Review: £10,000 Commission for Landscape Artist of the Year 2025

The Commission Prize comes right after the we find out who won Landscape Artist of the Year for 2026 - see my post Kim Day wins Landscape Artist of Year 2026

This post is about the Commission:

• the brief for the Landscape Artist of the Year commission
• the Commission Programme - what's involved in understanding the brief and the constraints on the artist
• the Commission Painting produced by the winner of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023.

Before the Unveiling of the Commissioned Painting of Croagh Patrick

The Commission

It's probably worth saying that this is not a prize in the sense that a nice tidy sum of £10,000 lands in your bank account. 

First you have to work for it!

What you get in effect as a prize is an opportunity to EARN £10K through creating a painting - which everybody will want to comment on (and have done!)

The Challenge

The Commission is both like and unlike a commission an artist usually receives.

Usually it's only illustrators who get a tight brief and an absolute deadline for delivery - and given her day job is being a scenic artist for film and television Kim will have been very used to working on commission.

However most artists have some flexibility about deadlines (i.e. you say whether to accept it or not and when you can do it / deliver it) and briefs when doing a commission. This one you have

• a very specific subject - it has to be a painting about Croagh Patrick, the holy mountain associated with St Patrick in County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland
• a very specific deadline - for delivery to the National Gallery of Ireland and the filming of the Winner's Commission programme
• considerable latitude as to what you do and how you do it - within the context of media allowed in the competition - and the constraints of being followed around by a film crew the whole time

The winner will receive a taxable fee of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) (“the Winner’s Prize Fee”) for creation, completion, and delivery of an artwork (“the Winner’s Prize Artwork”) of a landscape (“Winner’s Prize Location”) on dates and times and locations to be determined by the Producer at its absolute discretion. Extract from the Series 11 Terms and Conditions

The Brief

The first part of the Commission is a visit to the National Gallery of Ireland to meet Dr Brendan Rooney, Head Curator and Curator of Irish Art to:

• get the brief
• ask questions

Exploring Time - Tony Foster's watercolour landscapes at the RWS Gallery

There’s an amazing exhibition of very impressive watercolour paintings by Tony Foster at the RWS Gallery in Whitcomb Street. 

It's quite unlike anything else I've ever seen before in an art gallery.

For more than 45 years now English artist Tony Foster has worked in the World’s wildernesses - mountains and canyons, rainforests and deserts, the Arctic and the Tropics. Travelling slowly - on foot or by canoe or raft, and carrying his painting and camping equipment he makes his paintings in response to what he finds on his journeys.

“Exploring Time” in plein air painting treks through geological and biological time across various wilderness locations on different continents. 

This new exhibition presents over fifty watercolours painted en plein air over seventeen years, sharing the artist's reflections on the complexity of time and its impact upon the planet. Each includes notes from the artist’s experiences as well as maps and objects relevant to its location.

Divided into Geological Time, Biological Time, Human Time and Fleeting Moments, the paintings explore how time has sculpted and affected our planet. From Colorado to Tibet, the Galapagos and Cornwall, the works celebrate the wonder of nature, highlighting the importance of leaving areas of the world undisturbed.

A view of one of the basement galleries

His watercolour paintings painted plein air over 17 years are phenomenal. 

Some are of some absolutely amazing vistas in wilderness country. Some are of things he finds and records en route when trekking - which also record the small things in places in a unique way.

• You can see some of my photos of this paintings in my Facebook Post
• You can see a record of his exhibitions over the years on his website

The resulting paintings are a visual record of what he encounters on his journey: not just the landscape, but flora and fauna, notes, souvenirs and anecdotes.

A record of small objects - leaves, fruits, birds, eggs, feathers, twigs etc
found in a specific place on is travels

He also has an extraordinarily impressive CV of exhibitions across the USA and UK and coverage in articles by very many different publications. 

This exhibition will be embarking on a tour of the US from 2026 to 2028.

Approach to Drawing and Painting + Equipment

His approach to recording by drawing and painting what he sees is quite unlike virtually all landscape artists. This is his plein air method

He does not use photography or sketches but makes his paintings on site, often in the most difficult and uncomfortable circumstances. Sometimes a large-scale work (up to 8ft x 4 ft / 244 cms x 122 cms!) will take more than three weeks on site before it is sufficiently resolved to roll into its aluminium tube to be completed in his studio in Cornwall. 

Check out his painting equipment he takes with him 

Tony Foster's very lightweight painting equipment for very large paintings

Once he has found his painting site, he erects a makeshift board as an easel. When working in freezing conditions, he adds gin to his painting water to stop it icing-up. 

Events Programme

CORRECTION: Landscape Artist of the Year 2025

Recently I received an enquiry from somebody in Canada who was trying to read through all my blog posts about Landscape Artist of the Year which was broadcast earlier this year.

I’m having a problem with the LAOTY 2025 episode reviews, as the links don’t seem to be working. All the review links just go back to episode number one. Hoping you can do a fix? I enjoy reading your reviews after watching the episodes. I’m starting to despair about the judges, and appreciate your reasonable critiques!

Ben McGregor with his Commission Painting

Yesterday I sat down and fixed them all - on all the posts. 

I've tracked all the correct links down and reinserted them in the post about the Final https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2025/03/ben-macgregor-wins-landscape-artist-of-year-2025.html - and republished it

So here is the full set of links to episodes and my posts about LAOTY 2025 

• Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) - Hampton Court
• Review: Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) - Snowdon, Wales
• Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) - Clifton Suspension Bridge
• Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - St Pancras Basin
• Review: Episode 5 Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - Dinorwic Slate Quarry
• Review: Episode 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - Bristol Harbourside
• Review: Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - Semi Finals at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard 
• Ben MacGregor wins Landscape Artist of the Year 2025
• Review: £10,000 Commission for Landscape Artist of the Year 2025

Plus 

• LAOTY 2025: Meet the Heat Winners and Wildcard Winners PLUS View the Commission Painting!

Here's the video of Ben MacGregor with his commission at the Courtauld

Not quite sure how the mishap with the links happened - but it did - and it certainly explains why these posts got rather less readers than users. I always include the links at the end to help read through the previous ones! Hence this correction!

A new Judge for Landscape Artist of the Year!

FINALLY! One small step after very many moans over very many months and years.

We have a new Judge for Landscape Artist of the Year. Kate Bryan has stepped away!!!

Plus they have announced the new Judge - who is Eva Langret, Director of Frieze - of which more below. Note: tomorrow I'll be discussing locations for the new series.

At Dover Castle: the new Judge Eva Langret (in yellow)
with Kathleen Soriano, Tai Shan Shierenberg and presenter Stephen Mangan

Kate Bryan no longer judging LAOTY

We can speculate as to the reasons why - but this is what has been said....

This is what she said

After ten incredible and memorable years on the show, it feels like the right moment to hand over the baton. It’s been a privilege to be part of something that means so much to so many people and to witness such extraordinary talent from the wildcards to the artists to the exceptional crew that make it all possible. Eva is a wonderful addition, and I can’t wait to see how the series evolves with fresh eyes on the panel. I am delighted to be still be continuing with Portrait Artist of the Year alongside my brilliant fellow judges, Tai and Kathleen.”

Press releases are often designed to obscure the reason why.

I’d like to thank Kate for a) opening up arts criticism to me and our millions of devoted Landscape Artist of the Year viewers, b) looking windswept and interesting at all the sunny and not so sunny locations she’s travelled to as a brilliant judge on the show, and c) being a total delight to work with.

Kate is a real expert in her field – she wears it lightly and communicates brilliantly, opening up the visual arts in an intelligent and accessible way. The Landscapes will miss her, but luckily for us she’ll continue to lend us her eyes and ears on Portrait Artist of the Year for which we are grateful.

Phil Edgar-Jones, Executive Director of Unscripted at Sky 

NO we're not. Many regular viewers would be very happy if the very obviously bossy and on occasions completely inarticulate Kate stepped away completely and waved Bye Bye forever.

I'm not going to labour this, but would merely ask

• how many times has she browbeat the others into going with her choice?
• how many times has she come out with "bryanisms" - words which are not recognisable in the lexicon of terms for describing art?

Personal theory - she's pregnant and is happy to do judging at Battersea - which means sleeping at home every night - but no longer wants to travel with a small child at home and another on the way - which would be compoletely understandable. Or just the latter minus the pregnancy.

About the new Judge: Eva Langret

Review: £10,000 Commission for Landscape Artist of the Year 2025

This post follows on from my review of the Final of Landscape Arrtist of the Year - see Ben MacGregor wins Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - and deals with all aspects of the Commission.

This post is about:

• the challenge of the Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) commission
• the Commission Programme
• the Commission Painting produced by the winner of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025

I confess part of this review is also part guide to the places Ben visited - because I've visited them too!

The Commission Challenge

Every year a different organisation provides both the brief and budget for the commission. 

For the 10th Anniversary, the production team were looking for a prestigious client and commission

I wrote about the Commission Challenge back in April 2024 in 10th Anniversary Prize Commission for Landscape Artist of the Year

Last week Sky Arts announced the organisation which will receive the commission and the location of the 10th Anniversary Prize Commission for the next series of Landscape Artist of the Year has been announced.

• The Courtauld Gallery will be the recipient of the £10,000 Prize Commission - meaning the winner will have their commission painting hung in the Courtauld. (You can see online versions of paintings in the Courtauld Collection - but always best to visit to see the real thing and appreciate its impact)
• The location for the Commission will be the South of France

Following in the footsteps of famous painters like Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh, the winning artist will travel to the south of France to create a work inspired by one of the most famous coastlines in the word.

Ben visiting the Gallery holding the Permanent Collection of the Courtauld Gallery

Ben Macgregor visited the Courtauld Gallery to meet Barnaby Wright, Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery and Curator of 20th Century Art. 

He advised Ben of what the £10,000 Commission Challenge comprised and how it related to three important paintings in the Courtauld Collection (see below)

Ben Macgregor getting his briefing from Barnaby Wright

What we would like you to do is to go to those different sites where those three artists painted and were so inspired and produce your own contemporary response to those three landscapes.

Barnaby Wright

Wow - you've just given me goosebumps!

Ben MacGregor

I thought it was a very challenging commission. I could see the rationale behind it but it would have had my stomach doing somersaults of it had been me!

The Commission Programme

10th Anniversary Prize Commission for Landscape Artist of the Year

One of the artists who has applied for the next series of Landscape Artist of the Year - by the deadline for entries of 3rd May 2024 - will win a £10,000 commission.

Last week Sky Arts announced the organisation which will receive the commission and the  location of the 10th Anniversary Prize Commission for the next series of Landscape Artist of the Year has been announced.

• The Courtauld Gallery will be the recipient of the £10,000 Prize Commission - meaning the winner will have their commission painting hung in the Courtauld. (You can see online versions of paintings in the Courtauld Collection - but always best to visit to see the real thing and appreciate its impact)
• The location for the Commission will be the South of France

Following in the footsteps of famous painters like Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh, the winning artist will travel to the south of France to create a work inspired by one of the most famous coastlines in the word.

At this point I'll just insert my sketch of Monet's painting of Antibes in the 'old' Courtauld Gallery!

My sketch of Monet's painting of Antibes in the Courtauld Gallery

plus Cezanne's landscape painting of Mont St. Victoire - also in the Courtauld

The Montagne Saint-Victoire (c.1887) by Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)

oil on canvas

Samuel Courtauld Trust: Courtauld Gift 1932

I've also tried drawing the landscape in the south of France like Van Gogh and have certainly visited a number of places which he drew - and a number of places where he drew from.

If you want to get more insight into what that Commission trip might involve - just take a look at this article for Architectural Digest - An Art Lover’s Road Trip Through the South of France. I've done all of it apart from the last bit - and it is a location which provides masses of inspiration. 

Applications close on Friday 3rd May and the filming starts in June.
You can read more about how to enter via my blog post Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year Series Ten

The Semi-Finalists in Landscape Artist of the Year 2024

You, like me, have probably already forgotten the names and backgrounds of the artists who are going to be in the semi-final of Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 on Sky Arts.

Here's a round-up and refresher for all those who will be watching TONIGHT at 8pm.

For me, the critical question is WHO is going to make a serious pitch for the final and then the commission in this semifinal round. Read on to find out WHY....

ALL the artists are painters - except for Kristina who is really a printmaker.

At the end I discuss the reasons behind who I predict will be in the Final and where you can discuss my choice!

Heat 1: Kristina Chen

Kristina Chen (Instagram) is a Canadian printmaker who has studied in London. Her submission was a large monochrome work on very thin Japanese paper. Very little presence online when I looked for her after the first heat. However, I looked again and have now found her website which I couldn't find at the time of the first heat. She describes herself as 

a London based artist working between printmaking, photography and public installation.

It's also very clear from her 'about' page that she is very used to doing commissions for prestigious clients and public art installations. Nothing that vaguely resembles painting though...

Having seen her past achievements, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if she's in the Final - because I don't believe that the Judges never ever look at their CVs and websites!

 

However, her Instagram account is now private! Which seems odd for an artist who is trying to raise their profile via the media

Submission and Heat Painting by Kristina Chen

What I said

Kristina Chen rescued an impossible situation and benefited from the fact that both Kathleen and Tai liked the strange quality of her artwork. They do love seeing artwork they've not seen before!

I thought Kristina's submission was very impressive - and I identified her at the beginning, when we only had the submissions to go on, as being one of the shortlisted artists.

I also think it is infinitely superior to her heat artwork. However I have sympathy for the fact that what she had planned to do in the heat i.e. printmaking turned out to be impossible given the location. She was working on very light paper and it became obvious to her that working into the initial drawing / print using other media was the only way she could finish.

She captured the huge clefts in the cliff on which the castle sat and got a very real sense of the massive nature of the cliffs and the relatively small size of the castle. Plus she got the weather in the latter part of the day.

She wasn't my favourite, although I loved her submission. I said....

I'm not disappointed however I think her submission probably got her through. It will be really interesting to see:

• whether she works out how to do printmaking outside
• what she produces in the semi-finals

REFERENCE: Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 9 (2024) 

Heat 2: Wesley Smith

I didn't like Wesley's heat painting, however I loved his submission

Wesley Smith (Instagram) is a chef and a painter based in Brighton’s North Laines where he paints landscapes and still lives. He spent 10 years living abroad in Taiwan and his paintings are influenced by Asia. His Instagram account is definitely worth a review - I'm more impressed by the paintings on there which demonstrates very clearly that he can paint a range of landscapes.

Filming Landscape Artist of the Year in June 2023

Some of you will recall that back in May, I did a post about Landscape Artist of the Year Filming 2023: Venues, Dates and Wildcards. 

Last month, Storyvault Films were out and about with the Pods around the country filming the next series which will be broadcast in early 2024. 

The three venues for filming the six episodes this summer were:

• Liverpool
• Hever Castle in Kent
• Stonehaven on the Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland. 
  

It was really nice to see lots of pics of proper landscapes - both urban and rural - and no country houses or "novel" (I'm being polite) locations!

Lots of excellent photos of the filming of painting Dunnottar Castle
by Julie Mary Lawler who lives in Stonehaven

After the filming has taken place I go looking for evidence it happened on social media!

You can watch the Semi Final at Buckler's Hard, Hampshire on 12th July 2023. More details at the end.

Location: Liverpool

DATES: Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th June 2023

Liverpool - Pier Head

A post by the Liverpool Film Office about the filmining of the episode based at the Pier Head. As predicted the Liver Building was prominent in view!

Liverpool - Albert Docks

First a post by the Albert Docks FB Page

Then a post by a participant

Plus a post by a visitor to the Albert Docks!

Location: Hever Castle in Kent

DATES: Tuesday 20th June and Wednesday 21st June 2023.

First a post by Hever Castle. Looks like I guessed right about one of the locations.

 

Plus a post by a participant - Susan Schramm (lots of photos of all the wildcard artists)

 

 and Ian Head also posted - I'm not sure if he was an artist or just watched

 

Location: Stonehaven in Scotland 

Stonehaven - The Harbour

A couple of posts by the Danielle Graham, an Executive Producer for Storyvault Films who make Landscape Artist of the Year

Landscape Artist of the Year Filming 2023: Venues, Dates and Wildcards

Artists who have already applied for Series 9 of Landscape Artist of the Year - but have not been selected for one of the pods - can now apply to be one of the Wildcard Artists at one of the six venues around the UK in June

Entries to be a Wildcard at one of the six Heat Locations in Series 9 open at midday tomorrow. 

• wildcard spaces are very limited so be ready to apply
• ONLY those who submitted an application to be on the programme can apply - hence I'm not including the link for applications in this post as it's in the email sent already sent to applicants

This post:

• highlights the locations and dates
• speculates on what the two views at each location will be
• provides some tips re accommodation and travel

I'll be doing a future post which will summarise:

• lessons learned by previous wildcard artists
• recommendations for pod artists 

Where will Landscape Artist of the Year be held in 2023?

The Heats of Series 9 of Landscape Artist of the Year will be filmed in June 2023 at

• Liverpool
• Hever Castle in Kent
• Stonehaven on the Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland.

Liverpool

DATES: Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th June 2023

This one will suit Kathleen Soriano, who is the Chair of the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art!

Indeed the 12th Edition of the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art will be taking place during the heats. it opens on 10th June and continues until the 17th September. 

The 12th edition of Liverpool Biennial ‘uMoya: The sacred Return of Lost Things’ addresses the history and temperament of the city of Liverpool and is a call for ancestral and indigenous forms of knowledge, wisdom and healing. In the isiZulu language, ‘uMoya’ means spirit, breath, air, climate and wind.

The festival explores the ways in which people and objects have the potential to manifest power as they move across the world, while acknowledging the continued losses of the past. It draws a line from the ongoing Catastrophes caused by colonialism towards an insistence on being truly Alive.

Potential locations in and around Liverpool.

It's difficult to say as there's lots of scope - hence no pics!

I wrote this post backwards (i.e. I wrote the other two episodes first). Given the extensive and expansive presence of water in the other two locations, I'm thinking that at least one of the dates had to involve water - if not both.

I gather that one likely location will be the Albert Dock - which used to be home to a television programme so I guess that's got the facilities they need.

I think I'd be very surprised if at least one of the heats doesn't focus on visible urban artwork within the Biennial. Hard to say what that might be! It's possible Kathleen's connection with the Biennial might allow things to happen which otherwise would not happen.

It's entirely possible that one of the locations mighty be on the other side of the Mersey - looking back at Liverpool and the iconic Liver Building. That's what happened in the fifth episode of The Big Painting Challenge" in 2015 (the Cityscape Challenge). You might find it useful to read Review: The Big Painting Challenge - Episode 5

Plus it occurred to me that the Liver Building looks a bit like a castle - see below for why this might be relevant!

There again, they might go for one of the very big Cathedrals! So lots of options....

Travel and Accommodation

Liverpool has a mainline train station at Lime Street and good road connections. But there's the issue of train strikes....

There's also lots of accommodation in the city - but 

• you need to bear in mind the dates are at the same time as the first week of the Biennial. There may be competition! 
• this is Trip Advisor in the ten best cheap hotels in Liverpool
• Try getting a B&B across the River Mersey and using the commuter ferry if you want to save costs (I watched "Race across the world too!"). If - as I speculate - one of the locations is across the Mersey then you'll be on the right side of the River!

Hever Castle

DATES: Tuesday 20th June and Wednesday 21st June 2023.

I think this is an excellent choice for the film company in terms of making life easy. For example, it offers accommodation on site. Or maybe I mean appearing to make life easy?

Potential locations in and around Hever Castle

I've been to Hever Castle in Kent several times. I know it fairly well. The views if offers include

• castle and moat and interesting topiary (former home of 
  
• Italianate Gardens - with lots of flat grass
• a very large lake - with flat ground at various locations around its edge.

Hever Castle and Moat - with LOTS of reflections and flat ground nearby

Photo by Neil Howard

Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The Lake at Hever Castle

(which you get to via the Italianate Gardens)

photo: Katherine Tyrrell

Given the facilities it offers, my guess is both locations for both pod artists and wildcards  will be located within the grounds which are relatively flat and hence relatively easy to move the pods around. It also offers accessibility to much of the grounds if disability issues are considered (as they should be).

Review: £10,000 Commission for Landscape Artist of the Year 2023

This post is about:

• the challenge of the Landscape Artist of the Year commission
• the Commission Programme
• the Commission Painting produced by the winner of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023.

This week I went to Greenwich to view the £10,000 Commission Painting painted by Finn Campbell-Notman as winner of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 for the Royal Museums Greenwich. 

You can find photographs of the painting hung in the Queen's House below.

The LAOTY 2023 Commission

Like many others I watched last week's programme about the development of the Commission with interest. (It followed on from the programme about the Final). 

For me, it threw up so very many questions - which I'd been asking myself all the way through the series

Personally I thought that the commission might be described as "a poisoned chalice"! Sounds good - until you start to think about how to do it!

So what was the commission and when did the artists find out what it was?

I've heard from artists participating in the series, including at least one of the finalists, that NOBODY knew what the commission was until after the competition finished and the winner was announced. 

I've talked to other artists from previous series about this and nobody knew what their commission was until they'd got to the point where they needed to know. 

The programme suggested that even the Judges didn't know what the Commission was!

According to Robert Bligh, the Senior Curator: World and Maritime History at the National Maritime Museum - who is presumably not somebody who often commissions paintings - the commission was as follows...

A contemporary seascape and maritime painting inspired by the lives and work of the Van De Veldes

The rationale was that the NMM was holding an exhibition at the Queens House in 2023 - which opened last week - to mark the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Van De Veldes - Elder (father) and Younger (son) in 1672 in Greenwich as leading maritime artists. (I'll be writing my review of the exhibition next week having viewed it for the second time on Monday).

What I shall never ever understand about this series - and irritated me throughout - was that the commission as presented bore no relation to either:

• locations chosen
• knowledge / skills of the various participating artists

The fact that each programme, when broadcast, was prefaced by the announcement of the prize commission for the winner (i.e. commission for the National Maritime Museum relating to the Van de Veldes Exhibition in Greenwich) 

However - and it cannot be repeated too much - the subject and scope of the prize commission was NOT KNOWN BY THE ARTISTS at any time during the course of the competition! Or it would appear any of the people making the programme!!

Which means:

• only one of the locations related in any way to the commission i.e. Lough Neagh is an inland sea like one which exists in the Netherlands - but is also tidal.
• none of the artists were really tested in relation to painting water - except in the last heat. The opportunities that Blackpool and Castle Ward presented were wasted as the pods focused on structures rather than the sea.

The Commission Programme

As well as a commission, Finn Campbell-Notman also had to make a television programme about working out how to do the commission!

The "Landscape Artist" Conundrum.

I decided to investigate the concept of the "landscape artist" after making some rather critical remarks about a certain landscape art competition. 

What is a "landscape artist"?

Google is fascinating - for all the wrong reasons - on the topic of "landscape artist". Search query results are influenced by its understanding of 

• what is a landscape? - a lot of waxing lyrical about nature and the natural landscape - AND fixing your garden!
• what is landscape art? - very focused on the depiction of natural scenes. Urban scenes and cityscapes don't often get a mention but there is some recognition of the fact it might be more than just the natural landscapes; and 
• what is an artist? - really interesting - but not the topic of this blog post! (Maybe another one?)

According to many of the definitions which come up Capability Brown would have definitely qualified as a landscape artist! 

This is because Google apparently has no concept of differentiating between landscape art, landscape architecture or horticultural design.

London, Houses of Parliament. The Sun Shining through the Fog (1904)
by Claude Monet

So I kept looking....

Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. Wikipedia

So absolutely nothing to do with any of the landscapes recently presented to artists in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year!

It's amazing how little in the way of decent definitions have found their way to the Google search queries. My search was art terms glossary "landscape artist".

The glossary of the National Society for Education in Art and Design provides the following definition in its glossary of various terms

Landscape artist
An artist who is inspired by the natural world and the countryside and makes works that express interest, interrogation, despair or enjoyment of these elements

NSEAD

There's a fair few articles which want to tell you about "the most famous landscape artists" or "landscape artists you should know" 

One such is an article on the Invaluable (auction records) website

Landscape artists are those that portray the outdoors in their works, such as scenes of rolling hills or meadows, fields, mountains, lakes, the seaside, and beyond. As shown in landscape paintings by famous artists, elements of the natural world take precedent over people as the focus in this genre. If depicted at all, humans typically serve as minor elements in the composition.

While that might well describe the past, I'm not sure it's an accurate depiction of contemporary landscape art.

I took a look at the Tate Glossary of Art Terms which is often quoted by others.

It has a definition for landscape - but curiously not for landscape artist - which starts

The appreciation of nature for its own sake, and its choice as a specific subject for art, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the seventeenth century landscape was confined to the background of portraits or paintings dealing principally with religious, mythological or historical subjects (History painting).

Today, landscape continues to be a major theme in art with many artists using documentary techniques such as video, photography and classification processes to explore the ways we relate to the places we live in and to record the impact we have on the land and our environment.

and finishes

In the second half of the twentieth century, the definition of landscape was challenged. The genre expanded to include urban and industrial landscapes, and artists began to use less traditional media in the creation of landscape works. For example in the 1960s land artists such as Richard Long radically changed the relationship between landscape and art by creating artworks directly within the landscape.

In general and in conclusion, there are very few definitions of a landscape artist.

The Art of the Landscape Project

Some years ago I started a blog called The Art of the Landscape as a project. 

In it I tried to develop a compendium of information about landscape art - using the Pages function to create a compendium listing. 

One of the reasons for this was that there was an amazing paucity of well organised information about landscape art available for free online. Lots of learned books to buy - but very little between articles for amateur watercolour painters of nice places and some very expensive books!

It's not often updated now - but still has a lot of resources about landscape art.

Landscape Artist of the Year - National Trust Favourites

Which are the top ten landscape paintings of National Trust properties that have been created during the filming of Landscape Artist of the Year? 

A number of National Trust properties have been the location for the pods since 2015.

The "answer" was revealed in a one-off programme - Landscape Artist of the Year: National Trust Favourites - broadcast on Sky Arts on 2nd February which celebrated the National Trust buildings - and associated paintings.  (Note: The programme is being broadcast again on different days and different times this week.)

Except was it? There were absolutely no landscapes from Series 5 or 6 and only 1 from Series 4 in the top 10 - filmed in 2019 and 2020 -and 2018 respectively - and yet there were some great landscape paintings of National Trust properties in those series......

I think it's because National Trust properties were very much featured in Series 1, 2 and 3 - and then very little in Series 4, 5 and 6. To emphasise my point - I've only written about and reviewed ONE of the heats featured below!

That quibble aside, the programme was a very gentle and satisfying combination of:

• a review of the top 10 paintings - as voted for by the public - which have won heats in the series since 2015 (but which series???)
• an introduction to places I've never visited as well as remembering past visits to specific locations which I have visited.

The top ten paintings are as voted for by members of the public. So no involvement of the Judges - this is a programme for all those who write every week that they didn't agree with the Judges!!

Have your say on which of your favourite paintings of the places we care for get featured in a special episode of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year.

Visit the @skytv website to vote, and be in with a chance of winning Sky Q: https://t.co/1ITQ7vGDWg
#LAOTY pic.twitter.com/CWjQaCIpJf

— National Trust (@nationaltrust) October 29, 2021

The paintings were announced in reverse order - and hence that's the order I will use below. I'm referening the location and the artist - and providing links where these are self-evident.

Some of the profile info comes from the ever-helpful blog posts done by Cass Arts - a partner of the programme.

10. Wray Castle by Anna Perlin (Series 2 Heat 2 / 2016)

Location: Wray Castle in the Lake District a gothic revival castle standing on the shores of Lake Windermere

Anna Perlin: painter and printmaker based in Hertfordshire. Reached the semi-finals of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2016 and won Artists and Illustrators Artist of the Year 2017.

• website: https://www.annaperlin.com/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AnnaPerlinArt
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna_perlin_art/
• Cass Arts interview: https://www.cassart.co.uk/blog/sky-arts-anna-perlin.htm

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9. Trelissick by Emma Copley (Series 1 Heat 2 / 2015)

Trelissick Gardens by Emma Copley

Location: Trelissick - a garden near Truro in Cornwall

Artist: Emma Copley 

Born in Dublin, Emma lived on the east coast of the United States for 20 years and currently lives and works in Cambridge, England. Emma has been developing her painting practice since graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 2001. Her work depicts places and people from everyday life, exploring colour and form with thick, gestural layers of paint.


• Website: https://emmacopley.com/woods
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmacopleyart
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmacopleyart/

8. Lyme Park by Jamie Hageman (Series 1 Heat 5 2015)

Landscape Artist of the Year 2022 (Series 7) starts on Wednesday!

Series 7 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2022) will be broadcast on Sky Arts starting this Wednesday 12th January 2022 

• on Sky Arts on Freeview (Channel 11) at 8pm 
• or live streamed via Now

This post is for those who want to 

• know what the LOCATIONS were when they filmed last summer (2021)
• think about entering to paint this summer (2022) to view next year (2023)
• recap on some of the learning points from previous series

I'm expecting the format to be the same as always 

• 9 episodes in total (6 Heats + semi-final + Final + Commission)
• the same 3 Judges plus the same 2 presenters
• 6 locations for the heats
• 6 or 8 artists in the Pods in each heat - depending on whether they are reverting to the norm or sticking with the 6 they had in 2020 re. the constraints they were operating under
• 4 hours total to paint the location the artists are given - from the pod they are assigned (unless you rebel as some have done in the past - and turn round / wander off / etc!)
• Wildcard artists at each location - with numbers being tailored to the space available
• the winner gets a £10,000 commission to paint a specific location 
• coverage via their social media - 
• Instagram (excellent - but I suggest you also follow Kathleen Soriano, Kate Bryan and Danielle Graham (one of the Executive Producers). Note: Tai Shan Schierenberg has 3.6k followers on Instagram and has yet to post!
• Facebook 
• Twitter (not very good) i.e.  LOCATIONS

In terms of locations - unlike in the summer of 2020, the location filming went further afield in the summer of 2021!

I haven't found any reference to Heat Locations in print yet - but social media has been MUCH more revealing! I've found various posts by "people who were there" - and it's clear the presenters and judges and the production team have all been to the following for the Heats - plus I found a listing of all the locations and dates! :) 

So this is it

• 12 January 2022: the Eden Project in Cornwall - the global garden in a former clay quarry - where the artists are tasked with the challenge of painting the Eden Biomes!
• 19 January 2022: the grounds of Compton Verney in Warwickshire (which I wrote about last week - see EXHIBITION: Portrait Artist of the Year (2013 - 2021)
• 26 January 2022: Whitstable - where they did the Celebrity Landscape Artist of the Year - see
  Review: Celebrity Landscape Artist of the Year 2021 - but it looks as if they had a much sunnier day for the LAOTY episode
• 2 February 2022: back to the Eden Project Gardens
• 9 February 2022: Compton Verney House 

so ONLY five Heats - and not six?? Maybe they didn't get enough decent entries?

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Then......

• 16th February 2022: Forth Bridge - the Semi Final will involve "painting the Forth Bridge" - literally! See Forth Bridge takes centre stage for filming of SKY Arts TV show 'Landscape Artist of the Year' | Dunfermline Press where the weather is looking a bit murky!

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• 3rd February 2022: the Final will be at Levens Hall - thank you Kathleen Soriano! This is located south of Kendal in Cumbria - at the gateway to the Lake District National Park. Looks like they had a fabulous sunny day in the gardens with the topiary.....
• 2nd March 2022: Winners Film - based around a ride on a narrow boat along part of the Rochdale Canal - which runs for 33 miles between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, UK.

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Fancy being part of the show next year?