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.
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 - 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.
|
|
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.
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.
- 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
|
| LAOTY 2026 Episode 5 Artists - after they finished |
- Andrew Briggs (Instagram) - An IT Data Architect who lives in Derbyshire who likes photography. He started to take online painting lessons during Lockdown and tends to paint small paintings from photos. He's now started to exhibit and enter competitions. You can read what the day was like for him in his blog post - and in his Instagram post in which he explains how he prepared for the big day having submitted an entry on the last day and what the production team were helpful at providing! His submission was a loose oil painting of Chanctonbury Ring. His paintings suggests a man who likes perspective and big views.
- Lucy Bristow (Instagram) - a massage therapist and an artist living in Brighton, UK. Her large submission is insored by where urban life meets the countryside. She works in acrylic and oil paints. She submits work to open calls mainly in the south and south east of England.
- Michael Gibb (Instagram) - Born in Norway, he works as a United Nations Investigator. He likes to simplify and paint landscapes, mostly in gouache and acrylics.
- Amanda Mulquinney (Instagram) - A figurative and urban landscape painter based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. Amanda graduated with First Class Honours in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, London, in 2009. She thinks of herself as a colourist. She has recently resigned her marketing job to pursue a career as an artist. She painted an impressive large painting of Lake Garda - on a panoramic support used vertically - for her submission - which made me mark her down as possibly for the shortlist. This is her blog post about Tai Shan Schierenberg on My Landscape Artist of the Year Submission - and this is the video about it.
- Nicola Tremain (Instagram) - This is her page about her LAOY experience. A documentary maker who lives in Surrey. Having painted all her life, Nicola has recently devoted the majority of her time to her practice. Storytelling underpins everything she does. Her background in documentary directing has shaped how she thinks about narrative, framing and time. a self-taught artist producing expressive work driven by the subconscious. Based around intuitive painting, each piece is unplanned and evolves on the panel. She painted a very large submission of an abstracted view of her garden - with big brushes. She exhibits annually with Surrey Artists Open Studios
- Libby Walker (Instagram) - A landscape painter based in Glasgow. Alongside commercial commissions, Libby developed her own illustrated brand celebrating Scotland’s communities. Her work focused on the character of local places - shops, cafés, pubs and architectural landmarks. She now works primarily en plein air, alongside larger studio paintings developed from on-site studies and photographs. Her work explores light, movement, colour and the emotional experience of being in a landscape.
- Viola Wang (Instagram) - Viola is a children's book author and illustrator. Born in China, Viola graduated from Tsinghua University with a major in oil painting. She then moved to London, where she completed masters in animation and illustration while working as a graphic designer. She was a member of Drawing Year 21 at the Royal Drawing School. Viola is also a graduate of the Children's Book Illustration MA at Cambridge School of Art, and a winner of the Sebastian Walker Award. Growing up in a family of printers, Viola developed a profound interest in printmaking, which has been a significant influence on her own practice. She is now working on her own authored/illustrated books with Hachette Publishing. She did a pastel sketch of Leadenhall Market for her submission - which I recognised straight away! She brought her printing press to the ship and her heat artwork was a fine art print.
- Tom Winter (Instagram) - An artist and tutor from Bournemouth. He's an established artist specialising in oil painting, graphite, and ink, working primarily from his studio at Hengistbury Head, Dorset. For almost thirty years he has worked as a freelance painter, producing portraits, landscapes, figures, and still lifes. His submission was an impressive large and colourful painting of a building site at his kids's school. He likes using very thin trasnparent layers. (see Submissions)
The Wildcard Artists
|
| The Wildcard Artists were located under an awning in "steerage". |
There was a reduced number of wildcard artists - only 25 for this
heat. They were all located under a tarpaulin awning (which sheltered
from the sun and some of the wind and all of the non-existent rain).
However, only about a third of them could get close to the edge of the
ship.
It looked to me like it wasn't much fun or a great view if you were
located on the side closest to the Embankment.
However the Wildcard Winner in her blog post (see below) says
otherwise!
The Wildcards were all situated slightly below deck from the main contestants, which was actually fantastic, as we were out of the sun and, being quite close together, we could chat and make friends as we painted.
|
| Wildcards from the stern of the ship. |
Submissions
There was no wall of submissions and no placing of the submissions
next to the artist. Hence no way of comparing one submission with another
directly.
I think they were a bit concerned that the wind might get up and send them into the Thames. The only time we saw them was when they introduced the artists. (see the video on Instagram)
I think they were a bit concerned that the wind might get up and send them into the Thames. The only time we saw them was when they introduced the artists. (see the video on Instagram)
|
| Tom Winter with his submission |
What I was struck by, in particular, was how big many of the
submissions were. It's always reassuring to know at least some of the painters can
paint bigger. It made me think that it was almost as if they'd saved
this batch of artists for the big complex view!
TIP There's no
two ways about it. Create a large submission and it's difficult to
ignore you if it's good. It also counts a lot as to whether you get
shortlisted or not
Themes & Learning Points
LOTS of themes and comments this week - so I'll try to be succinct
What made a difference in this Heat?
- what you choose to paint: i.e. the four lines you choose to put around your area of interest - and then the horizon line within that
- whether you create a focal point which leads the eye through the painting
- whether you
- see tonal values as well as colour
- make it interesting OR do anything boring or unnecessary which antagonizes the judges
- tell the story of the place
The challenge of a panoramic vista
Over and above, "what tells us this is the South Bank", have a think
about the following.
How many would you have thought of?
What was very noticeable in this heat is how many artists had painted
bigger than average submissions. That counts when shortlisting.
It's common for artists painting in acrylics or oils to apply a
"ground" colour to their support to knock back the glaring white and provide a mid tone as a basis for
being able to place lights and darks more accurately.
Some very sensible artists save time by bringing a coloured ground with them.
I noted the following
Practical Matters: If you've ever painted while on the water you come
away knowing two things
I saw paintings which I liked better part way through which gradually
disappeared and became less interesting and more muted as time went on.
- Work out what is "doable" - given the format of the supports you brought with you - I thought this one was crying out for a panoramic format - but the winner made intelligent use of a portrait format. The big issues is what to include and what to exclude.
- Think about the emphasis
- Is it about painting buildings?
- Or should natural elements (eg sky above and water below) be included and if so how much?
- How do you represent a very large tidal river? i.e. it's not just a lot of buildings next to some water with a few trees. It's a working river with craft going up and down all the time (although there were very few in the heat paintings)
- Where to put the horizon line - this is critical. On "a third" is generally a good idea. Never ever right in the middle of a painting - it cuts the painting in half.
- How to scale the buildings correctly - it's very easy to get this wrong. This is where using a digital device to check thirds etc can be very useful.
- What pathways have you designed to lead the eye in and around your painting?
- Distil detail to the most simple. This is not the time to be counting window panes!
- Be clear about TONE as well as colour
- How to ensure the perspective does not distract. In this instance the river looking west or east is curving - it's NOT a straight line.
- Architecture can vary a lot from traditional to brutalist to recent and contemporary - and from brick to lots of glass - and can we tell the difference?
- When a view is well known you can't leave anything obvious out - people notice!
"a heavyweight skyline - too far away"
The size of a canvas
Only one went on to do a big painting in the heat. However most paintings were bigger than we often see in heats.
Tinted Grounds
Some very sensible artists save time by bringing a coloured ground with them.
It was interesting to see the ground colours used in this
heat.
- Nicola used what looked like burnt sepia to me (a very classic "don't look at me" colour)
- Amanda used burnt orange - which is a good complement if you think most of the colours you use are in the blue/grey range
- Lucy used a dayglo "look at me" pink - which I personally think was a mistake
- Tom used a very acidic lime yellow which hurt the eyes when he started - but which got progressively knocked back
The thing about ground colours is if you allow them to show
through
there are two perspectives on this:
- at one end we can have an analogous or complementary colour which can enliven the painting without being too distracting
- at the other end: there are some very loud "shouty" colours which are very much an irritating distraction from the subject of the painting for some people
That yellow was so jarring - almost migraine-inducing! Facebook follower
It's obvious from comments people either loved or hated the
pink. Personally, I found it very shouty and I'm no great lover of pink.
Who knows - the Judges may think the same way.
At the end of the day, you have to decide whether it's better to have
the love or whether you lose if you generate hate.
I often end up wondering if the artists concerned have properly
understood the properties of the paint they are using and have been on
a course about learning how to glaze properly.
What the Judges like and don't like
Like
- Those who can achieve movement within a painting
- movement of the eye
- convincing movement of anything that moves - like water
- Those who can find colour in a predominantly blue/grey vista
Do NOT Like
- topographical bias i.e. a detailed mapping or description of the physical features of a specific land surface, including elevation, terrain, and man-made structures
- static pictures - which I take to mean there is no direction of the eye, it's just "what is"
This is what the National Gallery's index of art terms has to say about
"topographical"
The topography of a place or region is the description of its physical features, both geographical and man-made. A topographical artist would attempt to render an accurate impression of the land- or townscape which he has chosen to depict
Painting into the sun - and the light changing
All the artists were facing south - on a very bright sunny day - and
yet nobody (apart from the wildcards) had ANY shade from the sun
- none were wearing big brimmed hats or sunglasses to shade their eyes
- nobody was using a sun umbrella to shade their support
The latter is maybe understandable - as they can hardly stab one into the
deck! However leaving the artists out in the sun with no shade was to my
mind totally irresponsible of the production team who owe all the
artists a duty of care. (I'm wondering if they helped/adjusted in other ways?)
Painting in direct sun had huge implications for huge implications for the
proper evaluation of both colour and tone - and I think this showed!
If you are painting for yourself on a sunny day, you
- either find the shade first and then choose your view
- or take a sun umbrella with you to shade you and your painting.
Personally, my head gear of choice for very sunny / windy days is a visor
of the type used by tennis players or golfers which
- has a big visor at the front to keep the sun out of your eyes
- can be secured to your skull using the adjustable tape at the back - so it doesn't blow off
I was very surprised to see virtually no sunglasses - and yet sunglasses with
good lenses are extraordinarily helpful in working out the different
tonal values of a scene when you are looking at shaded objects while
looking into very bright light.
You might find my blog post useful -
Plein air art - 10 tips for working with sunshine and shade. The first two points deal with sun in your eyes and sun on your support.
Painting rivers and while on water
The river was very busy for most of the day - as it usually is - with
various boats and other craft going up and down, creating a wake every
time they do - which always helps to make painting
interesting!
"It's gladiators for artists!"
- watch out for the boats coming by and their wash - you'll notice it!
- bouncing up and down repeatedly is not for those with dicky tummies
Painting Matters: It's a really good idea to paint water while
you don't feel you're under pressure. The best way is to know
something about painting water in advance!
- You need to look a long time to work out how you need to draw/paint water
- You get much better the more you practice (i.e. if told the location, this is what I'd have been doing in advance!)
- you get better the more you look at how other people paint water.
- Canaletto had a very stylised way of painting water - but it worked for the time
- John Singer Sargent is a sublime painter of water - but he is a past Master and it takes a while to paint as well as him! ;)
- Take some time out and study how other artists paint water - and then try for yourself
I like drawing water. I've got five artworks of mine in the room I am
sitting in which all contain water of one sort or another. Looking at them
the things that strikes me is that what I'm obviously most interested in
is the colour of water in relation to the light and the depth and any
relevant shadows and within the current which reflects how it is moving.
Windy Weather
There's a technique to windy weather - and it was very windy - and
that is make sure nothing can move if it gusts.
- You need equipment to do this. That's it.
- I'll maybe write a blog post tomorrow with some recommendations! :)
When to stop - the penalty of overworking
I think that's maybe one of the reasons why the winner won as that
painting lost nothing as it progressed.
Last minute adjustments are very rarely a good idea.
Bringing it all together at the last minute isn't going to happen unless
you're JW Turner and you put in the red splodge which makes it all make
sense right at the end.
(Read "He has been here and fired a gun")
What makes a painting come together at the end
Telling yourself you can "bring it all together at the end" (ie positive mental attitude) is really not enough to make it happen. What does tend to be much more helpful is- Planning a painting and
- Practising painting outside in all kinds of weather - because you then build experience which comes in handy when painting in a competitive or pressured environment and difficult weather conditions.
Decision Time
The Wildcard Winner
|
|
Sherri Gee - Wildcard Winner Episode 5 of LAOTY 2026 |
|
| The Wildcard Winner Painting by Sherri Gee |
READ her blog post about being the
Landscape Artist of the Year, Heat 5 Wildcard winner! which includes a brilliant diagrammatic view of how she chose what to paint
from what she could see. Definitely worth a read!
She used a mix of acrylics and oils to paint a barge (moored up or passing?)
at low tide next to the Oxo Building. The foreshore in the painting had
disappeared by the time she won the Wildcard competition. The Judges thought she'd done a really good job in terms of how she had cropped her work. I thought it made for a very coherent painting, which I would find recognisable.
Sherry has a degree in illustration - which, for me, explains why she is very good at cropping.
The Heat Paintings
|
| The Heat Paintings |
- and want to keep up with my reviews
and get an email to your inbox every time I publish
The Shortlist
- Nicola Tremain
- Libby Walker
- Tom Winter
|
|
Submission and heat paintings of shortlisted artists (left to right) Nicola Tremain, Libby Walker, Tom Winter |
There were two near missed for me
- Amanda Mulquinney impressed with her submission but I found her heat painting was less interesting. It struck me that she had painted colour without a lot of tonal values. I also think the horizon was too high which meant there was a lot of river which looked like "filler" i.e. without much interest.
- Lucy Bristow - I also liked her submission a lot but in her heat she employed the "love ot or hate it" vivid pink tint to her ground - which was VERY STRONG. I'm almost certain if she's used another colour she might well have been in the final three. I also found her painting a bit too OTT Technicolor. I think she's a good painter but I was not smitten with her composition or colour palette on this occasion given what was on offer.
Below are the submission and heat paintings for each shortlisted
artist and my commentary on their artwork.
I always look at the size of the paintings with a view to assessing who looked most likely to deliver a commissioned piece.
I always look at the size of the paintings with a view to assessing who looked most likely to deliver a commissioned piece.
This is the view that both Libby and Tom were painting - to help you
judge scale
|
|
View to the West of the South Bank between the OXO Tower and The Shard at London Bridge with the river curving south after Blackfriars bridge |
Nicola Tremain
|
| Submission and Heat Painting by Nicola Tremain |
These were two BIG paintings. Clearly Nicole is somebody who could tackle a commission.
I found Nicola's paintings a tad too moody for my liking - but that's a
personal thing. Her ethos is about emotional painting and mine isn't - so no
surprise there. I'm also not sure they "read well"
I loved her suggestion of the London Eye in the background. I liked her sky
even though it was completely invented. However it didn't really match with
the colour of her river which is a mistake. I'm not sure she got the scale
of her buildings correct. It really doesn't need to be spot on - but it
needs to look about right to anybody who knows the view. They also merged
into the sky - almost as if they weren't there.
The Judges thought her work was full of drama. It certainly benefited from her prodigious use of very large brushes.
Libby Walker
|
| Submission and Heat Painting by Libby Walker |
The notable thing about Libby's Heat Painting is that she was the ONLY artist to
- ground her perspective in space by introducing the balustrade of the deck of HMS Wellington - which actually then worked well with the perspective line on the opposite bank of the Thames
- get the scale of her buildings about right - certainly in relation one another and without chopping the top off the towers.
- convey proper movement within the water of the Thames as a boat is moving along the Thames
i.e. I recognised the view easily - and I know it well.
I'm not sure if I'm a fan of her colour palette or the practice of
using the same one irrespective of the subject, but she is certainly a
very competent artist with an original and interesting perspective on
the subjects she paints.
The Judges found a joyous lyricism in her submission and were amazed to find she could do it again when painting a brown sludgy looking river. For Tai it all made sense in terms of her own poetic language of paint. He thought "it was magic"
Tom Winter
|
| Submission and Heat Painting by Tom Winter |
Tom is obviously not afraid of buildings or architecture and can also paint
masses in a confident way. However his "dayglo" colour palette is an
acquired taste.
There's an element of "hurts the eyes" about his paintings. They are very dominant. I wouldn't want to have an artwork of mine hung next to one of his in an exhibition.
There's an element of "hurts the eyes" about his paintings. They are very dominant. I wouldn't want to have an artwork of mine hung next to one of his in an exhibition.
Thing is, at the beginning of his heat, I was interested in his citric
yellow underpainting, but I think it needed to be glazed more and knocked
back more to produce a painting which really speaks of the place. If you
take the river out of the equation it ended up a bit more Dubai than
London.
The other thing I wasn't a fan of was he cut off the tall buildings and I think he also maybe compressed the width of the view. Again maybe a scale issue?
The other thing I wasn't a fan of was he cut off the tall buildings and I think he also maybe compressed the width of the view. Again maybe a scale issue?
The Judges commented on the shadows at the bottom of both paintings. Kathleen thought Tom's focus is all on light and shade and he creates paintings which are a combination of both precision and chaos - in terms of the painting sliding around. Tai thought it was fantastic the way he seemed to create an interior light within his paintings.
The Winner
|
|
Shortlisted Artists (Heat 5) with their heat paintings NOTE all the sandbags preventing the easels from moving!! |
These are three completely different takes on a sunny day on the Rover
Thames.
Note how all the heat paintings of the shortlisted artists were a decent size. It really does make a difference - usually.
Note how all the heat paintings of the shortlisted artists were a decent size. It really does make a difference - usually.
Heat Winner
|
|
Winner of LAOTY 2026 Episode 5 Libby Walker with her painting |
The Judges thought she conveyed the "best sense of place".
Tai said
Libby is a fabulous painter. She's inventive, she's a great colourist, the way she puts paint down is new, it's playful and if she goes all the way and she gets the commission to paint Crogh Patrick she has the sort of joyful lyricism as part of her artistic DNA and I think she has shown that she can apply it wherever she makes a painting
My translation = the Judges now breathe a bit better as they may have found one of their finalists. It must be a worry for them if they keep putting people through to the semi finals who don't look like they could do a commission.
TIP: Start your journey with LAOTY "looking like you can do a commission".
I have to disagree about the way she puts paint down. There's nothing much
which is genuinely new in the art world
Libby's painting was the one which most closely resembled what people were
looking at between HMS Wellington and the South Bank. I think she also got the
scale of the buildings right.
- craft passing and the way the River swirls when that happens
- the very glassy Sea Containers House east of Blackfriars Bridge
- plus ALL if "South Bank Tower" and "One Blackfriars" behind it - which looks a bit like a boomerang.
- Both Blackfriars Bridge and the Blackfriars Station bridge behind it
- the chimney of the former power station which now houses Tate Modern in the background at Bankside Pier
- and finally The Shard over at London Bridge.
Her high cloud sky was presumably painted in the afternoon.
Having studied the other shortlisted artists contributions in more detail,
I do think she was a very worthy winner.
Compared to Tom's painting, she very sensibly left out the red brick OXO
building.
I'm left wondering as to whether she can go bigger - maybe in the Semi
Finals?
Next Week
|
|
The pods are back and relocated from the Ferry Port to a view of
Dover Castle. The wildcards get a closer view! |
The subject next week is Dover Castle - which is another BIG subject. There again, when your commission is a mountain - you need to have big
subjects for landscapes.
I'm going to suggest now that painting to scale might be important next
week.
Reference
This covers:
- Series 11 reviews to date
- 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
- Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Dover Ferry Port
- Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Skiddaw
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) but will take into account the already announced changes with
respect to how many artists will be selected.
The deadline for submission is NOON on Monday 23rd March 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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED AGAIN because of too much spam.
My blog posts are always posted to my Making A Mark Facebook Page and you can comment there if you wish.
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.