. Now moving into painting, she works primarily works with acrylic on canvas in her studio and uses vibrant colour palettes and a decorative painting style. She has been consistently exhibiting with a wide range of venues and has a show at Cambridge Contemporary Art in June 2025 - and I have to say I am not surprised.
• Dan Wall (Facebook) She lives in Bristol. I must confess I was very puzzled as to how this individual got selected - although the submission was good. I'm afraid I cannot take anybody seriously who brings a soft toy which is referred to as "a familiar". It all came across to me as a bit of "a drama / performance art / look at me". Not really what this  competition is about.

Themes and Learning Points

Quotes are included below from the followers of my Making A Mark Facebook Page - who have a lot to say.

Yet another very silly location

Tracy Emin became a Dame yesterday

Yesterday, Tracy Emin went to Buckingham Palace and came out with a nice award in smart box which signified she has become a Dame.

She actually received the honour - for services to the arts - in The King's Birthday Honours List in June 2024 - and yesterday was her investiture when she received her honour. 

Back in 2013, she had previously received the honour of being made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions to the visual arts. Her career as an artist and latterly as a supporter of artists has lasted for over four decades.

Dame Tracy Emin - after receiving her

Did you know that anyone can nominate anyone for an honour - see Nominate someone for an honour or award

Following her close call with bowel cancer in 2020, she has revisited her purpose in life and has focused more on creating opportunities for others via her Tracy Emin Foundation, the Tracy Emin Art Residency and new studios she has created in Margate in Kent.

In addition to her artistic achievements, Tracey has made it her mission to support the next generation of artists. Through the Tracey Emin Foundation in Margate, she has created a hub for creativity and opportunity, providing resources, mentorship, and space for emerging talent to thrive.

Her work extends beyond art, demonstrating a deep commitment to fostering community and ensuring that art remains accessible and inclusive. Tracey’s foundation stands as a testament to her belief in the transformative power of creativity and the importance of nurturing new voices in the art world

This is a BBC World Service video made about her recently. It includes a tour of the Tracy Emin Studio.

From a rebellious star in contemporary art in the 1990s to receiving the title of Dame by King Charles for her service to the visual arts in 2024, Tracey Emin is an icon.

Below you can find links to recent activities.

Tracy Emin REFERENCE

Tracy Emin websites

• Tracy Emin Foundation
• Tracey Emin Art Residency
• Tracy Emin Studio | Instagram
• TKE Studios | Instagram - a professional artist studio, exhibition and lecture space in Margate, UK.
  

Biography

• Dame Tracy Emin RA | Royal Academy of Arts - includes a mini bio
• Tracy Emin | Wikipedia

Articles

Interestingly Emin gets relatively little press these days. In relation to the investiture, the BBC prioritised Anna Wintour being made a Companion of Honour for her services to fashion.

• The radical, ravishing rebirth of Tracey Emin: ‘I didn’t want to die as some mediocre YBA’ | The Guardian
• Tracey Emin leads a mutiny against the art schools by Waldemar Januszczak | The Times

Woke art in London is going broke

This isn't as much a blog post by me, as me alerting you to an interesting article in The Evening Standard on 30th January. It's a very interesting article which I think will resonate with a lot of people - and it's a RECOMMENDED READ from me.

How the capital's art world went broke on woke alerted me to a few things I didn't know before

The author JJ Charlesworth is an art critic, art magazine editor and writer with twenty-five years of experience in contemporary art, publishing and education. Since 2006 he has worked on the editorial staff of the London-based international art magazine ArtReview, where he is one of the editors. He says he has also lectured and taught extensively, tutoring at London’s Royal College of Art, the Royal Academy Schools and Central St Martins College

Below I summarise

• key points from what he has to say
• commentary from me - marked up as "ME"

So what does he have to say?

Here's some key points:

Major financial challenges 

• major art institutions in London face major financial challenges
• the Tate and the Royal Academy of Arts have announced serious deficits (£11million and £2 million respectively)

Changing agendas do not bring in punters

Over the past few years art galleries have been pursuing programming agendas that don’t always resonate with audiences.

• culture wars (decolonisation / identity politics / Just Stop Oil etc etc) are not attractive to many exhibition visitors
• whereas major art galleries can host sell-out exhibitions for major "old favourite" artists from the past (e.g. Monet at the Courtauld; Van Gogh at the National Gallery in 2024)

ME: I think he's got a very important point.

He quotes numbers of visitors for institutions compared to pre-pandemic levels and suggests which ones are struggling 

Review: Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025)

Snowdon in the background and the pods left of centre (next to bright green grass)

At last! A real landscape everywhere you looked. This week's episode came from the foothills of Snowdon - the highest mountain in the UK outside Scotland.

Very many of the people commenting on my Facebook page said they had been all set to stop watching Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 based on the ridiculous subject for last week's episode. 

A lot of people are really fed up with the programme's complete obsession with buildings - which are NOT LANDSCAPES. 

But this episode may have saved the day..... More of which below!

Episode 2: Mount Snowdon

This review follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

Location and Weather

The subject of this week's episode was Yr Wyddfa, otherwise known as Mount Snowdon. 

They were very lucky with the weather which was dry and sometimes warm!

The Pods and wildcards were together on a flat piece of land inbetween Llanberis Station and the lake called Llyn Padam and just north of the National Slate Museum and across the lake from the village of Llanberis in the Snowdonia National Park.

The Pods with the Artists and The Wildcards with their Easels
on the one bit of fairly flat land overlooking both Snowdon and the Lake!

They had great views of the end of Llyn Padam, the roofs of the National Slate Museum, the ruined 13th century Dolbadarn Castle - which was painted by a Young JMW Turner! (see his painting here) - and across to Snowdon

The map co-ordinates for anybody wanting to pay a visit and have a go at Snowdon

are 53.123870, -4.119035

This is the view they were looking at

The view

The Slate Museum (and slate quarries are off to the left, the 13th century castle is straight in front. Snowdon is also top left and Llanberis is across the lake.

I loved how all the artists tackled a proper larger than life, possibly overfacing in its sublimity, landscape.

They each were able to tackle it in largely the same way they’d approached their submission and we got a better sense of what they could all do in a “real life” situation rather than one of the stately home views that can force an artist to make bad choices due to the pressures of the day. comment on my Facebook Page

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 2 pod artists are listed BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames;
including

• a synopsis of their background
• Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
• Social media platforms are also referenced

Episode 2 artists: Clare, Kayla, Anna, Charlotte and Marcio, Mike, Mark and Simon