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....
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| 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
Location and Weather
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| 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.
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| 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
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| Interesting line-up in the Pod left of the slate scar - you'll see why later (L to R) Sarah Stoker, Chris Cyprus, Barry Mitchell and Helen Campbell so NOT in alphabetical order |
- a synopsis of their background
- Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
- Social media platforms are also referenced
You can see the submissions and videos of the artwork they produced here (scroll down until you get to Heat 5 and then click)
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| The WORST EVER artyfarty out of focus photo of the artists Did nobody check the image? Did they only take one? Really? |
- Helen Campbell (Instagram) - an artist and printmaker who lives in Oldham. She belongs to the 'Saddleworth Group of Artists' and 'Les Journees des Peintures'. She is passionate about etching and is despite being a beginner at "mokuhanga" (Japanese woodblock printing) - which uses waterbased inks producing more subtle effects - this is what she used as her media in the heat. She works using a limited colour palette.
I have many qualifications and letters after my name but never had the opportunity in life to study art full time.
- Julian Court (Instagram) - a security guard and a hyperrealist portrait artist from Berkshire. He is fascinated by what you can do with charcoal and graphite and has developed his expertise through studying with Kelvin Okafor, Mike Sibley and Gary Hodges. He's recently begun drawing charcoal landscapes to free up his style. His submission was a portrayal of another abandoned slate quarry in Snowdonia.
- Chris Cyprus (Instagram) - an oil painter from Gorton in Manchester, who loved to the hills of Lancashire in the 70s. He paints scenes of Manchester and the nearby Pennines.
- Sian Emmison (Instagram) - an entrepreneur and painter from London. She has a a degree in Fine Art from The Ruskin School, University of Oxford and has an impressive track record. She spent a decade working as a professional artist alongside staff jobs at creative companies. Followed by 14 years developing and running a business which she successfully sold in 2021. She likes drawing. Her submission was the view from her flat in Spitalfields in London. She's written a brilliant piece about her experience of Landscape Artist of the Year on her website. The beginning made me laugh out loud as it reminded me of what I was told about how to speak when I was filmed painting by the BBC. (See When I was filmed landscape painting by the BBC)
- Barry Mitchell (Instagram) - a contemporary painter and sculptor based in Scotland. He has a Diploma in sculpture from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (Dundee). He was recently Senior lecturer: Perspective & Life drawing at LISAA School of Applied Arts (Paris). He now works from a studio and shares a showroom in Queen Street, in Stranraer.
- Thiago Santto (Instagram) - a chef and artist from Brazil who came to live in Surrey six years ago. His submission was of boats on a canal in Basingstoke - and one is gently sinking.
- Sarah Stoker (Instagram) - an ink artist from Barnsley who loves the outdoors. She studied textiles, surface pattern, ceramics and glass at Barnsley College, before specialising in ceramics at Carlisle. She has been managing a pottery studio for a very long time and now also makes and shows her drawings created using alcohol inks.
I won Young Designer of the Year in 1989 and the following year I was awarded a grant from The Prince’s Trust to help set up a pottery studio.
- Kathy Sutherland (Instagram) - a painter who lives in the Scottish Highlands. She has been painting full time since 2014.
NOTE: Have I ever told you my theory about how the best indicator of a winner is when the individual is already a winner?
The Wildcards
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| The Wildcards in the field behind the pods |
"I prepped by having a good bacon sandwich this morning and what I really need now is a cup of tea"
"I'm outside and not in front of a computer screen!"
These were the submissions of another wildcard entry - which I found really interesting. It just goes to show the breadth of media that can get you participating on this show!
Themes and Learning Points
Comments included in this post are by either pod artists or wildcards; or people following my Facebook page - unless clearly indicated otherwise.
Unusual Media
This was I think the first heat where we had more unusual media, including
- Helen - Mokohanga (Japanese woodblock printing using watercolour paint rather than oils) - which I'd never heard of
- Sarah - Alcohol Inks - which I'd heard of but did not understand how they were made or used.
- Barry - plus acrylic paint overlayed with soft pastel
I think one of the very best aspects of Landscape Artist of the Year is how it exposes people to new media and new ways of working. However this is only great if people can demonstrate some expertise.
- Helen's print submission was really good - but her mokahanga print done in the heat was washed out and one tone. I gather than might have been because of how the heat affected her way of working. It would have been good if she'd tried it outside in different weather before deciding to work in this way - and learned whether or not it was suitable for plein air working.
"but I've never done it in under four hours"
"Helen is having some heat issues" Tai
- Sarah Stoker's Alcohol Inks seemed to work really well in a plein air situation - even when it was very hot. They allowed her to produce some absolutely amazing mark-making. Either that or she wasn't saying anything about any difficulties she encountered! Other than....
"It took a while to work out how to make it work" Sarah Stoker
- Barry was very obviously very familiar with the media he was using and demonstrated how to use both well.
That said, I would if I was on the selectors I'd be looking for people who indicated their level of experience in their chosen media should they be selected in a pod. If selectors are not asking for experience in using their chosen media outdoors then they should be!
TIPS: Using unusual media will definitely get you noticed. Being expert in its use is much more likely to get you shortlisted
Struggling all day
I'm not surprised that some of the artists found the subject matter a bit of a struggle because it was:
- very unusual i.e. outside everybody's comfort zone
- two colours - green and gray - with a very blue sky behind
- mostly one tone
Yet again, I wonder if there is anybody with any artistic nous who selects these locations.
As in, if you've got the entire UK to choose from, why are eight pod artists and 50 wildcards looking at a really boring landscape.
That said, you've got to give it to those who made a decent job of painting the subject - because it was really not easy.
Of course some people were struggling because, yet again, we had artists who had never used their media before outside.
Words fail me.
Producing more than one artwork
MANY artists produce more than one artwork. However most artists produce their first (and second and third etc) as sketches in their sketchbook while trying to work out what's the best approach in terms of design and composition.
I usually draw to start to identify what I'm interested in Sian
I absolutely hate seeing artists having a thoroughly uncomfortable day and/or not getting anywhere with their artwork. So they start again....
Artists who are:
- not used to working plein air
- not used to using a sketchbook to work out the questions they have which need answering
- too full of adrenaline so that they go off like a rocket at the beginning - and then have second thoughts
are those most likely to start creating "alternative" paintings in terms of working out the issues which confront them in terms of
- coping with an artifical situation - AND
- painting something which may well be not something they normally choose to paint.
So we had Kathy who created two impressionistic paintings of the crevice
Plus Julian who ended up doing three very small charcoal drawings, all of which seemed to mereg into one shade from a distance.
"I've kind of given up really, but we shall soldier on"
I just wish that Julian - who was using charcoal - had
- done a tonal sketch first to illustrate for himself the challenges he was likely to face
- started MUCH BIGGER and given himself some space to work - because the charcoal kept becoming all one tone.
(I was watching another heat - in Series 2 - yesterday, in which another charcoal artist participated - and won his heat. It's not the use of charcoal that's the problem, it's the choice of view and looking for the shifts in different tonal shapes and space and marks which can make charcoal drawings very exciting when done well)
TIPS: My tips are:
- do not start painting straight away!
- keep a lid on the adrenaline
- reduce the scope for nasty surprises which knock you off kilter
which for a lot of people means
- practice working plein air before your heat - and then you'll develop a better way of working with your chosen media
- practice using a sketchbook to work out initial ideas in terms of big tonal shapes and then refine and eliminate less sensible options
THERE IS A REASON I KEEP REPEATING THE SAME MESSAGES!
Speeding up - stay focused and keep on track
One got a sense that maybe some artists lost track of time or any plan they had - or never made one in the first place.
It's a really good idea to know what you can do in four hours - and also what you can't do. It makes such a difference to knowing:
- what size and shape of support to bring
- how long to spend on different aspects of a painting e.g.
- how much on sketching and planning a composition
- how much to break the back of the work that needs doing
- how much to allow for finessing the painting - where you really do not want too little time or too much
There are also lots of ways in which you can help yourself stay focused and keep on track.
Getting the support the right shape and size to start with is a really good place to start!
I've known artists write themselves checklists to get them through the stage of panic which happens because suddenly cameras are filming your every move....
TIP: The value of checklists
Artists' checklists can be all the standard stuff
- standard compositional devices and tricks for the very many design and composition "do this / don't do that"
- timelines for planning how to get through the day - and keeping you on track. Sometimes you need to speed up near the beginning rather than at the end of a session or a day because it's very easy to go to slow at the beginning as everything is so very new
- "good advice to yourself" eg Don't panic / keep going / you can do this variety
Decision Time
Below are:
- the wildcard winner
- the heat paintings
- the shortlisted artists and their submission and heat paintings
- the winner
PLUS references to past heats in this series and where you can see more of my reviews - and my tips!
The Wildcard Winner
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| The Wildcard winning painting by Lelia Kneeshaw |
When cropped down it's easier to see why this painting is the Wildcard Winner - as that large expanse of unused paper is distracting.
In fact I'd go so far as to say I'd be shortlisting her if she had been in a pod as she has caught the entire view and painted it in a way which seems to fit with the rugged nature of the landscape.
In fact I'd go so far as to say I'd be shortlisting her if she had been in a pod as she has caught the entire view and painted it in a way which seems to fit with the rugged nature of the landscape.
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| Crop of the Wildcard winning painting by Lelia Kneeshaw |
The Heat Paintings
I'm not quite sure what the photographer for this heat was doing photographing the heat paintings below paintings "contre jour" - so that they're all in shade and we can't see any of them properly!!
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| Can you see the heat paintings in this image? |
What we need is an image which shows them all together in good light. By this stage the pods are completely redundant - there's no need for them to even be in the picture!
I always look for whether a painting "reads" at a distance. It doesn't matter how small the image is, a painting which reads well, reads well at any size.
For that reason the drawing and print by Julian and Helen don't make the cut if I was one of the Judges. We've then got six very different interpretations of the landscape in front of them - and five of them opted to do the gouge in the hillside.
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| clockwise from top left: Kathy Sutherland, Barry Mitchell, Helen Campbell, Julian Court |
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| clockwise from top left: Thiago Santto, Sarah Stoker, Chris Cyprus, Sian Emmison |
The Shortlist
The shortlist selected from this week's artists were:
- Barry Mitchell
- Chris Cyprus
- Sarah Stoker
Interestingly they are all artists who live north of the quarry's location in North Wales and are all artists familiar with hills or mountains.
The father of one of the wildcards commented at one point, that they weren't used to very big hills in Norfolk but that his daughter was giving it a good go! One does feel for those people presented with a view if they've never seen anything remotely like it in real life in their live experience!
Below is my commentary on each of the shortlisted artists in turn.
Followed by observations in terms of what the Judges said.
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| Three northern artists: Barry Mitchell, Chris Cyprus and Sarah Stoker |
Barry Mitchell
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| Submission and heat painting by Barry Mitchell |
I thought Barry Mitchell got himself into this heat AND this shortlist based on his very impressive submission for the following reasons:
- it was large and beautifully painted by somebody who clearly has expertise in painting
- it was a very unusual composition - with a hut and pole placed bang in the middle
- it was a very odd choice of subject matter - but the Judges like "odd and quirky"
Clearly Barry had done his homework on what is likely to catch the eye and make them think.
His heat artwork was:
- ambitious - he did the whole scene and I think he was the only person who did - so "A" for effort
- He used acrylics to paint the scene and then added texture through the use of pastels on top which really added an extra dimension to the artwork. Proving that he is clearly adept at using various media.
However I actually found it quite boring - much as I found the overall view quite boring.
The Judges said...
- he captured the boisterousness of the landscape (first time I've heard a landscape called boisterous!)
- He's covered the whole sweep of the view in front of them
- It's very ambitious to attempt to tell the whole story
- his use of pastel to convey texture was very successful
Chris Cyprus
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| Submission and heat painting by Chris Cyprus |
Chris works with colour turned up to "full on". This is very evident in both paintings. His submission of back gardens behind terraced houses is very inconsequential and yet his use of colour makes it very attractive and you "notice" it. He doesn't do 'quiet' paintings.
The quarry wasn't a landscape he is used to although he's familiar with painting hills.
His heat painting
- tells the story of the crevice in the sense that you get a real sense of its size because of the trees at the bottom and the extent of grass in front.
- uses tones to make the most of the nature of how it looks. In the morning the lack of light made it look very flat, but he's caught it at the right time to get the proper sense of size and depth.
- for me the acid green of his trees was a tad OTT. It would have been nice to see more variation in his greens.
The Judges said about the heat painting:
- his painting conveys the impression that you could fall into the crevice
- He's given the crevice a "run-up" which gives a better sense of the 'top to bottom' in the context of the wider landscape
- His sheep are very simplified and are look like stepping stones
- it really reflects what the crevice actually looks like
His main accomplishment was that he actually got Tai to change his mind about the quarry. He started off saying it was ugly - but after seeing Chris's painting he was calling it a "pretty quarry", which he really likes a lot.
Sarah Stoker
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| Submission and heat painting by Sarah Stoker |
I really liked Sarah's submission which was very simple and very complex at the same time. One of those paintings where you want to keep on looking - in part, from my perspective, to work out how she did it!
It looks like a game of addition and subtraction using the right size and shape of brush.
I thought she did really well with her heat painting. It worked both from a distance and, a key marker of merit for me, got more interesting the close you got. That's because her work is absolutely chocka with beautiful markmaking.
More importantly, it's got real depth and a strong sense of the 3D aspects within it.
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| a section of Sarah's painting |
The Judges said...
- Tai said "the whole painting is just about texture"
- close up her markmaking is mesmerizing
Heat Winner
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| Sarah Stoker on hearing she had won the Heat! We all know that face.... |
I've been watching over the years, so to have been in a heat is just phenomenal. I can't believe it" SarahI thought it was really interesting that ALL the judges were very positive about her work without going OTT. Kathleen summed up at the end to the effect that
- Sarah is such an interesting character
- she creates these really magical fantastical spaces that are full of meaning and feeling
I think what's really exciting is when you find an artist who brings a different language to how you look at a landscape. I'm really excited to see what comes from her going forward.
I'm reading that as "we may well have found a series winner"
This is the official speeded up video of Sarah creating her artwork.
Postscript
DO NOT FORGET TO READ Sian Emmison's marvellous write up of her experience of Landscape Artist of the Year and being in a pod and being filmed.
Next Week
Next weeks' heat - the last in the series - sees the pods lined up at the edge of Bristol Harbourside. |
| Heat 6 Pods at Bristol Harbourside - in the rain |
Reference
Series 10: Episodes to date
- Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) - Hampton Court
- Review: Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) - Snowdon, Wales
- Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) - Clifton Suspension Bridge
- Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - St Pancras Basin
For all those interested in entering the series which will be
filmed this summer (during June/July) and broadcast in early 2026
- see my blog post about Call for Entries - Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 11). The deadline for submission is NOON on Friday 2nd May 2025 - and entries are ONLY accepted online.
You can read past reviews of the Landscape Series of the Year which
very many artists have said they have found helpful.
See my
Art on Television
Page which:
- lists ALL THE REVIEW I've published for series episodes broadcast between 2018 and 2024
- together with the topics / themes and TIPS I identified in each episode
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