Michael Chesley Johnson FREE Plein Air Primer - but read carefully

Michael Chesley Johnson is a landscape painter ( in oils and pastels) and an author. He's been painting and blogging two months longer than me - having started in Autumn 2025.

He also writes for magazines like Artists Magazine and Pastel Journal. He's the author of some books, including Beautiful Landscape Painting Outdoors: Mastering Plein Air

I'm very happy to recommend Michael as an artist worth reading on the topic of plein air painting. He's very experienced and he produces good plein air artwork.

However, the purpose of this blog post changed half way through writing. It's about 

• making you aware you can read his Plein Air Primer for free
• making sure you read the conditions VERY CAREFULLY.

Primer for Plein Air by Michael Chesley Johnson

Michael has made his Plein Air Primer available for free on his Substack - and this post tells you how to access it! Which means a bit of unpacking of what exactly "free" means.

In these articles, I’ve distilled much of my plein air practice. With plein air painting season just around the corner, I hope you find them useful—whether you’re a beginner or an old pro

Strictly speaking, this is a FREE with "a 7 day free trial". Which should be sufficient to get through all 7 articles - listed below.

• Part 1: Gear - What do you need for an easel or a paint box?
• Part 2: Tools and Stuff - What should I take?
• Part 3: Paints, Pastels and Papers - You don't need more than a few colors.
• Part 4: Setting a Goal - Don't go out without one!
• Part 5: Location and Picking a Subject - Location is everything.
• Part 6: Making a Proper Value Sketch - Making a preliminary value sketch is waste of time, right? Wrong.
• Part 7: Making a Painting - The final installment of the series

What you need to do

You have to 

• set up an account in Substack (which is always a good idea) and 
• then subscribe to his Substack. Over on the right is the option to subscribe for free. HOWEVER.......

The thing is I'm not a big fan of things that promise stuff for free - with a catch - i.e. you  then find out 

• you have to subscribe for free and sign up to a subscription which is going to charge you £41 for an annual subscription every year  (which it doesn't tell you on the blue advert)
• unless you cancel - which you can at any time.

That's because I'm one of those people who has to cancel straight away, because I know I'll forget to cancel in 7 days and I don't EVER give my credit card data away for free.

Plus I don't mind giving my email away - just so long as I can also refuse further communications and am not going to have to pay for anything.

Strictly speaking, I think of he had an advert like that in the UK Michael might get  stitched up by 

• the Advertising Standards Regulator (Non Broadcast Code) and 
• the OFCOM (complaints about websites and apps) 

if anybody complained to them. That's because they who prefer people to say exactly what they mean - with no qualifications in the small print a long way in.

I get the impression that maybe things are done differently in the US? Or the regulations are not as tight as the UK's.

It really depends what you want to do. If you're serious about plein air painting, I'd recommend it. He writes informative posts (but the books are cheaper!)

NOTE: Michael also appears to have worked out the way to keep his Blogger blog going while having transferred all new content to his Substack Painting to See. So I'll be having a think about that.

Review: Episode 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Dover Castle

This is my sixth and final review of the Heats in Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year. This episode apparently was the first heat of the series - and the view was of Dover Castle and its ramparts

Drone View of the location with LAOTY Pods, wildcard artists and Dover castle

As always my review provides:

• more detail than the programme about each of the artists
• overview of the location for the day and how this worked for the artists and programme
• comments on themes which cropped during the programme
• details of the artists who were shortlisted and who won the Wildcard and this heat.

My next review will be about the semi final - which is in Sussex (see end).

Episode 6: Dover Castle

Location and Weather

The location for this heat was an exposed hill across a wooded valley opposite Dover Castle. The pods were set up at the top of the slop and the wildcards were located further down the slope - in the eyeline of the pod artists.

DOVER CASTLE

Dover Castle:
a classic 11th century motte and bailey castle built by William the Conqueror
transformed by Henry II in the 12th century with a massive stone keep and curtain walls

Dover Castle is cared for by English Heritage and is VERY important in UK History. 

It was originally built to overlook the shortest passage between the south east of England and the continent. As such it has played a crucial role in the "defence of the realm" for over nine centuries. As such it ranks alongside the Tower of London and Windsor Castle.

The history of the castle includes:

• The massive earth ramparts and ditches surrounding the castle were thought to have been originally constructed about 800 years BC!
• The Romans constructed a lighthouse (Pharos) to guide ships into the harbour 
• Churches were built in the 7th and 10-11th centuries
• 1066: William the Conqueror builds a castle there after he has defeated King Harold
• 1180-89: King Henry II rebuilds the Castle and constructs a huge Keep. This was the most expensive castle building project in England ever!
• 1215: King John constructs the important outer defences which hold when the castle is besieged the following year by the Prince of France
• 1217-56: over the next 30 years, enormous sums are spent strengthening Dover, making it one of the largest and most strategically important castles in England.
• 1793-1815: huge sums are spent during the French Revolution and the Napoelanic wars to make the castle safe
• 1939-45: The naval and later combined services headquarters were located in the Napoleonic tunnels and masterminded the invasion of France.
• 1956: the gun batteries were removed.

I didn't have the sense from the programme that ANY of this was explained to the artists before they started their paintings.  I don't know any serious landscape painters of major important structures who wouldn't do a bit of research before they started painting - so they can make sure they include critical bits or because they need to know what they're painting - and which bits are where!

From a painting perspective, the earth ramparts (which are entirely artificial) are at least as important as the stone structure - and yet few really showed what they were there for or what they looked like.

One artist - the winner - did. Hence why I've explained the location in so much detail.

NOTE: Incidentally, I know that drones are fabulous things that allow filmmakers to get views they could never get before. 

• For me they are good for locating the venue and the nature of its vicinity. 
• However, the film-making of this series seems to have fallen prey to using the drone as much as possible.
• what WE DO NOT SEE ENOUGH OF is what the view looks like from each artist's pod.

That view is the only one we need to know about to do an armchair judgement of whether or not an artist has captured a good likeness of what a place looks like.

All we got a was a very few seconds near the beginning as the artists began to prep their artwork. 

All we needed was for Stephen and Tai to do their double act explaining the view from inside a pod - BEFORE the artists got into them. How difficult is that.  Instead they talked about it from a place where all we saw was them talking rather than the view!

The (very) quick view from an Artist's Pod

Bottom line, it's exactly the same as portraiture - if you choose to make a portrait of a place then it must look like the place as well as being interesting as a painting.

i.e. what it looks like is the view from the pod - NOT the view from the sky!

Weather

Yet another very warm and sunny day - but apparently a great deal of gusty wind from time to time also. Easels, artwork, paint, water - all went flying! I'm not surprised there was a wind because I think the location for the pods was absolutely crackers!

Wind is normal. Artists normally avoid windy spots for all sorts of very practical reasons - the main one being lightweight plein air easels falling over. Which means Storyvault Films MUST  project manage the set up for wind - and that might include (VERY serious suggestion):

• having a VERY big think about the wisdom of some locations 
• where wind is VERY predictable 
• eg near the coast, on top of a hill!!
• thinking about / finding out what the PREVAILING WIND DIRECTION  is likely to be and how this might affect the pods i.e. 
• it looked to me like they'd pitched the pods right in the path of every (PREVAILING) south west wind coming up the channel! 
• I then checked on Google Maps and that is precisely what they had done!
• HOW can a Location Manager not understand about prevailing winds - and hence why some locations are NOT a good idea? I am just gobsmacked.

The prevailing wind direction in Dover is primarily from the west and south-west for most of the year, particularly from mid-May to mid-April. 

Strong winds (force 5 or greater) occur frequently, with higher, more dangerous gusts often coming from the South-South-West (SSW) to West-South-West (WSW) directions, affecting the port's operating safety limits. (Google)

  

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 5 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 - but typically only one

Portraiture and Portrait Painting: Reflections on a Discussion by three Expert Portrait Artists

On Saturday afternoon, I went along to the Mall Galleries to hear Miriam Escofet RP, Antony Williams RP, NEAC PS and Frances Bell RP ROI CBPP participating in the Expert Artist Panel Discussion.

The subject was Portraiture. 

The Expert Panel
(left to rght: Frances Bell; Antony Williams, Dr Alison Smith and Miriam Escofet)

I know all three artists well having seen their work in various exhibitions and award competitions in the last few years - at least a decade and maybe nearer two! I have lots of photos of them with their work! You'll see some of the pics I took below.

It was interesting to hear their take on questions posed by the host who was Dr Alison Smith, who was formerly the Chief Curator at the National Portrait Gallery (2017-2024) and is curently the Director of Collections and Research at the Wallace Collection.

Below are some notes and some quotes. 

I'm not going to attribute them to individuals as, for the most part, they were all in agreement. Plus while I've got notes for some, I've not got notes for all!

You can see examples of their portraits on their websites - but they've completed very many more portraits than are typically included on a website.

(Left to right) Miriam Escofet, Frances Bell, Antony Williams

What is a portrait?

Which comes first, the person or the painting?

"Portraits are first and foremost a likeness"

The audience for a portrait expect a good likeness.

However:

• a portrait is also a painting
• there is also the issue of the difference between personal work and a commissioned artwork
• artists are always fascinated about the possibilities of their media and what they can do
• there's a tension between getting the likeness and creating a satisfactory painting

If there's no likeness a portrait isn't working BUT it's not a good painting just because it is a good likeness.

To this end

• portrait artists also like to paint personal work which allows them to explore the possibilities of their media and what they can do

What's different about Portrait Painting?

Review: Episode 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - HMS Wellington & the South Bank

There are no pods in this week's episode 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year - because all the artists are created their art while rocking and swaying to the waves of the River Thames with their easels on the decks of HMS Wellington.

LAOTY 2025 - Episode 5 Artists with their paintings

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

See my review of Episode 1 for how these reviews and my commentary works.

At the end, in the Reference Section, you can see listings for all previous reviews of this series and most of the previous LAOTY series - which ALL have lots of tips on my Art on Television page.

 

Episode 5: HMS Wellington and the South Bank

Location and Weather

A drone image of HMS Wellington - on the right
and the brutalist architecture of the South Bank Centre (National Theatre etc) on the left

The artists were based for the day on HMS Wellington which is a historic Royal Navy Grimsby Class Sloop moored on the Victoria Embankment - which runs between the Palace of Westminster and Blackfriars Bridge - near Temple Tube Station.

An iconic feature on the River Thames since 1948, HMS WELLINGTON provides a unique and charming venue with unrivalled views of the Thames riverscape that includes Big Ben and the London Eye to the West, and the Shard and the City of London to the East.

Group #1 seemed to be around about the middle of the ship

Group #2 seemed to be a slightly different place - towards the bow

HMS Wellington can be hired out in part or as a whole for the day.

 

HMS Wellington - moored at the Victoria Embankment

The location is one I know extremely well - having spent 

• three years working for KPMG at Puddle Dock (next to Blackfriars Bridge) and 
• four years working for my professional institute which used to be located nearby, adjacent to Embankment Gardens. 
• This stretch of the Thames is in between the two. 

Plus I have walked along the South Bank - from Embankment to Tate Modern - at least twice a year for the last 20 years.

The set-up minus pods on the deck of HMS Wellington
The only people with shelter are those who brought their own umbrellas

The view of the South Bank across the River Thames included everything from the Shard to the East (left) to the London Eye to the west (right).

It's probably the most panoramic landscape they've ever had in an urban environment. That is a genuine first.

Interestingly, you normally find the artists on the other side of the river painting the City of London - as I have done. This is also because, if you locate on the North bank of the Thames you're looking into the sun all day - which can be very wearing. I'd be interested to hear how the artists found it on the day. I was surprised not to see more sunglasses! (of which more later).

The weather was dry and very sunny in the morning, lots of high cloud in the afternoon and VERY windy rather a lot of the time. (At least they didn't have a rain problem)

On HMS Wellington

• the artists were located along the side of the ship - on the fore deck - at the mercy of the wind and experiencing wash from the other boats and the rising tide
• the wildcards were all under an awning in "steerage"!

We were on a boat! Out in the elements, buffeted by the wind, swaying with the rising tide, we emerged after a long day ruddy-cheeked & still smiling thanks to the team @storyvaultfilms Nicola Tremain

"Isn't TV Art Mad" Tai Shan Shierenberg 

The Artists on HMS Wellington

Episode 5 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 - but typically only one

Katherine Tyrrell: Ten Artistic Tips Learnt From The Big Painting Challenge (11 years later!)

Some of those contemplating entering one of the Artist of the Year competitions might find the tips below to be useful.

This is a reproduction of an article I wrote for the WH Smith Blog eleven years ago following (a) the Final of the The Big Painting Challenge and (b) the publication of my book Sketching 365. 

I found it by accident while searching for something else and realised I had completely forgotten about it! It also seemed very timely for a repost!

So here is Katherine Tyrrell: Ten Artistic Tips Learnt From The Big Painting Challenge

________________________________

Last Sunday was the final episode of The Big Painting Challenge. The series has offered a lot to opportunities to learn over the last 6 weeks – from the amateur painters as well as from the Judges Daphne Todd and Lachlan Goudie.

I’ve been following the series on my blog Making A Mark and have been writing a series of posts – one for each episode. These comment on the challenges and highlight tips as the series has progressed.

Below I’ve summarised some important tips which I’ve derived from the programme content and the comments of both judges and the amateur artists.

TOP TEN TIPS

Check out these tips if you’re thinking of entering an art competition on television – or just improving how you paint.

TIP 1: Observation is key.

It’s really important to look carefully whether you are painting a person, a still life, a landscape – or things which move and dance about and change while you watch! You will reap the benefits if you spend as much time looking as you do drawing and painting. Find the big shapes, the verticals, horizontals and angles and don’t forget to measure and check the size and relative proportions of what you can see.

TIP 2: Good drawing underpins sound construction.

When a drawing or painting does not look quite right it’s often down to a problem with the drawing. Problems with drawing often lie either in:

• A failure to observe carefully (see Tip 1)
• A tendency to simplify so as to ignore the difficult bits
• Unfamiliarity with a range of normal drawing media and the scope for making different marks (see Tip 3)
• Difficulties in placing an object on a page – leading to bits missing which you intended to include (see Tip 6)
• Difficulties in handling and mixing colour when using dry media rather than paint (Tip 8)

Identifying the nature of the problem with your drawing is your first step to learning how to correct it. Example: My major problem is my verticals often lean if I draw without thinking. My solution is to check how a major vertical lines up with the edge of the page as I draw it.

My book "Sketching 365" published internationally in 2015

TIP 3: Practice drawing quickly using different types of dry media.

Dry media was usually used for the quick draw exercises in The Big Painting Challenge but was not limited to pencils or charcoal. There was also little time for slow careful drawings! Moving on from graphite to use different types of dry media – and colour – challenged a few of the artists! Dry media are great for drawing and sketching. Try becoming more familiar with the properties of different types of dry media and also how they can be used intelligently to produce quick drawings. Not everything is drawn using a tip – you can also use the side and cover more paper faster! Drawing quickly is something that can be learned – but it takes practice

TIP 4: Become comfortable in working from life – as part of your daily life.

The NEW Portrait Artist of the Year Judges

The announcement of the NEW Judges for Portrait Artist of the Year was rather weird in terms of timing and what appeared when.

So I decided to defer comment until sure everything that was being published had been published. So below is:

• An Overview of "What Happened?"
• The NEW Judges of Portrait Artist of the Year
• The Major Disconnect around Portraiture re. PAOTY
• New Judges for Landscape Artist of the Year?

The New Judges for PAOTY in 2026

Commentary on the new format of LAOTY - which has also been announced (on 20th January by Artist of the Year, Tai-Shan Shierenberg and Stephen Mangan) - and what happens re the Judges for that will follow.

What Happened?

There has been a lot of clamour on social media for the Judges to be changed - for various reasons - for quite a while (that's years!).  So it's now happening - but the media roll-out could have been better organised. It has the feel of something which had a few hiccups along the way

My timeline of info (coming and going out) went something like this

• On 9th January, we had the announcement from Kate Bryan on Instagram that she was longer participating in Artist of the Year. 
• This appeared on her Instagram Account but NOT the Artist of the Year Accounts. 
• Which is very unusual, media teams usually arrange to sync re the announcement of any change when this has been a negotiated and amicably agreed. 
• It also didn't appear on the accounts of the other two Judges. Make of that what you will.

Normally any well planned announcement goes live contemporaneously. (my blog post)

• The explanation for no announcement from Storyvault Films was probably because they were in the throes of the media publicity run-up to the new series of Landscape Artist of the Year - and you do NOT run two big stories at the same time! I kept looking - in the days afterwards - but the LAOTY news continued to predominate (as one would expect) 
• on 12th January, Artist of the Year announced details about Eva Langret, the new Judge for LAOTY on Instagram
• On 15th January I published that Kate Bryan is no longer a Judge for Artist of the Year referencing her Instagram post and highlighting that
• it had previously been announced that she was stepping down from Landscape Artist of the Year - but would carry on with PAOTY
• but it now included to Portrait Artist of the Year too!
• On 20th January - once LAOTY was underway, we got another major change announced completely out of the blue - about a major change to Landscape Artist of the Year 
• see my post BRAND NEW FORMAT for Landscape Artist of the Year Series 12 (2027) announced!
• Then 0n 29th January an announcement about a refresh and a change in Judges for Portrait Artist of the Year dropped - on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sky Arts Artist Of The Year (@artistoftheyear)

• Followed by my post on 30th January Goodbye - ALL THREE Artist of the Year Judges (which I had drafted late the previous evening and set up to publish at 9:30am.
• Followed 30 minutes later at 10am on 30th January, by the announcement of the NEW Portrait of the Year Judges. Here's the Facebook Announcement 

By which point I'd decided to give Artist of the Year a bit of a break re announcing changes on my blog - just in case there were any more!!

The NEW JUDGES for Portrait Artist of the Year

There are three new Judges for Portrait Artists of the Year. Below I will 

• summarise the three new Judges below with links to their websites and social media.
• followed by a commentary by me re the type of Judge that has been chosen and what I'm calling "The major disconnect around Portraiture"

I think Storyvault Films have basically gone with a "more of the same" BUT "bigger and better" than the three existing Judges. They have certainly updated with new younger models.

However they have not introduced more artists and I think the ratio is the wrong way round. Two well established and reputable portrait artists plus a heavyweight in the curatorial/commercial world would be a better balance in my view.

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

LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES: Jackson's Art Prize 2026

The deadline for entries for Jackson's Art Prize 2026 is 2nd March 2020 (5pm).

This post looks at Jackson’s Painting Prize 2026 and, in summary

• who can enter
• what you can enter
• why enter
• how to enter (registration / timeline / digital images etc)

Call for Entries: Jackson's Art Prize 2026

The intentions behind the Jackson's Art Prize are:

• to bring together a global community of creatives and
• showcase the work of artists of all ages and abilities.

The annual award welcomes 

• entries in all two-dimensional media including painting, drawing, and original printmaking 
• from amateur to professional artists.

There are lots of prizes - which are mainly art materials, although there is a £6,000 cash first prize.

Who can enter

• Open internationally to artists of all ages and abilities

What type of artwork can you enter?

• Artworks created in two-dimensional mediums eg painting, drawing, printmaking
• About any theme or subject matter
• Artworks for the competition must be submitted by the artist who created it. 
• All work must be your own intellectual property. 

This is what the competition does not accept

• Three-dimensional or sculptural work
• Digital, computer manipulated, or AI art
• Pure photography
• Digital prints e.g. giclée
• Artworks of an inappropriate or offensive subject matter will be removed from the competition.
• artworks that directly copy other people’s work (this does not include artistic interpretations) or works that are made from a tutorial.

There will, of course, be some silly idiot who will think it's OK to try and smuggle some AI artwork in. Personally I'd award a "Great Big Wally" Award to anybody who did so and name and shame on social media.

You can see past entries and winners on the Jackson's Art Prize Instagram account 

The quality of the photograph of the artwork

Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Skiddaw

This week, for the fourth episode of Landscape Artist of the Year the artists are back in the Lake District to paint Skiddaw which lies just north of Keswick. 

This is my review, which covers the location, artists, wildcards, heat paintings, who got shortlisted and who won the heat. Plus the themes I found cropped up throughout the programme. 

WARNING: Go and get a cup of tea or coffee and sit down. This is a very long one!

I got half way through this post and decided to call it THE MEGA WHINEY post. I really, really, really want to stop whining and complaining. Please!

There will be yet more screaming - for various reasons....

If you anticipate wanting to enter for next year

• At the bottom of this post you will also find links to my REVIEWS of all previous episodes in Series 11.
• Plus you can find all my REVIEWS of previous LAOTY Series from Series 4 (2018) TO Series 10 (2025) - which ALL have lots of tips - on my Art on Television page.

Episode 4: Skiddaw

LAOTY 2026: Episode 4 - Skiddaw Fell
The wildcards arriving - with Skiddaw in the background
aka "Look no houses!"

Location and Weather

The 931-metre (3,054 ft) summit of Skiddaw is traditionally considered to be the fourth-highest peak and the sixth highest in the UK. Its slopes are grassy towards the bottom and the ridges are covered in ice-shattered scree and stones towards the top. It's located in what are called the Northern Fells

Up until the middle ages, its slopes were covered with a temperate rain forest. The Cumbria Wildlife Trust has an appeal for a 100 year project to help restore the Skiddaw Forest to its slopes 

I think they relocated the LAOTY Pods from the edge of Derwent Water to the other side of Crow Park and then turned them around so they were facing the view of Skiddaw above the town of Keswick.

Interestingly Skiddaw actually looks very like Croagh Patrick (to be painted for the Commission) - so this was "the ideal audition". Except it wasn't.....

I'm guessing the pods were located where it was flattest. That's because I was somewhat surprised at the angle of the location. I was expecting them to be more turned towards Skiddaw - on the extreme left in the pic below - instead of being lined up in front of the town of Keswick. 

Wildcards and Pods
trees in the foreground, Keswick in the middle ground
and then Skiddaw in the background

This was another very hot day - as happened for the first episode at Derwent Water. I'm not going to repeat all the hot weather recommendations from previous episodes of this series.

Episode 4: The Artists in the Pods

Episode 4: The Heat 4 Artists - out of their Pods and waiting to be shortlisted

Episode 4 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 - but typically only one

The artists are:

• Ian Dowding - a former chef / restaurateur from East Sussex who is a self taught artist, painting in acrylics.  (no social media relating to art that I can find)
• Stephanie Euphemia (Instagram) - a professional artist from Shropshire. She's a  landscape artist who specialises in oil painting en plein air - and has exhibited in various art galleries in England. She's also a former tennis player who gave up a corporate career to become an artist. She brought her daughter to the heat.

Stephanie and her mini-me

I had such an incredible experience meeting the judges, painting alongside the other artists (and my miniature artist who decided she wanted to get in on the action) and loved seeing all of the different artistic interpretations of the Skiddaw Mountains.

• Amelia Hemmings (Instagram) - From Oxfordshire, she is a linocut printmaker who mainly demonstrates (outdoors!) and exhibits in the border country between the west Midlands and Wales. She produces linocut, monotype & monoprint exploring landscape & memory. She works from direct experience of landscape. Walking in remote places is central to her practice, shaping both the subject matter and the way the work is made. As a result of being selected, Amelia very sensibly got herself some decent PR coverage in Oswestry Life (page 38). Plus this is her blog post about her day spent filming LAOTY. Kathleen thought her outdoor studio to be very well organised!



View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Amelia Hemmings Art (@amelia_hemmings_art)

• Alison Paterson Mars - a local farmer, Alison lives and works in the rural, rolling, windswept and little known farming country of the Solway, between the high hills of the northern Lake District and the enclosing Cumbrian coast. She produces expressionistic paintings using dramatic colours. She exhibits in and around the Lake District/Cumbria. She comments on her website as follows...

It was the hottest day of the year. There were 8 of us artists who were given a pod to work in, there were also 50 others -‘ the wildcards’ who had to fend for themselves, and sit out in the sun, We’d to be there for 7am and it was after 7pm when I left, so it was a long day. Everyone had a brilliant time and we were well looked after. 

• Cathy Pearce (Instagram) -a professional landscape painter from Wiltshire. She has been working in pastels for the last 13 years. As she says, there can be more pure pigment in a pastel than in oil paint. She had an article about Achieving Vibrancy in Pastels in The Artist magazine last year. I was very pleasued to have it confirmed that she was using Unison Pastels - which are made in Northumberland and are my pastel of choice too! I bought my first sets in the Lake District! Plus Clairefontaine Pastelmat. I've had my eye on her very striking submission (in the introduction image) from the beginning of this series. I'd wondered if it was pastels and if they were Unison! She has artwork currently exhibited in The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries (link is to the photo in the FB Album of her artwork!) Plus this is her explanation as to how.

Yay - I found a pic of the Unison Pastels!!
I've got all those boxes too!

• Scott Simpson (Instagram) He was born in Aberdeen and has Scots Singaporean heritage. He graduated from Grays School of Art at Robert Gordon University. He is an award-winning painter now based in Alloa, Scotland. His drawings and paintings are, at the fundamental level, based on nature and seeing the world at a walking pace. He has exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, Society of Scottish Artists and Aberdeen Artist Society on several occasions. This is an interview with him. 
• Dan West (Instagram) - Dan, age 24, is an emerging artist from Teddington who currently works full time in the marketing, branding and graphic design of events. He attended Esher College before studying marketing at the University of Portsmouth. He first appeared on LAOTY as a wildcard when he was 22. He works in graphite and coloured pencils. His artwork is a leisure time activity but goes way beyond the normal standard of leisure artists - particularly in relation to composition which is very good. He also does album cover designs for musicians.

His main body of work focuses on the relationship between people and their environment, finding stories in every day life. Dan's work varies in size and material, with a consistent eye for narrative. (his website)

• Chris Wright (Instagram) - He's an art teacher who has spent the last 25 years teaching art. He likes American Realism and uses strong shadows. He partocularly likes painting caravans! His artwork has been exhibited around the country. In 2025, it was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, The Royal Academy and The Royal West of England. There's a very good interview / explanation by Chris of this time on the show on his website

This was one of the most surreal experiences of my life and it is quite the memory to look back on. I’ve watched the show with my family for years and to have the opportunity to compete on it alongside a group of passionate and inspiring artists was amazing.

Episode 4: Submissions

Call for Entries: Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 is now OPEN for entries

• from artists and drawing practitioners 
• from anywhere in the world
• for a chance to be of the UK’s leading open exhibition dedicated to drawing,
• with a new first prize of £15,000.

This is one way of reading what you need to do ALL ON ONE PAGE!

You are

• you are invited to submit up to three drawings 
• Deadline for entries: Stage 1 digital submissions online must be completed by Tuesday 9 June 2026 at 5pm.

Things you need to know 

(the) exhibition has an established reputation for its commitment to championing excellence and promoting and celebrating current drawing practice in the UK.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize

....offering artists the opportunity to showcase their drawings in the UK’s leading open exhibition dedicated to contemporary drawing,

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize exhibition and awards are supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust.

It's a prize which has had many names in its time - see the end for more about its background.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 Exhibition

The selected drawings will be included in a high-profile exhibition held as follows

• VENUE:  Buoy Store, Trinity Buoy Wharf, 64 Orchard Place, London E14 0JY from Thursday 
• DATES: 17 September – Sunday 4 October 2026 
• TIME: open daily from 11am to 6pm.

It will also tour to various venues in the UK until 2027.

• The annual open exhibition is led by its Director, artist, curator and educator, Professor Anita Taylor who has held various posts in art education. 
• The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated publication and a programme of educational and engagement activities, including a symposium at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

View of the exhibition in 2024

The Prizes

In 2026, there will be a new prize structure and awards with a total value of £18,000:

• Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 - £15,000 - open to all artists with drawings shortlisted for the prize
• Trinity Buoy Wharf Student Award - £2,000 - All students registered on a degree programme in the Academic Year 2025/26 who submit an entry
• Three Boroughs Award - £1,000 - open to all those living and/or working in the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich boroughs 

How to Enter