Want to watch Landscape Artist of the Year 2027 being filmed?

Are you interested in watching Series 12 of Landscape Artist of the Year being filmed? This is the series which will be broadcast in early 2027.

This post is about:

• where 5 of the locations are and the day they are being filmed
• useful info about how to get there

You will recall from earlier posts that this series has 

• The ten artists for this new series have been selected (see Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 12). This new format means they all travel the length and breadth of the country visiting different locations - with one artist dropping out after every heat.
• a new judge Landscape Artist of the Year: A Celebrity Twist!

Series 12: An invitation to watch

Every year, SKY Arts and Storyvault Films allow people to watch various of the heats of Landscape Artist of the Year as they are filmed. 

They are welcoming people to come and watch SOME of the heats on specific dates this summer. 

BUT only some as they cannot accommodate audiences at the remaining heats and the final this year, due to the lack of parking and facilities. (I also suspect that some of those turning up to the Final last year were a few too many / maybe blabbed online before the episode aired?)

They're calling them Episodes, I'm calling them Heats as the Heats often change order when they work out how to air them. As in they usually want a really good one up front to hook viewers - and yoiu don't know what that is until after it's been filmed!

On the Day

The competition will start at approximately 9:30am and finish around 6pm. You do not need to contact us to reserve a place, but please note that some locations may charge a fee for parking. We hope to see you there!

Please note that posting of photos or videos of any artists or artwork will NOT be permitted until after the show has broadcast. This is to help us avoid spoilers ahead of the show's transmission. (They also keep their eyes peeled for such posting in advance of the broadcast!) 

Series 12 LAOTY Locations

HEAT 1: Richmond Riverside, London – Monday 15th June 

Richmond Riverside in background

Richmond boathouse and boats in middle ground

Richmond Bridge on right

Credit: Jim Linwood (Wikimedia Commons)

Richmond Riverside is not a generic term, it's a very specific place/development in Richmond in South West London near to Richmond Bridge. It also offers 

• a large flat space where they can erect the pods so that the artists can paint the oft painted view of the bridge and/or Corporation Island.
• Plus lots of services nearby. 
• Accessible by public transport (eg Richmond Station is a 9 minute short walk). Limited parking (you're competing with the workers and shoppers of this very popular place)

Richmond Riverside: the Red pin is located near the large flat terraces

There is very likely to be a second heat close by on the following day or more likely Wednesday - depending on the time needed to strike the set and set up again.

Review: UKCPS Silver Anniversary Annual Open Exhibition 2026

After 25 years, the UKCPS is celebrating its Silver Anniversary with its first exhibition at the Mall Galleries.

It's always been an ambition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS) to hold its Open Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. Making it to its 25th Birthday seemed like an opportune time to spend some money and celebrate in style.

UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition
Part of the Hang in the West Gallery

For those UKCPS people not familiar with me or my blog (although I gathered from the PV on Tuesday night that a lot were), I am 

• a coloured pencil addict and a past signature member of UKCPS. I've written about its exhibitions a lot over the years (see the list of blog posts at the end which also give an insight into artwork in past exhibitions)
• somebody who reviews ALL the national art societies which exhibit at the Mall Galleries - and has done so for nearly 20 years. So I've got a very good basis for saying how this exhibition compares with the norm at the Mall Galleries.

History of the UKCPS Society

The Society was founded in 2001 by Bob Ebdon and Pat Heffer.

The UK Colour Pencil Society (UKCPS) was founded in 2001 by Bob Ebdon, spurred by a letter in A&I magazine from Pat Heffer (who became a founder member, enthusiastic supporter and finally President). A few people sharing their interest of colour pencil art, who had never met except via the Internet, started the Society and it was launched at Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire. The Society has grown over the years: the second issue of the quarterly magazine (September 2001) reported they had just reached the 100 member mark, and now there are just over 750 members.

I was also a coloured pencil fan and found them online a little later and subsequently became a member and exhibited with them between 2007-2010. After that I gradually withdrew as a member from all national art societies I belonged to so as to be able to do better reviews of their exhibitions!

The society is different in some ways from other national art societies.

• anybody can become a member
• recognition of expertise and contribution is made through
• becoming a Signature Member (which I became in 2009 - see my blog post Signature membership)
• progressing to Silver Signature status (pictures accepted into 5 exhibitions within 10 years) and Gold status (pictures accepted into 10 exhibitions within 15 years.)
• it holds three exhibitions each year
• an open exhibition for all artists using coloured pencils - which is competitive
• an online exhibition for all members
• members only exhibition held at the Derwent Pencil Museum, Keswick. (This year it will be 31st August to 30th October 2026)

In June 2018 it was granted charitable status - with an objective of:

• promoting the art of drawing for the public benefit through the use of colour pencils
• holding a public exhibition at least once a year to showcase work and provide tuition
• help educate the public how to use colour pencils

The definition of a coloured pencil for the purposes of the exhibition is 

"wood-cased, wax- or oil-based colour pencil"

i.e. pastel pencils are excluded.

The 25th Annual Exhibition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society

Venue: Mall Galleries - West and North Galleries
Dates: Open from Tuesday 17 March 2026 - Saturday 21 March 2026,
Hours: 10am to 5pm

Workshops: click for more information

How the work was judged

• One member and two independent artists selected the artwork for the open exhibition.
• Another artist judges the selected artwork for awards. This year it was Curtis Holder - a leading exponent of coloured pencil artwork.

You can see all the artwork in the exhibition in two ways:

• In the albums of my pics that I've uploaded to Facebook - just click the link in the listing below. BTW, if I like a work I tend to take a photo of it on its own.
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2026 - West Gallery
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2026 - North Gallery
• Via the UKCPS website where all images of all the artwork are now uploaded

BEST PICTURE IN SHOW

Where ­Time ­Rests by Pauline Stuart

(which I had spotted as a "go back and look again" pic!)

SGFA 105th Annual Exhibition + scope for a VERY BIG exhibition about Drawing at the Mall Galleries

It's interesting to see how many of the national art societies who are not members of the Federation of British Artists are now holding their annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries.

To date we have:

• SBA - Society of Botanical Artists - regular exhibitor in the whole gallery on a biennial basis (next exhibition in 2027)
• SGFA - Society of Graphic Fine Art - regular exhibitor West and North Gallery (exhibition on at present - until 14 March
• SWA - Society of Women Artists - long term regular exhibitor on annual basis - next exhibition 23-27 June 2026
• UKCPS - UK Colour Pencil Society (for their 25th anniversary show only - next week 17 -25 March 2026

One wonders whether - at some point - some might become additional members of the Federation of British Artists. 

The Society of Graphic Fine Art - currently exhibiting this week - are a case in point.

The Society of Graphic Fine Art

It's other colloquial name is "The Drawing Society"although I think its lost sight of its drawing purpose in the narrative at the beginning of the current exhibition page on the Mall Galleries website (i.e. the word drawing is absent)

The Society of Graphic Fine Art ...exists to promote and exhibit original works of high quality in colour or black or white. This includes both traditional and contemporary media, which includes pencil, pen, watercolour, oils, charcoal, pastel and any of the forms of original printmaking.

I suggest the second paragraph needs to come first

A national society based in the UK, the Society of Graphic Fine Art is the only society dedicated to excellence in drawing and draughtsmanship, demonstrated by hand.

This art society was founded over 100 years ago in 1919 and now has 160 elected members who are professional standard artists from all areas of the art world who work in all drawing and printmaking media.  (I used to be one of them until I decided to not belong to any society while writing reviews of exhibitions.)

The Society was formed by students and teachers in the etching class at the London Central School of Arts. They wanted to establish a society that would

‘uphold and maintain the interests of all those forms of art that do not use colour as a form of expression’

which was another way of saying that drawing counts and, in one form or another, always will.

Their first exhibition in 1921 was supported by the RA and their first President was Sir Frank Brangwyn RA RE, the renowned muralist, painter, architect, illustrator and designer,

Current focus

Drawing excellence and draughtsmanship is still the focus of the society and its exhibition

The main criterion of membership, regardless of media discipline, is drawing excellence.

Nowadays, in addition to black and white work and traditional drawing skills, the society encourages the use of colour and non-figurative art.

105th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art

The entrance to the exhibition at the Mall Galleries

I visited the annual exhibition on Monday.

SGFA Exhibition: West and North Galleries of the Mall Galleries

Dates: 9 Mar 2026 - 14 Mar 2026 
Hours: 

Admission: FREE

I've uploaded my photographs of the artwork I saw to Facebook Albums

Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 12)

This is about the CALL FOR ENTRIES for the NEW FORMAT for Series 12 of Landscape Artist of the Year see 

• SEE my previous blog post announcing the change in the way it works BRAND NEW FORMAT for Landscape Artist of the Year Series 12 (2027) announced!
• the deadline for submissions is Monday 23rd March 2026 - so basically you've got three more weeks.

There are lots of pros and cons below. I suggest that, in my opinion, you need to be both experienced and committed to landscape art and camera happy to do well.

Given the MAJOR change in the way the programme will be delivered, you can expect that scrutiny of entries will become MUCH more intensive.

In summary, the changes are as follows:

• 10 artists will be chosen for the whole series (rather than the 8 different artists for each heat episode - so 10 artists NOT 48 artists). Similar to number chosen for other competitions such as Throwdown or Bakeoff.
• One artist leaves each week (similar to the format used by the BBC ten years ago for The Big Painting Challenge - but this time with a focus solely on landscape and apparently without any small challenges or learning activities)

This televised art competition gives artists four hours to paint a UK landscape. One artist is eliminated each episode, and one finalist is ultimately crowned the winner. Landscape Artist of the Year website

• ALL the (remaining) artists create artworks at ALL the locations - which means every artist needs to be able to guarantee that they can make themselves available for filming.  (Don't forget locations far from home may involve two travel says as well either side). This of itself will rule out a lot of artists. More comments below

If you want to take part in the show, you’ll need to confirm that you are available for seven filming dates on weekdays in June and July, plus one in September.

• More scope for:
• showing what you can do in terms of range and consistency
• getting used to being filmed so you perform better (that's not what they say but it is what will happen) 
• Artists can still turn up to paint as "Wildcards" BUT there is NO Wildcard competition
• If you apply, your work will be reviewed by prominent judges from the art world - BUT no word as yet as to who Judges will be. (I'm doubtful as to whether they are experienced landscape artists)
• Appearance Money! If selected for the show, you will receive 
• £500 for each episode you take part in, 
• plus reimbursement for travel, accommodation, and meal expenses.
• Commission: An additional £10,000 commission will be awarded to the winner.
• The deadline for entries has been brought forward to Monday 23rd March 2026. (It was originally advertised as a date in the middle of May)

At the end of the series, the Judges will determine who becomes Landscape Artist of the Year on a MUCH larger group of paintings produced in all the different locations before the Final. i.e. 

• three to apply
• six in the heats
• one in the semifinal 
• = 10 paintings BEFORE THE FINAL!

Which can only be positive for the programme, the artists and the viewers.

View this post on Instagram

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

More information

• This is the page about the change
• This is the CASTING PAGE page which sets out how it all works in 2026 - in more detail.

Frankly, I think the information provided is less than is needed. Hence why this blog post continues as it does.

What sort of artist are they trying to recruit for the PODS?

Having just ten artists for the entire series would, I expect, mean a different approach to selection.

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.

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

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

The 10 Most popular posts in the first million visits (Part 1)

One of the assets of this blog - which started 20 years ago - is there is a very considerable archive of past posts - some of which have been very popular indeed. 

I've just come across a post which highlights what were the 10 most popular posts in 2011 - after the first five years of Making A Mark. 

During this period I did regular "big projects" on specific topics - and these are reflected in the most popular posts

Below are the top five posts - with the links to each blog post embedded in its title.

Tomorrow I'll list the next 5 posts in the top 10

I've extracted a short piece of text and an image from each one - so you can get an insight as to what the post is about.

CAUTION: Given the age of the posts some of the links embedded in the post will no longer work as websites have died and been wound up.

1. 10 Tips for How to Sketch People

Drawing and sketching people is an invaluable way of developing a wide range of artistic skills.

I've been drawing people for very many years - family, friends, people in cafes and restaurants, life class models - and other artists. People often tell me how much they like the sketches I make of people I come across on my travels with a sketchbook - which I find a bit odd as most rarely have faces!

Cheers Boston!
(sketching fellow travellers at Logan Airport, Boston, USA September 2006)
8" x 10", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

2. Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques

Drawing Media:

• Pencil: He employed pencil for preliminary drawings and then combined it with ink. He often worked with a carpenter's pencil. He liked to press hard and often worked on wet paper.
• Pen and ink: Van Gogh had a remarkable gift for pen drawing and graphic technique.
• Most of Van Gogh's pen and ink and brush drawings (such as the one above) are executed first in pencil first. He then inks/bruhes over the pencil marks once he is happy with them.
• some of his pen and ink drawings are drawn without any preliminary use of pencil
• During his visit to Arles in 1888, Van Gogh discovered the reed pen (made from local hollow-barreled grass, sharpened with a penknife). It changed his drawing style. He created some extraordinary drawings of the Provençal landscape, including a series of drawings of and from Montmajour (east of Arles) , in reed pen and aniline ink on laid paper. The ink has now faded to a dull brown.
• The Van Gogh Museum is conducting research into pigments and drawing inks in use in the period 1888-1890 and comparing this to the inks Van Gogh used [UPDATE: See the Research Results REVIGO: Paintings - which also comments on inks]

Trees with ivy in the asylum garden, 1889
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, May-June 1889
pencil, reed pen and brush and ink, on paper, 61.8 cm x 47.1 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

3. Composition - Principles of Design

This post forms part of an introduction to the elements and principles of composition and design and follows on from yesterday's post about the elements of design. 

It's an overview. More can be written about each and every principle - and has been!

• Good composition doesn't happen by accident. A quick reminder. The analogy which I find helpful for remembering which is which is to compare the elements and principles of art and design to the ingredients and method of a recipe. Cookery and composition have quite a lot in common!
• All the elements are ingredients - they are separate and need to be combined effectively to produce a successful outcome. Each ingredient gets to play a major or a minor role in the eventual outcome. This, in part, is dependent on the quantities employed and, in part, on the nature and intrinsic power of each ingredient (think garlic and chilis!).
• It's the particular way that they they are combined - using the principles of design - which enables a successful outcome. The same ingredients can for example be combined in a number of different ways (think of recipes for eggs!)

Drawing Monet in coloured pencils

One my favourite occupations used to be drawing oil paintings by past masters - in coloured pencil.  

Morning on the Seine early in morning light - a copy of Monet's work in coloured pencils

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

One such was "Morning on the Seine" by Claude Monet - in a different colourway - which I drew some years ago. It's prompted me to think I should do more. I know I always learned a huge amount each and every time I copied a painting by an old Master.  

I think the last time this drawing was posted on this blog was back in 2013!

However, for those contemplating the benefits of copying paintings, it's VERY important to remember there's a lot of difference between 

• copying somebody who's out of copyright (like Monet) and 
• copying an image by an artist or photographer whose work is covered by copyright 
• see Copyright Infringement and "Fair Use" - Basics for Art and Artists

Morning on the Seine by Claude Monet

Monet's "Mornings on the Seine" is a series of 21 canvases painted in 1896 and 1897.

Monet often painted the River Seine and its river banks, near his home in Giverny, His aim was to capture the fleeting effects of dawn light on the River Seine n France - and create another series of paintings!

• He painted the same scene at different stages of sunrise and in a variety of weather conditions.
• He often painted from his specially equipped boat which he used as a floating studio. 
• Working from before dawn his aim was to record the subtle changes in color and atmosphere as the sun rose
• Monet often painted emphasising misty, blue, green, pink and purple tones.

Having patiently scouted out views along the river, Monet then painted the pictures from a boat that he had converted into a floating studio. For an extended period he rose by dawn in order to paint the changing effects of light as the sun came up. He then lined up the canvases on easels in his studio to complete them together as a series. Fifteen were shown at the Galerie Georges Petit in 1898. Metropolitan Museum of Art

You can see some of the paintings below. They're all called Morning on the Seine near Giverny 

• Metropolitan Museum of Art  (New York, USA)
• White House Historical Association (Washington DC) - a gift to the White House in memory of John F Kennedy
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston MA)
• North Carolina Art Museum (North Carolina) 
• The National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo, Japan - not currently on display)

Drawing my cat in sepia ink

Chloe sunbathing and sleeping on the yellow chair
August Bank Holiday 1994
Pilot G-Tec-C4 pen in sepia ink in Moleskine Sketchbook

31 years ago, I spent Bank Holiday Monday drawing my cat Chloe lazing on the back of my big creamy yellow armchair. It was especially favoured because it had feather and down cushions and hence a very comfortable squishy bed could be achieved by a cat dedicated to comfy sleeps.

This is drawn, by eyeballing sat 10 feet away, in pen and sepia ink in my Moleskine sketchbook. 

I now have a print of this pic in a frame sat right next to where she used to love sunbathing and sleeping.

I've always been in favour of staying home on Bank Holiday Mondays. There again I do live in central London, which necessitates a long slog in the traffic to get back home again if I go out when everybody else decides to go out!

Moreover, at the time I was working as a management consultant for one of the "Big Four" with lots of travel all around the country - with very early starts and very late returns home.

 Staying at home and not doing very much - except drawing my cat - was my idea of a proper "time out"!

I also used to get up early on Saturday mornings to draw using pastels and would aim to complete a large work by early afternoon....

How to develop large scale hyperrealistic graphite drawings

For all those interested in developing their skills in large scale hyperrealistic drawing with graphite. Which, as it happens, is a pretty niche field.

I've just discovered - via a recommendation from an artist I greatly respect - Jono Dry and his amazing drawings. Not that I'm any sort of fan of the surreal content of his typical subject matter - but I do appreciate somebody who has developed his skills with graphite to this level.

This video has only had nearly 14 million+ views!

Dry has devoted his practice to pushing the medium of graphite. With experimentation as a fundamental aspect of hyperrealism, a sense of play and precision is kept at the core of his practice.

I very much like the educational ethos of a lot of the work he does. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: A lot of artists trying to work out how to teach online will appreciate this video.

I also respect an artist who has worked out how to monetise his drawing practice in terms of:

• limited edition prints of his artwork
• educational videos via YouTube (all those views add up!) - which include lots of practical tips about studio equipment and building a business
• developing a Patreon community

Dry has built a dedicated Youtube channel focused on the output of educational videos showing specific aspects of the drawing process, as well as sharing tools to build a business in the creative industry.

Interesting also that he declines to take on commissions.

More new ways to paint a live model

I'd like to say this was my idea - but it's not! Alix Baker felt that people might like a little light relief after the rather intense post PAOTY Final / Commissions and my recent three posts commenting on what happened.

Here's some really original art - relating to drawing/painting a sitter - and it's very definitely novel! Eclectic even.... I'm very taken with the very first drawing we see.

Duck Drawing by Shaun the Sheep

Here's the video

For those of you not familiar with Shaun the Sheep, you can read more about this Aardman character and his films and tv series and various other creative outlets!

This short episode was taken from the Mossy Bottom Farm shorts Series

Artist of the Year Masterclass: Week 2

Below you can find the details of all this week's classes in the brand new series of Artist of the year: Masterclass. It's the same tutors as last week - but different topics this week.

Week 2 of Artist of the Year: Masterclass

As before the the programmes are

• on Sky Arts every evening this week
• the first programme starts at 6pm and lasts 30 minutes
• the second programme starts at 6.30pm
• so basically an hour of tuition covering two topics every evening.

So far as I am aware, these classes are only currently accessible to those living in the UK via Sky Arts (on Freeview). You can also watch on catchup if you subscribe to either Sky or Now TV.

If you follow the Artist of the Year Facebook page or Instagram account you'll get a reminder about each programme - which will include a list of the materials being used.

Here's the Facebook post for the two programmes this evening. (Sorry I've had to replace the Instagram video one - as the video just appeared as a great big blank space on my blog!!)

How did you find the new series of Artist of the Year: Masterclass last week?

It's certainly not a definition of masterclass that I'm familiar with. The artists are dealing with basics of the sort usually taught to beginners or improvers.

Speaking personally, I also found it difficult to set aside the hour each evening to watch "live". However, since I subscribe to NOW TV I was able to access the programmes already broadcast on catch-up. My preference would be to see two back to back programmes each week on one set day - over a period of weeks.

I also found that it was very easy to tell which are artists are experienced at teaching at this level - because it was very clear that they

• prepared their lesson well in advance 
• delivered the instruction in a very structured way
• didn't drop art terms into what they said without explaining what the term means
• had very clear instructions as to what materials are required
• knew how best to teach online
• did a good demonstration

Not all tutors were experienced and competent at teaching at this level.

Postscript: 

It did occur to me that maybe this skills development series is being done with the aim of improving the skills levels of painters applying for and getting selected for the two series of Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year.

What do you think?

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Artist of the Year: Masterclass launches 2nd December

Sky Arts have come up with a brand new idea - Artist of the Year: Masterclass for all those aspiring artists out there. This post provides you with ALL THE DETAILS of what's on offer:

• which artists are involved
• what they are teaching

I've got a few problems with the words they use which are clear evidence of marketing over accuracy. That said, it's probably going to be a very popular series. Just a pity they gave it the wrong name....

The NEW Concept: Artist of the Year: Masterclass 

Tai Shan Shierenberg will be giving masterclasses along with other artists

Each masterclass will focus on a different subject or technique to help audiences understand the basics of painting and drawing, with classes covering everything from exploring tone and Alla Prima painting to composing a landscape, botanical flowers and even animal portraiture.

• Target audience: budding artists at home
• Methodology: 
• live tutorials from a variety of talented artists who have previously participated in either PAOTY or LAOTY
• demonstrations of "easy-to-learn techniques to budding artists at home"

The odd thing is I wouldn't ever describe this as a "Masterclass"

A Masterclass in my eyes is something 

• established artists may take to raise their game - the artist who has got beyond beginner but wants to progress to Intermediate or Advanced Levels.
• by learning about the things that acknowledged experts do which makes their artwork that much better.

Whereas the description is coming across to me as if it's about taking people who would like to be artists to a rather advanced level in one fell swoop. Which is:

• very ambitious 
• absolutely impossible!

Next time they maybe need to be properly innovative and get away from marketing people who haven't got a clue and conventional ideas about marketing and pandering to the novice and actually do something useful - such as directing their attention to creating people who will do well in PAOTY or LAOTY e.g. teach them about the pitfalls - and how to overcome them!

Jury is out for me at the moment. I am easily impressed by solid and good quality instruction - and I know that many of those who are delivering tutorials are very experienced teachers. Equally - and sadly - I know that not all are....

So below I'm going to highlight those who are delivering classes on a face to face basis.

The Artists delivering Masterclasses

The artists are mostly those who did well in PAOTY or LAOTY or are otherwise wellknown and well liked!

Links embedded in their name are to their website. Plus I've included links to Instagram where possible.

I'm commenting on what they have achieved as an artist and also whether or not they appear to be a regular teacher/instructor via classes or books.

Past winners of Portrait Artist of the Year

The Best of the Drawing Year at Christies

Every year, I make a point of going to see The Royal Drawing School's "The Best of the Drawing Year" at the annual exhibition at Christies at King Street in London.

I went this afternoon to see the 2024 exhibition.

View of one end of the exhibition on the ground floor at Christies

That's partly because when I first retired, I enrolled in classes at what was then called The Prince's Drawing School between 2005 and 2008.  You can see what I did by reviewing my blog posts back then which are labelled "Drawing a Head"

It's also because 

• I've encountered many of the alumni of The Drawing Year winning prestigious art competitions eg 
• Kathryn Maple (Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - twice and the John Moores Painting Prize) and 
• Clara Drummond (BP Portrait Award 2016)
• plus - last week - two alumni appeared in Episode 5 of this year's PAOTY.

Finally it's because it's always a very good show with lots of people finding really interesting ways to make drawings - using a variety of dry media on a variety of surfaces..

For example, this year, they seem to be rather interested in coloured pencils - but the drawings in coloured pencil that I saw are nothing like the artwork I see in for example the UKCPS Annual Exhibition.

I'm going to upload my pics to an album on my Facebook Page - but that might have to wait until tomorrow - because I need to make dinner before PAOTY Episode 6 starts!

The Best of the Drawing Year

Entrance to the exhibition

This is a selling exhibition of drawings, prints and works on paper from students graduating from the Royal Drawing School’s postgraduate programme, The Drawing Year 2024 at Christie’s, London.

It's on from today until Sunday 17 November 2024 and it's FREE admission! It's open every day between 9am and 5pm on weekdays and between 12pm–5pm at the weekend. 

You can find Christies at 8 King St, London SW1Y 6QT (the link is to a google map!). I go to St James Park and the walk across St James's Park to get to King Street - it's very pleasant! It's also near Green Park and Piccadilly tube stations

You can also see the exhibition ONLINE and buy works from 13th November at royaldrawingschoolexhibits.org - and there have already been a number of sales. Some of the young artists are doing really well.

If you can't get to Christies, then come December, there will be an exhibition of a selection of over 500 drawings, prints and works on paper by students graduating from The Drawing Year 2024 postgraduate-level programme in The Drawing Year 2024 End of Year Exhibition which is held at the Royal Drawing School between 4 December 2024 – 19 December 2024

So the current one is "Best of" and the December one is the comprehensive look at artwork produced by this year's Drawing Year Postgraduates.

The Drawing Year

The Drawing Year has changed somewhat since I first knew it. 

I was going through the profiles of those exhibiting at Christies and was very surprised to find that a very significant percentage are now postgraduates who were awarded First Class Honours wherever they graduated in a related subject.  As in "a LOT"!

You can download the Drawing Year Prospectus as a PDF from the Royal Drawing School website.

The really important thing to know is there is nothing else like this course.

• it's about drawing
• it's completely free to qualifying postgraduates who are selected
• some of its ex-students have done really well
• there's quite a few things you can also do afterwards - like residencies overseas.

So if you like drawing, then this is something you really should investigate!

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 to tour UK

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 is currently on show at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London E14 0JY. All the shortlisted and award-winning drawings can be seen at the exhibition - which finishes on Wednesday 16 October 2024 - prior to the exhibition touring to Salisbury, Falmouth, Dundee, and Manchester - until October 2025.

View of The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition
first prize winner on extreme right

The Exhibition

The exhibition at Trinity Buoy Wharf is free to visit from 11am to 6pm. 

Another view of The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition

Future Venues

• The Salisbury Museum (26 October 2024 - 26 January 2025), The Kings House, 65 The Close, Salisbury SP1 2EN
• Falmouth Art Gallery (1 February - 10 May 2025) Municipal Buildings, The Moor, Falmouth TR11 2RT
• Drawing Projects UK (14 May - 10 August 202 Dundee DD1 1EX
• Manchester Waterside Gallery (18 August - 11 October 2025) 1 Waterside, Sale M33 7ZF

From a worldwide submission of contemporary drawings

• 94 drawings by 88 artists were shortlisted for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition.
• 21 drawings by 20 practitioners were shortlisted for the Working Drawing Award. 

The selected artists include an ex-teacher of mine! They are:

Max L Adams / Elisa Alaluusua / Lucy Algar / Thomas Allen / Tim Allen / Allou / Jeanette Barnes / Geoff Bartholomew / Sophie Bartlett / Akash Bhatt / Chris Blackburn /Jane Bottery / Eric Butcher / Ruth Chambers / Sarah Chapman / Sara Choudhrey / Hyeyeon Chung / Sara Clark / Gary Clough / David Conway / Aleksandra Czuja / Gerry Davies / Gary Dennis / Emma Douglas / Sarah Duyshart / Jamie Eade / Roy Eastland / Sian Ellis Tillott / Mark John Evans / Kristian Evju / Jonathan Farr / Nicolas Feldmeyer / Celu Ferreira / Charlie Ford / Todd Fuller / Stefan Gant / Ann Gillies / Adam Gray / Christopher Green / Catherine Greenwood / Richard Gregory / Susie Hamilton / Simon Head / Jessica Heywood / Roland Hicks / Fiona Hingston / Ciaran Hughes / Melinda Hunt / Julia Hutton /Owen Johnson / Janette Kerr / Jen Wei Kuo / Tomasz Lacy / Gary Lawrence / Bridget Lesly / Cheryl Lewis / Jo Lewis / Shihui Li / Edward Liddle / Yutong Liu / Juliette Losq / Peter Matthews / Janet Melrose / Jamie Mills / Jilly Morris / Justine Moss / David Mumby / Hannah Naify / Simon Page / Camilo Parra/ Esteban Peña Para / Ben Platts-Mills / Keira Rathbone / Jane Reid / Abbie Schug / Charlene
Scott / Brian Shields / Ilona Skladzien / Jake Spicer / David Symonds / Emma Tabor / Sally Dee Trewartha / Marika Tyler-Clark / Felicity Warbrick / Lynda Whitehouse / Phill Wilson-Perkin/ Hamish Young / Martha Zmpounou

View of The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition

I personally found the artwork in the exhibition to be of a high quality with a lot of impressive drawings - which varied a lot in terms of media and size and techniques employed. Many of the drawings are large. Many do not employ conventional display methods. The hang is also very good.

It's certainly well worth a visit.

In my opinion it's also better than the one held last year. (see Two Drawing Awards: Winners & Future Exhibitions).

Tomorrow I'll be uploading my photographs of the exhibition to an album on my Making A Mark Facebook Page - and will be highlighting there those artworks which caught my eye.

Awards and Prizes

This 3D work won The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize
(see below for more details)

All the artworks submitted were reviewed by the Judging Panel who then selected the shortlisted drawings and award-winners. The Panel was:

• Mary Evans, Artist & Director of UCL Slade School of Fine Art, 
• Gary Sangster, Curator & Writer, Co-Director of Drawing Projects UK, and 
• Jennifer Scott, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery in London - reviewed 

The four award winning drawings, collectively received £17,000.  The prizes awarded were as follows...

First Prize (£8,000) 
Out of Round: An Abbreviated Outline of British Studio Pottery
2024, steel wire, 170 x 100 x 8cm
by Max L Adams

Max L Adams' award-winning drawing references the Studio Pottery Movement, which in art history marked a shift towards fine art within the craft of ceramics, highlighting the tension between artistic freedom and traditional norms. 

‘My drawings, Out of Round, provide an outline of the Studio Pottery Movement and the subsequent flattening of its forms into icons of regional identity, anti-industrial labour, and domesticity,’’ 

Max L Adams was born in 1992 in Michigan, USA, and is now based in London. He holds an MFA in Arts & Humanities from the Royal College of Art (2023-24) and a BFA in Studio Art from Wheaton College, USA (2011-15). His work has been featured in group exhibitions such as Completion in Motion in Peckham, London (2024) and Finding Place in Crawley, West Sussex (2024). 

Second Prize (£5,000) 
(Left above): The 5th Arch, 2023
graffiti markers, drafting pencil on Bristol paper, 145 x 106cm 
by Owen Johnson. 

Owen Johnson’s award-winning drawing, The 5th Arch, represents a repeated gothic cathedral door motif. Taken from a geometric circular checkerboard arrangement, the motif is organised in a diamond structure, with the shadows of a late summer evening employed to create depth. 

‘The 5th Arch” is a drawing about a space created from memory and through repetition. The drawing is part of a series I have been developing for sometime exploring architecture, pattern and colour

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1976, Owen Johnson has exhibited widely across the globe and has become well known for his glasswork. He holds a BA in Visual Arts from the Australian National University, Honours in Fine Arts from Monash University, Melbourne, and a PhD from the Royal College of Art in London.  He's currently a Professor at Sheridan's Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design (FAAD) which is Canada's largest art school.

Student Award (£2,000)
Window, 2024
ink on linen (diptych), 120 x 15cm
by Hyeyeon Chung. 

Student Award Winner, Hyeyeon Chung was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1992. She holds a BA in Korean traditional painting from Chung-Ang University and an MA in Fine Art: Drawing from the University of the Arts London.

‘I weave monochrome worlds, fusing scenery and memories. My creative process is marked by meticulous, almost compulsive repetition; a ritual of craftsmanship and dedication. Grounded in intuition, it possesses the precision of a printer's hand,’’

Her award-winning drawing is inspired by contemporary landscape and diasporic experiences, with a focus on cultivating awareness and fostering new perspectives with drawing a pivotal aspect of her practice. 

 

Working Drawing Award (£2,000)

Plan for Cato Mural, Year 8, Spa Fields, 2023,

watercolour on watercolour paper, 76 x 58cm

by Emma Douglas

‘‘It represents his 8th Year. Since his death, my work has evolved into a project of recording the marks he made during his life, the places that we visited and the images that linger after someone has left,’’ 

Born in London in 1965, Emma Douglas holds a BA in Fine Art from Middlesex Polytechnic and an MA in Printmaking from the Royal College of Art. She has exhibited in both group and solo shows across the UK including The Jerwood Drawing Prize, Flowers Gallery, Arusha Gallery and Norwich Cathedral. She currently lives in London. 

This drawing is the plan for a mural the artist installed in Spa Fields, Skinner Street, London. It is the 11th work in a series of 22 murals she is doing in memory of her son Cato who died in 2010 aged 21 years. 

Her instagram account records the prolific and various ways in which she records the life of her son Cato Heath. Each of the squares in her coloured square murals is colour coded to represent one activity - such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, speech therapy or Doctors appointments.  

Winner of the Working Drawing Award: Emma Douglas

The Working Drawing Award celebrates the role of drawing within architecture, design and making processes and was chosen by 

• Benjamin Derbyshire, Chair of HTA Design LLP, a leading multidisciplinary design practice, 
• Andrew Grant, Landscape Architect, Founder & Director of Grant Associates, and 
• Caroline Grewar, Director of Programme at V&A Dundee.

About the Drawing Prize

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust, and widely regarded as the foremost open exhibition dedicated to drawing in the United Kingdom. The 2024 edition marks the 7th year of generous support from the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust and is the 30th edition of the annual open drawing exhibition.

NOTE The Drawing Prize has had a number of names in its career - usually influenced by whoever its current sponsor is. It was founded founded in 1994 by Anita Taylor and Paul Thomas as the Rexel Derwent Open Drawing Exhibition. From 2001-2017 it became known as the Jerwood Drawing Prize from 2001 to 2017 and was delivered in partnership with Jerwood Charitable Foundation. The present sponsor is the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust who became the principal benefactor in 2018. The constant throughout is Anita Taylor.