This is my review of Episode 3 of Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2026) aka known as LAOTY
- At the bottom of this post you find links to previous episodes in Series 11.
- Plus you can find all my reviews of previous LAOTY Series from Series 4 (2018) onwards which ALL have lots of tips on my Art on Television page.
Episode 3: Dover Ferry Port
Tai commented towards the end of the episode
It became an interesting exercise to see how an artist who is not used this kind of landscape would adapt.
Location and Weather
Artists enjoyed another good day, but maybe rather more breezy and with lots of sea air this week. The pods were perched right at the top of the white cliffs of Dover - overlooking Dover Ferry Port - with the wildcard artists further down the cliff - right next to the edge.....
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| Pods above Dover Ferry Port The little dots to their right are the wildcards further down the slope |
Given the commission is a mountain, I'm left wondering whether the original idea was to be down at sea level - maybe in the harbour somewhere - painting the white cliffs of Dover.
But that message got garbled somehow......??
Apparently though a main aim of the programme is to explore the stories and heritage behind some of the most recognisable locations in the UK.
There was me thinking that was an "add on" not the reason behind the programme!
The episode sees artists capturing the iconic landscape of the Port of Dover, one of the UK’s most historic and strategically important gateways. The programme celebrates landscape painting while exploring the stories and heritage behind some of Britain’s most recognisable locations.Incidentally, the port of Dover sees 2 MILLION trucks go therough annually through what is the main connection between the UK and Europe.
The Artists in the Pods
- 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 - but typically only one
Before you yelp and screech about who gets shortlisted, I recommend you take a VERY CLOSE LOOK at the profiles below - because
- I provide a lot more info than the programme does and
- I know the credentials which make a Judge sit up and pay attention.
- Maybe it's not just down to the paintings...??
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| the artists after they finished painting |
- Charmaine Alexander (Instagram) - an artist and retired photographer from Epping Forest. She aims to create expressive landscapes using distinctive mark-making and patterns. She uses strong, defining lines. These “mass lines” are used to connect areas of visual mass, such as clouds, shadows, and reflections; directing the viewers gaze through the composition reinforcing elements such as motion, or silence.Her work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and also at her recent solo exhibition “On The Edge” in Hertfordshire.
- Prasad Beaven (Instagram) - Prasad Beaven is a visual artist whose practice explores inner and outer landscapes through spiritual and intuitive processes. A graduate of the Kings’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts (MA, 2021) and the University of Brighton (BA Illustration, 2017), he has recently been elected as a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour. He has exhibited internationally, including a solo presentation at the Saatchi Gallery and he is the recipient of the Ciclitira Prize (2021), presented by HRH King Charles III. He works primarily in water-based media, combining ink marbling with drawing and painting. His artwork develops through a slow, meditative process of layering light washes of ink and allowing the image to take shape gradually. He spent six years of his childhood in northern India, in the foothills of the Himalayas which informs his meditative approach to art.
- He has taught a number of watercolour landscape courses at The King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts in Shoreditch. eg last November he taught a "Landscape Painting in Watercolour: Turner, Cotman, Seago and Beyond" course.
- Next month he's also teaching a course on Ink Landscapes: Discovering Form Through Chance (16 – 20 February 2026).
- Alison Clarke (Instagram) - A semi-abstract landscape painter based in Wimbledon. She comes from an artistic background, all her life she has been involved in various forms of art expression. She moved to Canterbury to study Fine Art and then spent many years working in photography. She returned to painting in 2019 and likes painting in large gestural strokes and also painting skies. She has had paintings shortlisted for shortlisted for both the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Royal West of England Academy Autumn Exhibition. She has a page on her website about her experience LAOTY.
"painting outside in the sunshine sounds like a holiday to me!"
- Chris Odgers (Instagram) - a UK based artist and an urban designer with over 20 years of experience in master planning, regeneration and design strategies. He has exhibited with the Royal Society of Marine Artists in 2024 and 2025. His aim is to portray light, weather, and place through bold brushwork and atmospheric colour.
- Pauline Patrick (Instagram) - A Glasgow School of Art graduate with postgraduate and doctoral studies in art. Pauline lives in Pittenweem, a fishing village on the east coast of Fife. She is a contemporary still life and landscape painter, influenced by the Scottish Colourist tradition, whose work balances realism and abstraction and is typically painted in oils on linen. She also exhibits at the Pittenweem Arts Festival and with Scotland Art, a leading contemporary art gallery in the centre of Glasgow.
- Katie Sims (Instagram) - a nature lover and artist from Taunton in Somerset. She has been collaborating with The Thousand Year Trust (TYT), based at Cabilla Woods on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall and creating artwork to raise awareness of the temperate rain forests in the UK.
I had the most incredible experience taking part. From the nerves to the joy, the creativity and the community — it’s a day I’ll never forget.
- Carmen Tsui (Instagram) - a former banker from Hong Kong who now lives in Hindhead in Surrey.
- Steve Vanstone (Instagram) - a professional artist, working both plein air and in the studion and based in Stroud in Gloucestershire.
NOTE: Three artists in this heat do not have a live website.
Dear Artists - if you want a nice profile from me, I need to be able to find a website which tells me about you!
The Wildcard Artists
The wildcards were further down the slope and very near the edge of the cliff. Beyond the fence is a massive vertical drop. You could NOT have persuaded me to paint in an area like this as I tend to have a habit of falling over on natural ground with a very distinct slope!
I'm guessing this was maybe too much for some wildcards because there seemed to be rather fewer than usual. Or maybe the rest opted out of the "pick a best wildcard" competition and opted to stay feeling safer further back and up the slope.
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| Wildcards at the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover |
Submissions
Looked at held in the hand of the individual lacks scale as to the height of that individual!
The distribuition of the size of submissions for this heat was very interesting. Most were medium /large to very large in size. They included
- Very Large x 2 (Charmain Alexander, Alison Clarke)
- Medium Large x 4 (Prasad Beaven, Carmen Tsui, Katie Pitts, Steve Vanstone)
- Medium x 0
- Small x 2 (Chris Odgers, Pauline Patrick)
Which rather suggests that the choice of artists selected for this heat was influenced by the size of their submission (i.e. prove you can paint big!)
Submissions which impressed me included those by:
- size and content - Charmain Alexander (which you can see in her instagram post above) - which I thought was the most impressive of the lot
- colour and complexity - Katie Pitts
It was interesting to see who continue to paint on a large format in the heat.
Episode 3: Themes & Learning Points
Every week, in my review, I highlight what I observed as being some of the themes arising from the location, the day and the nature of the artists in this week's episode.
MAJOR WHINGE #1: VERY POOR PICS OF THE PAINTINGS
This competition is supposed to be based on an assessment of the submission painting and the heat painting. I also assume they take the bio detail and application form into account.
However, the viewers of this programme NEVER EVER get to see the submission paintings and the heat painting - for each artist - next to one another and in clear view - apart from for the shortlist i.e. AFTER the Judges have decided who are the best three.
To my mind, when compared to other "competition" type programmes, this is a major fail.
Check out the details of what the viewers see
- The only time we see submissions properly for more than a few seconds in the programme is in the Artist of the Year Instagram photos of the artists which the LAOTY team produce
- EXCEPT we now get a video and we're getting a vertical smartphone view - which means it chops off quite a lot of the image of the painting if wide or large out of the picture
- WHY can't the submission paintings for Instagram be done in the exact same way as the heat paintings - as a static pic with proper room to show it properly?
- EXCEPT this week the photos of the heat paintings are complete GARBAGE! Both the tone and the colouration are completely off! I've rarely seen anything quite so bad supposedly representing people's artwork.
When they change how they work later this year, let's hope they get a photographer who know how to take images properly - with a full size view of each submission and each heat painting - with correct tonal values and colouration.
Is it too much to ask that we also get to see both submission and heat painting together - with the artist?
NOTE: For photographers who don't know how to take photographs of artwork on sunny days - check out the CASE STUDY & TIPS for photographing outside on my advice page about How to photograph art for artists (on my Art Business Info for Artists website)
The Four Most Important Lines
The view this week was monumental, wide and flat. The trick was to find a portion of it which resonated with the artist and made an interesting painting. Not an easy task and often not a quick one with this sort of challenge.
The challenge this week:
- Very large subjects with big shapes are always really awkward - where do they start and where do they finish? You need to find a way to
- convey size - without painting all of it.
- choose part of it, rather than painting the whole
- The view also included the horizon line between sea and sky - and where you put this in a painting, relative to other shapes, really matters
- Artists also need to look for positive and negative shapes - and how to frame and balance these within the four lines they choose
- Artists also need to think about balance and tensions and how thinking about the golden ratio and thirds and sweet spots can help refine a composition (see my posts Composition - thinking in threes and Composition and Design - finding and creating a focal point)
Use of photographs
Photos are really useful way to work out:- how to crop in order to define the "right" set of four lines
- which format works best if you have options from the supports you have brought with you.
- where best to place the thirds lines built into your camera/smartphone
A camera / smartphone is very useful when it comes to choosing from alternative and specific formats and giving it four lines around it and sweet spots within it. You can also take lots and try different crops and compare what they look like.
Use of sketchbooks
You can achieve the same thing using a framing aid and a sketchbook.
HOWEVER the format of the sketchbook page can end up aid distortion of what you record about what you actually see.
i.e. you draw to fit the page rather than work out the format first and then draw.
TIP: Start a sketchbook "thumbnail" as follows
- decide on the right format (aspect ratio)
- find the edges and draw them in to create the "frame"
- lightly draw in lines which divide the height and width into thirds
- only then start to sketch
Bottom line - do NOT make any decisions until you've done a lot of looking and then tried out different options as thumbnails.
The value of zones - background, middle ground and foreground
A lot of artists who don't paint plein air regularly tend not think in zones. One of the reasons why their paintings can sometimes look very flat. I have to say, I found some of the heat paintings lacked differentiation between the zones - which made them difficult to read.
Clear zones identified from the outset - and then painted differently - create depth.
- the background should be affected by atmospheric perspective - and that was certainly the case with this view. There was a clear distinction between those painting one and those who didn't recognise one.
- the middle ground is often larger and contain the area of main interest
- the foreground is the entry point into a picture where objects are larger and more vibrant and typically associated with the most defined points/areas of contrast. It also needs to avoid
- presenting a barrier rather than an entry
- looking like a fringe along the bottom (that one was drilled into me after a pastel painting with a very pronounced fringe along the bottom in Italy)
- or artificially constructed
TIP: Work out your zones in your sketchbook - and be clear in your head and on your support where they are
Do not forget the sky!
There's always lots of "scape" in a sky. You just need to watch it. There are often clouds - and clouds do have defined formations. Also a clear blue sky often changes in colour near the horizon
Do also be aware that skies over sea behave differently to skies over land. So if you are only used to painting skies over land, you need to study the sky closely before making any assumptions about what it and/or the clouds might do (and vice versa)
The behavior of the atmosphere (sky) differs significantly over sea versus land, primarily driven by the differences in heat capacity, surface roughness, and moisture availability. Generally, the air over the sea is more stable and smoother, while the air over land is more turbulent and prone to convective activity.
TIP: Practice painting skies - and if you get a location which is "not you usual" find the nearest equivalent and go and practice
Nature versus lots and lots of steel and concrete
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| The view of Dover Ferry port - and some of the vegetation |
In part, this was one of the objectives with this heat. To see how artists responded to what they saw right in front of them - and what they could see.
I found it absolutely fascinating how a number of the painters started trying to work out how to incorporate nature - and how much vegetation and nature they got into their paintings
Bravo to Katie Sims who just turned sideways and looked at the distant view of the white cliffs of Dover and more vegetation. There's a teeny bit of road into the dock in her painting - but the rest is a painting of Dover. I did wonder if this all depended on which pod she was in. Obviously, those in the end pods had a better chance of doing this.
TIP: If you ever get invited to participate AND get an End Pod, do not forget to look around at all the opportunities you have from a wider perspective.
Time Management: Procrastination & the problem of putting things off VS "Doing Too Much"
By the end, I thought I was looking at
- some paintings which looked overworked and as if the artist did not know when to stop - and just kept going until Steven called time
- some paintings which didn't look finished (ie final darks and lights were missing)
- other paintings which surely did not need four hours to paint
TIP: The only way to master painting in four hours is to do lots of practice painting in 3.5 hours!
PRACTICAL MATTERS - on slopes and in wind and sunshine
It was interesting to see the various strategies adopted by the wildcards - many of whom seemed to be old hands at slopes and wind - and many of whom did not!
1) Working on an angled slope
This is one for the wildcards - and all those who don't lug a pod around when they want to do a spot of plein air painting.
- Keep "stuff" in containers - or watch it start rolling faster than you can get up....
- think about the very practical matters like standing or sitting and working at an easel
2) Plein air kit in wind
If there's a strong breeze or the scope for there to be gusts which come along periodically, you need weights for your easel - or else it will just keep falling over.
If you are going to be painting near the sea, I can almost guarantee you will experience more wind than when painting inland.
One thing to consider at the outset is whether you want to work
- standing
- or sitting on a chair
- or sitting on the ground. There's a lot of people who end up on a ground sheet on the ground - just because the artwork has less space to fall / take off / roll away / whatever.
3) Working in sunshine
Sunshine is nice - but you may not think so after a few hours if it's in your eyes all the time or sizzling your skin or making your paint "very odd". Beware also sunshine and wind next to the sea - where the wind cools and you have no idea how red you are going to be come the evening!
From a practical materials perspective, your paint will not work the same as in a studio. If you're an experienced plein air artist you will already know this (see Episode 2 also). If you've not got any experience of this you are in for a BIG shock!
From a "personal practical protection" and "ability to see perspective", the usual recommendations apply
- use protective suncream or you will regret it
- protect arms and back of neck with a long sleeved shirt with a collar. I used to carry one with me all the time in my backpack in summer. It makes a lot of difference to comfort when you need one.
- shade your eyes - a big brim on a visor or hat (see Umbrella Hat below)
- use sunglasses if looking into the sun. Apart from anything else, they're great for seeing the map of tonal values more clearly (but not as good as a sheet of red acetate!)
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| Somebody please tell me the best place where you can get an Umbrella Hat - good for rain and sun! |
Decision Time
The Wildcard Winner
The Wildcard winner was Deborah Frank (Instagram) from Epping Forest. Currently completing a BA in contemporary portraiture at The Art Academy London, where she won the Miriam Waterman Scholarship. She works primarily in oils and she has exhibited with the ROI.
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| Wildcard Winner: Deborah Frank |
The Heat Paintings
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| Heat Paintings in LAOTY Episode 3 |
This photograph is PATHETIC!
These are the heat paintings. Can you see them? Because I certainly can't.
WE CANNOT SEE THE PAINTINGS PROPERLY!!! because:
- When you take a photograph towards the end of the day as the light wanes - and yet keep a lot of "sky light" in the photograph and place the painting in front of the source of the light - your subject matter will become subdued and gray.
- When you take a photograph of the artwork in the pods then they get an awful lot smaller in size.
I was completely unaware of the major discrepancy in sizes in relation to some paintings.
This sort of visual is really is not good enough. Just find an area where we can see the colour and not all the contextual factors which make the paintings difficult to see
All I can see is that
- the two artists who produced very large submissions have continued to err towards the large side (i.e. 1 and 6 above)
- There are six smallish paintings (ie the rest) which are not untypical of the size people often choose to paint when painting plein air.
It would have been nicer to see more medium / large medium paintings.
TIP: One of the things I found surprising when working plein air is that it was was actually much easier to work large than it was to work small. It all boils down to whether you have the kit to then transport the work home! Mind you I worked in pastels and used an A1 size plastic bad and two sheets of foam core front and back.
The shortlist comprised the following artists
This was a bit of a surprise!
I'd been listening carefully to everything the Judges said and I knew I wasn't going to be surprised to find him shortlisted.
This covers:
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:
The Shortlist
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| Heat 3: The artists waiting to hear who has been shortlisted |
We now move to the announcement of the shortlist and the artists line up....
The shortlist comprised the following artists
- Katie Sims
- Prasad Beaven
- Pauline Patrick
What is very surprising is there is very little dock and absolutely no boats in any of the paintings.
Katie Sims
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| Submission and heat painting by Katie Simms |
I was surprised when I saw this at how small the heat painting was. It looks small in relation to the easel (i.e. most people paint bigger) and particularly small next to her submission.
So why did she get selected:
- she completed a large and impressive submission of something unusual (i.e. there are not that many temperate rainforests in the UK!)
- she rejected the view in front of her and looked off to her right and found she could see the white cliffs of Dover. I think she was entirely right - they give a strong sense of place and are much nicer to look at than variations on blocks of concreate in different shapes and sizes
- her painting is colourful. She uses luminescent paints - and these help make a painting zing! However there is the question of making sure they don't zing too much. She got them under control in both paintings
Prasad Beaven
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| Submission and heat painting by Prasad Beaven |
I wasn't a fan of his submission - there again, I'm not a fan of fantasy landscapes. However Kathleen appears to have been a fan.
I do find it VERY ODD that he submitted a religious fantasy painting for an art competition which had a sacred religious mountain in Ireland as the landscape to be painted for the commission. I'll leave it at that for the time being.....
If he won the whole series, would I be surprised? Perhaps not.
However I must confess I liked his heat painting better. He is one of few who painted
- the sea and the sky and the horizon properly
- who has got atmospheric perspective employed in relation to the distant cliffs - which Tai enthused about
- his middle ground contains vegetation which is associated with the area - although how he saw this is anybody's guess.
Pauline Patrick
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| Submission and heat painting by Pauline Patrick |
Why are these two easels so far apart?
Does somebody not understand the purpose of putting the two paintings side by side?
Pauline Patrick has a particular way of painting which is based on very simple shapes and attention to colour in a way while not essentially realistic is used in a way which creates a visually attractive painting for various reasons.
It's a style I'm familiar with but I must confess I prefer the Scottish Colourists proper.
Kathleen enthused about her style.
- She called her submission "sublimely drafted".
- She commented on how Pauline had abstracted and tuned out all the noise and the detail and focused on a few elements and shapes
I quite liked the paintings - in the sense that I can understand how their simplicity might make a room full of her paintings might look impressive.
However, she's not going to paint big enough for a commission - or she would have made the effort with her submission.
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Heat 3 Winner
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| The shortlisted artists waiting to hear who has won (left to right) Prasad Beaven, Pauline Patrick and Katie Sims |
The heat three winner was Prasad Beaven.
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| Pauline Beaven clapping Prasad Beaven |
This was a bit of a surprise!
I'm beginning to wonder if the editing has the missing link which gets us from the assessment by the Judges - which is typically longer than what we hear - to the film of the heat and the sound used and edited in.
On reflection, I'm thinking that they decided he was the person who was most likely to be adept at demonstrating that he can adapt to a place and get a good sense of place which remaining true to his artistic practice in terms of the use of marbling.
Next week, the artists are back in the Lake District to paint Skiddaw which lies just north of Keswick. The 931-metre (3,054 ft) summit is traditionally considered to be the fourth-highest peak and the sixth highest in the UK.
Next Week
This is PROPER LANDSCAPE!
For anybody wanting to look at what the Lakes have to offer in terms of landscape, I can recommend you read my post about Alfred Heaton Cooper and The English Lakes. His paintings are quite a revelation!
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| Another sunny day for the Pods and Skiddaw in the Lake District |
So another great practice / tryout for painting the Irish Mountain for the commission!
Reference
- Series 11 reviews
- Entering Landscape Artist of the Year Series 12 in 2027
- Past Series reviews - which you're recommended to read if you want to enter - LOTS OF TIPS
Series 11
- Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026)
- Review: Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - St James Park
Entering Landscape Artist of the Year Series 12 in 2027
For all those interested in entering the series which will be filmed this
summer (during June/July) - I will be writing a blog post in the near future about Call for Entries
- Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 12). (Note: It will be very similar to
Call for Entries - Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 11)
Call for Entries - Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 11)
The deadline for submission is NOON on Friday 8th May 2026 - and entries are ONLY accepted online.
Past Series
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 reviews I've published for series episodes broadcast between 2018 and 2024
- together with the topics / themes /TIPS I identified in each episode.
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