Call for Entries: Portrait Artist of the Year 2026

The deadline for entries for Series 13 of the televised art competition "Portrait Artist of the Year" is Friday 20th February 2026.

Good job I didn't write this any earlier - they've changed all the Judges since I did! More about the new Judges tomorrow.

This post is about:

• The nature of this art competition
• WHO can enter
• HOW to enter
• What the day of filming is like - and how long it lasts!
• Plus TIPS about this art competition
• AND TIPS about juried art exhibitions and art competitions generally (at the end).

Quotations below are from the Terms and Conditions of the competition or as indicated.

This is a televised competition. Artists enter with a self-portrait created within the last 5 years. They are selected on merit by our panel of expert judges. At the heats they are given four hours to paint a surprise celebrity sitter. The heat winners get to compete at the Semi-Final. Three of the Semi-Finalists go through to the Final but only one is selected as the overall winner.

Filming of Portrait Artist of the Year is planned to take place at Battersea Arts Centre in April 2026.

How this art competition works 

This is an art competition as a television show. 

Entries for the competition closes at 12:00pm (midday) on Friday 20th February 2026 (“the Closing Date”). Entries received after this date and time will not be considered. 

These are the Terms and Conditions

Filming of Series 13 of Portrait Artist of the Year is planned to take place at the Battersea Arts Centre in April 2026. (see below for dates in April)

• In effect this is a 'reality' show (i.e. real people/artists) as a knock-out competition for portrait artists.
• Nine artists compete in each heat - which are held between 14th and 23rd April

You agree to use Your best endeavors to be available for any alternative and/or additional dates requested in March, April, May, June, July, and August 2026.

• there are three surprise "celebrity" sitters (some you will know/ some you won't!)
• each sitter has three artists drawing / painting / printing their portrait - in various 2D media
• you have just four hours to complete a portrait - which is essentially 2 hours before the lunch break and 2 hours afterwards. (However artists can and do continue painting throughout the lunch break - when there is no sitter in front of them)
  
  The Shortlisted Artists will have a maximum of 4 hours over a 5-6 hour period (or such other period as the Producer at its discretion may determine) to complete their Heat Artwork.
  

The panel of Judges may take the Shortlisted Artists’ Portrait Entry(s) and their Additional Works of Art into consideration during this judging process, and all of the criteria for judging and the decisions of the Judges shall be at the discretion of the Judges and the Producer and shall not be not open to dispute or discussion 

- except by me "after the event"

• The Sitter gets to choose a portrait - and if it's your portrait this is gifted to the sitter. (Make sure you get a photo of yourself with the sitter and the portrait!)
• The Heat Winner - from a shortlist of three - goes through to the Semi-Finals

TIPS: Artists have just four hours to complete their portrait. HOWEVER:

• you will be interrupted by presenters and/or or Judges who will talk to you during the four hours
• people with cameras and sound recording equipment will be filming around you ALL THE TIME and sometimes you won't be able to see the sitter - or will need to move (see below)
• You will be at some distance from the sitter - much further than with normal portraits - and you can't move your setup in to get closer. (check the distance between artist and the sitter when you watch the programmes)
• It's a good idea to bring a digital device to take a photograph for when you can't see the sitter properly - or you can't see the details of the face clearly enough.

Filming of Series 9 Heat 1

• Eight heat winners get to compete at the Semi-Final on Wednesday 29th April 2026

If You are chosen as a Semi Finalist or Finalist and are asked to travel away from home or are invited to 8 attend the Final, the Producer shall supply and pay for Your reasonable and pre-agreed travel and hotel costs. (T&Cs para 41)

• Three people from the semi-finals are selected for the Final on Tuesday 19th May 2026 at a location in London (which may or may not be Battersea Arts Centre) which involves:
• a commission to be completed between the semi final and the final. (essentially in about two weeks)

A space of the contributor’s choice in which to complete this artwork, where a timelapse camera can be rigged, must be provided free of charge by the contributor to film any or all of this process.

• four hours to complete the portrait of the celebrity sitter in the final. I think the condition below is new. The second option has never been used before.

The Producer may ask

• all of the Finalists to depict the same Portrait of a Sitter at the Final Location,
• or each Finalist may be required to depict different Sitters at the Final Location.

The Prize

The winner is awarded a commission - worth a taxable fee of £10,000 - to create, complete and deliver a portrait of a notable person for a (usually) prestigious organisation - selected by the Producer - by a specified date.

If you want to know why the prize money is taxable see my page on my website Art Business Info for Artists about Tax on art awards and prize money

If You are chosen as the Winner, You must be available between the Final Date and the end of July 2026 to produce the Winner’s Prize Artwork on exact dates to be determined by the Producer.

 

Who / how / what to enter

Who can enter?

This competition is open to all artists – amateur, professional or hobbyist

Artists who featured in Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, Series 12, cannot apply for Series 13, but will be eligible to apply for the one after, if commissioned.

AND People eligible to enter the competitions ALSO:

• have been a resident for at least one year (on 1st October 2025) of the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Channel Islands or Falkland Islands
• hold a passport (i.e. proof of residency dates plus you may need to travel!)
• can be available on the dates identified in the T&Cs
• are aged 16 or over on 1st October 2025. If you're under 18 you'll also need 
• your parent or guardian to sign your form.
•  to provide written permission from your school, college, or apprenticeship to be absent in order to compete.

You should be in good health and know of no reason why You should not be able to participate in the Competition

That's another way of saying that if you had a pre-existing condition and/or get stressed out or upset by the competition or publicity, it was your choice to enter and you said you could cope!

People who may NOT be able to take part

• Artists with an affiliation with any of our partners (e.g. any of the judges/presenters/Sky/Cass Art/Storyvault Films) that could be deemed a conflict-of-interest may not be eligible to take part

(How "may" it not be a conflict of interest?)

Only one entry can be submitted per person. (If you're not successful you can try again in subsequent years).

Entries on behalf of another person will not be accepted. (You can tell it's happened in the past!)

How do I enter?

Artists enter with a Self-Portrait created within the last 5 years - submitted as a digital image.

i.e. a portrait of the applicant, by the applicant, and can be produced in any material excluding photography, video, sculpture and all forms of digital media, including the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology. Collage and mixed media works are all allowed. The work may be abstract or expressive (T&Cs para 13)

Bear in mind that the submission gets considered alongside the heat painting in determining who wins the heat from the three artists who are shortlisted. 

Heat winners invariably have a close and good connection between their submission and the heat painting (i.e. apart from issues of maturity of approach and consistency of style this also confirms that this artist really painted their submission!)

VERY IMPORTANT TIP: 

• the submission is your BIG opportunity to  indicate what sort of commission portrait you might be capable of. 
• You can demonstrate what you can do when not constrained by time. 
• You have a maximum of 110cm high x 110cm wide to demonstrate what you can do.
• You will never paint a commission worthy painting in any of the four hour sessions, so this is your passport to demonstrating what you can do when you have more time to both think and paint. 
• It also needs to look like your output in the heat - but with more finesse.
• There's a lot to be said for giving some very careful thought to the design and composition, level of finish and the size of your self-portrait.
• Your job is to make sure you are eligible and produce the best portrait you are capable of - and one which doesn't look like everybody else's. Note how selected artists very often have an unusual self-portrait and NOT the "same old same old".

SUBSCRIBE IF YOU LIKE 'MAKING A MARK' 

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Your Submission

You first need to register on their website to get access to their online application form.

READ the Terms and Conditions carefully - they are VERY long (64 paragraphs over 13 pages), VERY legal and they matter! Examples follow

You warrant that You own the copyright to Your Competition entry (including Your Self-Portrait Entry and Additional Works of Art) as its author, and that You own and can grant all rights in Your Materials as required under these Terms and Conditions. You also warrant that the Materials shall not contain any material that constitutes an infringement of copyright of a third party. (Para 56)

You will not without the Producer’s or Sky’s prior written consent disclose, publicise or discuss with any third party and/or otherwise publish or transmit (on any platform, including all forms of social media) any information or photographs relating to the result of the heat, semi-final or final, including photographs of any of the artworks produced, until advised by the production team. (Para 47)

The DEADLINE for Entries is 12pm (midday) on Friday, 20th February 2026 

Very often they extend the deadline - but you should not assume this will happen.

ENTRY IS FREE

You need to submit

• the online application form (and only one entry can be submitted per person). 

PLUS DIGITAL IMAGES of:

• A photograph of a Self Portrait. This image should NOT include the frame.
• IMPORTANT: The Self Portrait should be a maximum of 110cm high x 110cm wide.
• A second photograph of at least one and up to two further works of art by yourself, one of which must be a portrait (this can be any size). This image should NOT include the frame or surroundings.
• An optional third photograph of your work.
• One headshot photo of yourself.
• Photographs of the artwork should not be manipulated in any way
• Each photograph uploaded should be up to a maximum size of 5mb
• Photographs will be reviewed on a screen so your aim should be to clearly demonstrate how you paint (brushmarks etc)

TIP: You should consult available advice on how to take a photograph of artwork

• the Portrait Artist of the Year website has details about how to photograph your work
• My website Art Business Info for Artists has a page about how to photograph art for artistst

Submission of your actual physical artwork is as follows:

• Entries for the Competition are to be delivered to Storyvault Films Ltd, Bridge Studios, 107a Hammersmith Bridge Road, London, W6 9DA either by hand/in person, postal service or courier and will be acknowledged on receipt, 
• The Producer accepts no responsibility whatsoever for entries that are lost, delayed, misdirected, damaged in transit or incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason. 
• Proof of delivery of the entry is not proof of receipt.

Your entry will be disqualified if 

• a. Your entry is incomplete; 
• b. You do not meet the entry criteria; 
• c. You are not eligible to enter the Competition; 
• d. You cannot be contacted; 
• e. You do not respond within 48 hours of being contacted by Us in relation to Your Competition entry; or 
• f. You are not reasonably available to participate in the Series in accordance with the production requirements of the Series. 

Selection

Artists participating in one of a number of heats are selected "on merit" by a panel of expert Judges.

It's very likely, if it's anything like competitions I've judged in the past, that there are people who filter out the 'no hopers' / ineligible artists before the submissions reach THE Judges.

The Producer will notify successful and non-successful entrants (“Shortlisted Artists”) on or shortly following 3 25th March 2026, or shortly thereafter

Other things to think about

• There are no expenses as such.
• There's a nominal (small) sum as a contribution to expenses you will incur.

This is the same for everybody irrespective of where you live and is only intended as a contribution towards the costs of travel and overnight accommodation costs (if required). Most people travelling from outside London will be out of pocket.

They do feed you when you arrive (basic) and at lunchtime, plus provide coffee and tea and refill water bottles.

It's a VERY, VERY long day - as in c.12 hours

• You are required to be there at 7.15 am - so most people stay overnight nearby.
• The day finishes at 6.30 and you MUST stay to the end.
• However if you want your painting back, they will wrap it for you and you might not get away before 7.30pm.

Basically there's a LOT of things which have to be done with nine separate people and there's a LOT of waiting around e.g.

• photograph you with your painting in the early morning before you start
• interview you at the end about what you thought about the winner's painting

You also need to be

• introduced to people working on the show,
• get kitted out to participate
• be briefed about how things will work and
• shown where you will work.

This is a quote from a past participant

Before painting starts we were held in a waiting room. They came and wired us up for sound, got us to record the pronunciation of our names, got introduced to our runners and various producers came and told us what would be happening.

It's emphatically NOT a day for

• people who like to "do their own thing" or
• those who have a tendency to get uptight about being told what to do or how things will be. They have had meltdowns before now.....
• people who don't like a lot of other people around them or need absolute quiet while they paint.

If we go by most of the comments of part participants, the production team look after you very, very well.

Tips if you are successful and get picked for a heat

Past heat winners, finalists and competition winners have told me they read my reviews with tips for things to think about before participating in the heats.  You can find the links to my past reviews listed on my "Art on Television" page

Have a game plan but not one that is so rigid you can’t change it. Plan with 3 Cs in mind: composition, colour and contrast… it helps your work stand out. 

Series 9 / Episode 1 participant

If you get selected. you are recommended to get some earphones and plug in to block out other noises and keep you "in the zone".

More information about Art Exhibitions, Juried Shows & Art Competitions

You may also be interested in my pages on Art Business Info for Artists about:

• Juried Exhibitions & Art Competitions
• Juried Art Exhibition CHECKLIST - for Artists​ - focuses on the logistics and nitty gritty detail
• How to cost a juried exhibition entry

Why art competitions are important to artists | Art Business Info. for Artists