Review: Episode 7 Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

You can relax - this is not like last week!

This episode of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 is a better one with a number vying for shortlisting - although uneven in their contributions of both self portrait and heat painting.

Judging the artwork in Episode 7

Episode 7: The Sitters

The sitters for Episode 7
(bottom left) Jack Dee; (top right) Jacob Collier (bottom right) Fatiha El-Chorri

The three sitters in Episode 7 are as follows:

• Jack Dee - an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He's now rated as a comedy legend. He brought his radio - obviously still a dedicated analogue man!
• Fatiha El-Chorri (b.1981) - a British comedian and write who was born in Hackney. Currently a rising star on the comedy circuit and television presenter on Channel $'s Taskmaster and Sky "Mr Big Stuff". She bought a family plate she was given when she got married.
• Jacob Collier (b.1994) - an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. He is known for his energetic live performances. He has won 7 Grammys and has 15 Grammy nominations. He brought three instruments with him.

I must confess I'd never ever heard of the two younger ones - but maybe I'm showing my age!

Episode 7: The Artists

The artists participating in Episode 7 of PAOTY 2025

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists. As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

• Sarah-Lee Bailey (Facebook | Instagram) - from County Durham. She produced her first ever portrait to apply for the competition. It depicts her asleep with her new baby daughter, a doll and the family cat - all snoozing away!
• Hannah Broadhead (Instagram) - a professional artist who took part on PAOTY 2023 (painting Shirley Ballas). She graduated in 2007 from Staffordshire University and won her first art prize in 2017 (People’s Choice award Lichfield Art Prize). Her artwork was selected for the Royal institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition in 2025. Her practice explores observation and narrative. Her self portrait was a complex one of a full size self sat on the floor with her easel and art materials. 

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A post shared by Hannah Broadhead (@hannahbroadheadart)

• Joe Capps (Instagram) - a Literature graduate and practising screenwriter. His formal study stopped at A-Level and he is self-taught after that. His route to becoming a freelance artist has been defined by media exploration and stylistic refinement, culminating in a 2019 solo show, Atlas, in Kendal. He now lives in Edinburgh, where he enjoys engaging with local art groups and attending life-drawing sessions.
• James Isaacs (Instagram) - a designer and artist living in North London with his wife. Painting has always been a part of his life. During Covid he pursued portraiture and painted friends via webcam. When he's not being an artist, he's a multi award-winning designer and art director with 15 years industry experience currently working for on  internationally focused content and data driven music media.
• Hamley Jenkins (Instagram) - She is passionate about drawing and music and works as a live sketch artist in jazz clubs. In 2018 she began a residency at Jazz Live at the Crypt in Camberwell - and never really stopped!. She graduated from Bath College with a BA (Hons) in Design and Illustration in 1993. Her large self portrait was painted in just 4 hours.
• Bernie Liumako (Instagram) - a fine artist originally from Tanzania, now living with his young family in Llangollen in Wales (and somebody teach Stephen Mangan how to saw words which are Welsh! I cringed every time he said 'langollun')
• Nasreen Nazir (Instagram) - she works as a civil servant in London. She completed her self portrait using W&N Promarkers.
• Vincent Stokes (Instagram) - b. 1996 in Walsall in the West Midlands. He completed his BA in Fine Art (1st Class) from Birmingham School of Art (2014-2017); BCU in 2017, and achieved his Masters in Fine Art (Distinction) in 2018. He's a regular exhibitor in and around the West Midlanda, botably with the RBSA. He works on themes for a series of drawings - with many related to his personal life. I RECOMMEND you take a look at his instagram account!
• Millie Wilkins (Instagram) - An artist, illustrator and studio technician who has travelled and is now based in Cornwall. She did a 3D Design BA(Hons), Falmouth University and various short courses on portraiture and drawing for a graphic novel. She aspires to illustrate books and is working on some children's book submissions, represented by Gill McLay at Bath Literary Agency.

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Episode 7: Self-Portrait Submissions 

Judges viewing the Self Portrait Wall

As always I analyse the self portraits. This week we had some larger examples - three of them. Plus more use of the landscape / envelope format for a portrait - which is not usual.

I thought, unlike in other weeks, we had a number of strong self portraits this week.  From people who had actually thought about to make their best bid for shortlisting.

Six had hands - please take note!

FORMAT - various formats used

• Portrait format x 4
• Square x 3
• Landscape x 2

SIZE: (this is size by my eye / "you know when you see it") - a split between larger and smaller

• Large x 3
• Medium x 1
• Small/medium x2
• Small x 3

SCOPE - 6 were from the waist up - with hands!

• full size or most of body (including hand) x 2
• head, upper torso and hand(s) x 4
• head and shoulders x 1
• head x 2

Episode 7: Themes 

As always, when I watch the programme (which is typically at least twice and sometimes three times), I try to identify themes which are either:

• recurrent golden oldies - ones you really need to get to grips with if you want to participate in a future programme
• ones unique to this particular episode
• matters relevant to portraiture or being an artist

Have the self portraits been organised by theme?

It seems to me that the range of self portraits on display in this series don't tend to demonstrate the variety that I've seen in the past eg the week when all the SPs were smallish head studies

I'm beginning to wonder whether this year, they have attempted to put people into heats based on the nature of their self portraits

This week's selection includes artists being portrayed 

• as they like to relax (or sleep)
• in relation to their art materials

The importance of empty space - and how to fill it

Portraits are not just about getting the faces right Nasreen Nazir

Designing portraits is essentially about playing with how figures can speak to us and tell us more when given space to breathe.

One artist (Nasreen Nazir) commented on how she was "forever getting faces right" - and was left feeling that this was NOT interesting enough as a challenge any more. So she now tries to portray the whole person. However there is the question of how to do this. The aspiration is great - but it does mean you do need to learn more about how design and composition works (see yesterday's post The 10 Most popular posts in the first million visits (Part 1) which covers my posts about the Principles and Elements of Design)

Some artists create compositions which deliberately leave empty space. As one artist put it, he set the profiled head to one side of a letterbox shape canvas so as to leave space for the thoughts as the sitter looks into the distance.

Some artists try to fill ALL the space. 

• mainly if they are trying to paint more of the sitter in the heat - to raise their game (when they could paint more of themselves beforehand - to demonstrate their expertise!) - and then end up with a very crowded support - as one sitter did in this heat.
• how you respond to this approach might depend on how much personal space you need. For example, I can't cope with overcrowded portraits and don't want to look at them - unless they are extremely well designed so my eye follows a path through the and gets rest spaces en route.

Big Portraits

Tackling a big portrait links to the importance of empty space (last point) and training for the heat (next point).

As one artist said - and I think of this as a sign of poor planning

"You never really finish a painting, you just run out of time"

If a painter does not finish painting on a big support, is this due to:

• lack of discipline and planning?
• poor time management?
• endless perfectionism?

It's NOT OK to indulge in any of these in one of these heats. Or you might but you'd regret being silly afterwards

Sprint training before a marathon

In the interviews with the artists at the beginning, a number of artists expressed concern about being able to paint a portrait in the four hours. Mainly because the time allowed was a lot less than it normally takes them to paint a portrait.

However, there no indication from most of them that had practiced to paint in four hours.

By way of contrast, James Isaacs said he had been doing lots of practising ("as I'm sure everyone has" - he'd be wrong!) and likened it to "sprint training before a marathon"

VERY BIG TIP: Do not wonder. Do not worry. Try painting in four hours - after allowing for rests for the sitter - and see whether you can paint a portrait in that time. You might then want to review:

• whether you draw with a pencil or brush
• how long you spend on the drawing in
• how you apply yourself to developing tone and colour
• what size and sort of format to use
• how to apply your media so that it looks good at the end
• what sort of self portrait to submit to cover any issues you have discovered are difficult to tackle when practising to paint in four hours!!
• get people to look at your practice efforts and try and find somebody who knows about art and portraits to crit them
• repeat "trying to paint a portrait in 4 hours" until you have the confidence you can do it!

Mapping tone and colour

It's interesting to watch the very different ways in which artists tackle mapping out:

• the head and features
• the map of different tonal values.
• the map of different colours - which relate to light and shade as well as the natural hues of the sitter's skin and clothing

Tonal and/or colour maps are just a start. It's what comes next which is important.

Likeness: Finding and Losing the Face and..... 

the importance of "the tweak"

There were a number of references in the heat to losing and finding the face.

It can be observed that approaches to portraiture can do this:

• some build slowly over time - and the likeness comes towards the end
• some have great drawings of an individual - which they then go on to ruin when they apply paint. They maybe need to learn how to draw using paint.
• Some start off quite innocuous and don't look like they're going to come to anything and then suddenly they look really great! 

In relation the above, artists need to focus on the importance of the tweak!

Getting features marginally wrong can make a very big difference to how somebody looks. A couple of artists commented on how making just a very small adjustment can suddenly make the sitter appear when they thought they'd completely lost the likeness.

The use of Illustration Markers for Portraits

A colour chart using W&N Promarkers - by Nasreen Nazir

Artists sometimes surprise us with the art media they use for their artworks.

You don't need to mix paint to create colours.

This week Nasreen Nazir used her range of Graphic Promarkers (by Winsor & Newton - which even got a namecheck in the programme!) for both her self portrait and her heat portrait. I really liked her colour palette sheet - and her attempt to sort out colours into two dimensions

• Warm and Cool
• Bright and Muted

However, I was left feeling that I wished she'd sent herself on a course for how best to use them

• because they have great potential for effective use of colour - if you know how to use them to best effect
• but whether trying to fill all the space on your sheet of paper is the best use of them is very doubtful. 

For me the major issue concerned how to make marks on the paper. It simply does NOT need to be a very blocky mark.

There's also the issue of making selective choices as to which colours to highlight and which to knock back. Plus of course you never ever have to use the colour on the background walls if it simply does not work

The big discussion about "Illustration"

Strictly speaking, the discussion of illustration cropped up throughout this episode. In part because they had two people who habitually produce illustrations.

However it's important to understand the Judge's perspective. I got a very strong impression that some of the 'discussions" has been discussed off screen and then carefully introduced into filmed portions of the day/programme.

Kate opined 

when illustration is in the service of something else it's illustration

Somebody else (Tai?) said

Is illustration functional, is that why you't think of it as fine art?

Kathleen Soriano recognised that his particular type of drawing sat within the fine art tradition.

To my mind, the issue in this episode was the Judges got totally hung up on the issue of illustration - and where it sits in relation to fine art - and totally forgot about DRAWING as just one aspect of Fine Art!

One might speculate whether maybe one one judge kept saying "contemporary" while the others kept reminding her of the value of art which aligns more with "tradition".

I'd have loved to hear all the unedited conversations!

See my comments about the winner at the end.

Episode 7: The Portraits and the Judging

This is my composite of the composites so that you can compare the faces of the sitters with the portraits of the sitters

PAOTY Episode 7: The Sitters and their Portraits

The composite of composites - matched with the sitters faces

Makes it easier to see who caught a likeness and who didn't.

You can see them in more detail below.

Who the sitters chose

Below you can see all the portraits grouped according to the sitter - which I think are the most useful photos provided by Sky Arts. Put them together and those who need to be shortlisted shout out!

Heat Portraits of Jack Dee by: (bottom left) James Isaacs;
(top right) Sarah-Lee Bailey; (bottom right) Bernie Liu Macko

Jack Dee chose the portrait by James Isaacs (bottom left) - because he liked both the composition and the way it had been painted.

I really liked the portrait by James Isaacs - which was the best likeness of this grumpy looking comedian - and I thought he had a very good chance of being in the shortlist.  I think the problem was that his one-brush stroke application of various complexion colours was just a bit too slabby for the Judges.  What you can't see with the crop provided is the way his portrait sits to the left of en envelope/landscape format support "which left space for his thoughts" according to James - which I thought a very smart move.  Jack Dee apparently thought so too. The Judges thought James was very successful in his use of the letterbox/landscape format.

Top and bottom right looked like a bit too much like two sides of a meeting between Union officials and Politicians for me!

Heat Portraits of Fatiha El-Chorri by: (top) Vincent Stokes;
(bottom left) Hannah Brodahead; (Bottom right) Millie Wilkins

Fatiha chose the drawing by Vincent Stokes and said "You're a magician, boy!" and was particularly impressed that it was created just through line and shading. Her eyes literally "lit up" when she saw it. I loved her trainers which peeked out at the bottom - which to me  grounded her as a contemporary comedian from Hackney.

His drawing - which you can see below - is seriously cropped in the image above (because Vincent drew her from the top of head to her trainers - and with her plate) whereas the other two portraits are show in full - so casual viewers might be confused.

I thought painting anybody in a Hajib is difficult enough for a portrait painter as you can cannot see their body or how they sit properly. I thought this group of painters were at a serious disadvantage in that respect. 

Two of these portraits made it to the Final.

Heat Portraits of Jacob Collier by: (top left) Nasreen Nazir
(top right) Joe Capps; (bottom) Hamley Jenkins

Jacob chose the bottom portrait by Hamley which, in reality, included all his instruments and had his hands moving across them. 

I think the number of instruments produced overwhelmed those artists who wanted to paint him with his creative tools. Tai certainly thought the size that Hamley was working at was courageous given the time constraints - which is another way of explaining that the portrait was unfinished. I surmised she'd not practiced working at this size and within the heat's four hours for painting.

Nasreen spent a lot of time using the promarkers in ways which don't suit them eg. they're not for filling in backgrounds

None of these paintings made it to the Final - although I personally thought Joe's portrait of Jacob's head (minus the instruments) was good and the Judges also liked Joe's portrait from which I surmise his self portrait let him down. They were presented with just two heads. 

The Shortlist

The shortlisted artists were

• Milly Wilkins
• Bernie Liu Macko
• Vincent Stokes

These are their paintings - the self portrait and heat painting - shown all together. 

Artworks of the artists shortlisted in this Heat

All the shortlisted artists' artwork was small to small medium. 

I was left wondering which were the two which they agreed on early and which was the third who was chosen from a pool of "the rest". 

I was surprised the shortlisted artists did not include James Isaacs.

Interestingly two of the artists in the shortlist painted from life in their heat. These were Millie and Bernie.

It's always nice to feel that direct connection between the eye and the hand.

One of the Judges and I think it was Kathleen

Millie Wikins

Self portrait and portrait of Fatifa El Chorri by Millie Wilkins

For some reason, there was no close up pic of Millie's self portrait and heat painting together. This cropped pic is from the view of all the shortlisted artists's artwork (above).

Self Portrait of Millie Wikins - upper torso and head - with hands and context!

I think Millie made it through on the strength of her self-portrait which is very much as you might expect a commissioned portrait to look.

I thought her self portrait was excellent - and totally endorse Tai's comments about her awareness of shafts of light.  However I was surprised to find it was so small. I think if she'd made it larger we may have seen a different outcome.

For some reason these Judges seem to have an aversion to book illustrators (along the lines of illustrators aren't artists?). However I guess such a prejudice can only be reinforced by the size which book illustrators tend to paint at. If you don't want to undermine your chances, I'd highly recommend painting a larger self portrait.

The Judges very much liked her approach to painting Fatifa - however they wished that she'd achieved a better likeness - and I agree.

Bernie Liu Macko

Self portrait and portrait of Jack Dee by Berbie Liu Macko

For a long time, I felt Bernie was painting a rather smart Conservative politician. As a painting of "a person" I liked it. As a portrait of Jack Dee I liked it less. It didn't have the ever so slightly grizzled, stubbled feel of Jack Dee. He was just far too smart.

I can entirely see why the Judges initially chose Bernie for the heat - based on his self portrait which definitely employed techniques from traditonal portrait painting.

The Judges considered that Bernie's portraits had an old masterly feel to them - with a modern twist.

Interestingly neither portrait showed hands.

Vincent Stokes

Self portrait and portrait of Fatiha El-Chorri by Vincent Stokes

The Judges thought Vincent's drawing provided a wonderful likeness.

They considered his self portrait submission as very complex and finished - so he had to find a new language for drawing his subject within the time limitations.

Tai is very clear that his heat drawing is in no way "slight" and that Vincent demonstrated that he really understood the elements of his drawing which are important.

PAOTY 2025: Episode 7 Winner

The three shortlisted artists waiting to hear
(LtoR) Bernie Lie Macko, Vincent Stokes and Millie Wilkins

The winner showed restraint in a delightful portrait

The winner was Vincent Stokes, I was ecstatic!  I thought Tai summed it up really well

Vincent is our winner today because he produced one of the most exquisite drawings I've seen in a long time. To be able to give us a believable body, a believable likeness with the really important elements of the pose of today with this tiny thin hair width line is extraordinary - it's magical. Tai Shan Shierenberg

Here's a bigger version of the drawing he produced in the Heat.

Portrait of Fatiha El-Chorri by Vincent Stokes

In my view Vincent Stokes is a descendent of a rich history of drawing within both traditional and 20th century fine art in the UK. He shows us the same kind of concepts and drawings skills as those used by master draughtsmen of the past.

• he draws like Holbein - with an immaculate single line for the outline of the critical shapes
• he draws like Hogarth. His Instagram reveals he appears to be influenced by Hogarth in terms of producing series of drawings on a topic and packing them full of impeccably drawn people as well as interest and narrative.  
• he draws like Sir Stanley Spencer - in the sense of being able to handle people in domestic situations and the complex nature of family life.  Albeit Spencer raised his game when he isolated his head for a self-portrait and switched to using silverpoint (one of the very best self portraits I have ever seen - which I've been trying to track down and view again for years!)

His artwork tells a story but in the service of his ideas and not in a functional way to illustrate other people's ideas. It's exactly what both Hogarth and Spencer did with their artwork.

I predict this artist will be in the Final. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if he won. This is the most original contemporary art steeped in art history that we've seen in this series.

I just need him to emulate Spencer further and switch to Silverpoint for his drawings!

Next Episode

Announcement of sitters for Episode 8 on Sky website

The three celebrity sitters for Episode 8 next week are:

• comedian and writer Jack Rooke, 
• ballet dancer Reece Clarke, and 
• astronaut Tim Peake.

Reference: Previous posts about Portrait Artist of the Year

Series 12:

Start date for Portrait Artist of the Year Series 12
Review: Episode 1 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)
Review: Episode 2 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)
Review: Episode 3 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)
Review: Episode 4 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)
Review: Episode 5 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12) - after the accidental deletion!
Review: Episode 6 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

Past Series

• PAOTY section on my Art on Television page

Website: Sky Arts Artist of the Year