Kim Day wins Landscape Artist of Year 2026

This review is about the Final of Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 which was won by Kim Day.

The Pods next to Falkirk Wheel

The Final of Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2026) was held at The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland last summer - and was broadcast on Sky Arts on Wednesday evening (followed straight afterwards by the programme about the commission for those wondering when that's on. My review of that will follow by Sunday).

Following this review of the Final, there are two more posts to go 

• Review of the Commission 
• Review of the Series as a whole.

About this post

As always the programme about the Final is always something of a bit of an odd show since

• 5 other participants are missing
• there is the need to recap the journey to the Final
• plus a more indepth profile of each artist AND
• the story of the three artists doing a commission between the semi-finals and the Final

Below you can read about

• Artists in the Final
• Venue: Where/when the Final was held plus observations about the subject
• Observations, Themes and Tips
• The Commissions
• The Final Painting
• The Winner

At the end you can find 

• all my reviews of previous programmes in this series at the end of this post. 
• how to read reviews of past series
• Plus how to apply for the NEXT series which will be filmed this summer in six heats in three places around the UK.

But before I begin.....

There's an aspect of this competition which is not explained well in the programme. I'm writing this now because I've noted a LOT of comments complaining about who won on FB.

• A lot of people appear to THINK that the winner is determined by the artwork they paint in the final (i.e. 4 hours). 
• This is not the case. 
• Unfortunately, what really happens seems to be spelt out less clearly than it needs to be given the number of people who think this.

To go back to the beginning, who wins a heat depends on:

• the submission AND
• the heat painting i.e. it is NEVER just about the heat painting.

Who wins the whole series depends on:

• the submission AND
• the heat painting AND
• the semi final painting AND
• the commission AND
• the painting in the Final i.e. it is NEVER just about the 4 hour painting in the Final.

Let me put it another way. WHY would they ask them to paint a commission - of what ever size they like - in however long they want to spend on it (within the time constraint of a week - I think) if it did not matter a LOT?!

Bottom line, the portfolio of paintings build up over the course of the series - from the application to the Final and provide a good insight into who an artist is and what they can do. 

One might characterise the programme as a long-running audition.

Almost without fail, I have observed almost all winners across many series as having a very clear style and proficiency in specific techniques and a range in terms of what they like to paint and how they like to paint - and a very stong portfolio built up over the course of the competition.

It's my strong belief that it is the OVERALL PORTFOLIO - with a particular emphasis on BOTH the commission and the heat painting which tells the Judges who is the best artist for the commission.

It's the most logical and best way to judge the overall competition.

I stand to be corrected, but that will involve the programme makers in providing a very simple and explicit explanation of the process that is used to judge the competition - and restate this in every episode for ALL the viewers as well as the participants.

It's just very sad that this is not communicated and explained simply and clearly to viewers. 

This approach is one of the principle reasons why I bang on and on and on about the importance of the submission.

Ditto same applies to the commission for the Final.  An outstanding commission will tip the balance and win the Final. I've seen it happen across both PAOTY and LAOTY a few times.

NOTE: My personal preference would be to skip the final painting of "something" which they all do together and make it a programme about three different commissions of a significant landscape similar to the commission - with no pod - as an audition. That way you can also keep the winner secret!

So - now we've got that straight - on with my review of THE FINAL AUDITION FOR THE COMMISSION and TWO ARTWORKS!

Artists in the Final

As if you need reminding, however this is relevant to all those think they know better than these artists

Review: Semi Finals of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - Ouse Valley Viaduct

This is a formal Review of the Semi Finals of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 11) which took place and was filmed at the Ouse Valley Viaduct in July 2024.

It starts with a preamble about past semi finals and their locations - and some tips which artists might like to bear in mind if they are participating.

Which artists reached the final of Landscape Artist of the Year 2026?

Location and Weather 

The very weird semi-finals locations to date

I will repeat what I said last year

All that the semi final location choices do is

• (typically) provide big structures - which won't be present in the commission locations
• provoke difficulty
• generate disappointing paintings
• guarantee that a talented artist(s) will mess up - and not make the final

In this instance, it also bears no relation whatsoever to the Commission and likely locations that the winning artist will visit

If you think "this can't be right", you can check it out below.

LAOTY Semi Final Locations

I started my reviews in Series 4 and the links in the list below are to my reviews of each semi-final - where you can see pics of all the structures.

YET AGAIN we got a BIG STRUCTURE for the Semi Final

• 2015 - Potters Fields Park in central London - painting Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the City of London
• 2016 - Margate Harbour - painting views of the harbour
• 2017 - Castle Farm in Kent (the exception which proves the rule - given what happened the next year) - painting enormous fields of lavender
• 2018 - Felixstowe Docks - a container port with very big cranes and ships and stacks of containers - complete with an ocean going container ship turning up halfway through. (The eventual winner of the series knew it was coming as given a vague idea of where the semi finals were she'd had the foresight to look up both tide tables and arrivals and departures!)
• 2019 - Oil Rigs in the Cromarty Firth - extremely peculiar vertical structures sat in the middle of the Firth?
• 2020 - change of timing of broadcast (the year of two PAOTYs)
• 2021 - the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford in East London (filmed under Covid constraints in 2020 and broadcast changed to Jan-March slot in 2021) - looking south down the River Lee - towards the Olympic Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit in the distance.
• 2022 - Forth Bridge - a VERY meccano set over the Firth of Forth
• 2023 - Thames Barrier- next to the River Thames!
• 2024 - Bucklers Hard - in Hampshire
• 2025 - Portsmouth Historic Dockyard - with a view of the 19th century warship HMS Warrior

I think the theory might be, if you can make an attractive artwork from what are very typically unappealing big structures, you're probably going to be capable of portraying the commission subject. 

Except they will keep choosing natural landscape for the latter! e.g. Croagh Patrick - a very large holy mountain in Ireland - for this current series 11.

I absolutely disagree with my postulated theory. I can't think of a worse test. 

Natural landscape painters do not tend to respond well to big structures. In general, they're trying to get back to nature and away from big structures. I'm not quite sure why this thought has never occurred to whoever procures the locations.

TIPS For LAOTY Semi Finalists (and Pod artists)

Again I can do no better than repeat my previous advice for semi-finalists

• Expect a big structure at some point 
• polish your perspective chops
• A panoramic format might be a very useful option for your support
• Take suitable tools for drawing/painting structures e.g. take a ruler (for measuring)
• large pieces of stiff card (for very fast delivery of sharp edges)
• flexi curve or french curve for bends
• Binoculars - because sometimes the structure is a VERY long way away!
• Make sure you know how to paint effective water quickly and easily

The 2026 Semi Final Location

The location for the Semi Final is the Ouse Valley Viaduct on the Balcombe Estate in in the High Weald AONB of West Sussex. The viaduct opened in 1841 and is used by the trains which travel between London and Brighton. It has:

• got 37 arches and was built using 11 million bricks
• been described as the most elegant viaduct in Britain. 
• has an iconic infinity view when seen from inside the arches.

I can't help feeling the pods were the wrong side of the viaduct for capturing the shadows of the viaduct on the land. There again that would have meant looking into the sun.

The artists initially seemed to spend some time pondering what the sun might do - along with working out a composition and either drawing or blocking in.

Then it was down to the serious business of interpreting how to set about (what the Judges called) a "monolith".

View of the pods side on to the Viaduct.

The Weather

In a series of endless sunny days and hot weather, this was a semi-final on "an incredibly baking hot day on location" with absolutely no shadow.

I keep wondering how the pod artists cope in terms of being baked alive! I know I absolutely couldn't do it - I'd go all woozy and pass out! I "think" (as in "I'm not sure") that they had some sort of cover for the pods which maybe deflected the rays.

The Artists in the Semi Final

The artists after they finished painting - in a nice shady spot

We had two surprises not one!  There were eight artists in the Pods and they were:

• all the Heat Winners - as summarised in Tuesday's blog post LAOTY Semi Final 2026 - The Heat Winners
• PLUS the chosen wildcard from the Wildcard Winners in each heat. They chose Deborah Frank from Episode 3 at Dover Ferry Port (See Review and her Instagram post). She was rone who did the very impressive close cropped pic in oul paint of just one part of the harbour walls. 

Deborah Frank is a practicing artist living in West Essex, England. Currently completing a BA in contemporary portraiture, at The Art Academy London (her website)

• PLUS the best of the rest - in terms of pod artists - which actually makes some sense, because some heats definitely had more good artists than others.. The selected "best of the rest" was Tom Winter from Episode 5 on the Thames (see Review: Episode 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 11 (2026) - HMS Wellington & the South Bank). He's the chap who is a whiz at buildings and perspective.

NOTE: from the comments on my Facebook Page there seem to be quite a lot of people who think there is an episode which is the showdown between the wildcard artists to select the best for the Semi Final. This is NOT the case. The Judges choose a Wildcard at their own discretion - on the basis of their wildcard painting on the day. I'm assuming they've probably got access to the digital version of their submission as well.

The Semi Final Paintings

Here they all are at the end of the day. As you can see there are:

• 3 x panoramic
• 3 x portrait
• 2 x landscape

The only two people who "went big" were "the wildcard" and "the best of the rest". Those who get a lucky break do tend to come out fighting to justify that decision!

At the end of the semi-final, they had eight similar paintings of the same subject, which were all different. I think the good ones stood out.

Ben MacGregor wins Landscape Artist of the Year 2025

This review is about the Final of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 which was won by Ben MacGregor.

Final of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year 
The Artists and Stonehenge - early morning

The Final of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2025) was held at Stonehenge last summer - and was broadcast on Sky Arts last Wednesday. 

Following this review of the Final, there are two more posts to go 

• Review of the Commission (after I've got the stepladders out, rescued my holiday photos and found the ones where I visited Cezanne's studio!)
• Review of the Series as a whole.

About this post

Below you can read about

• Artists in the Final
• Venue: Where/when the Final was held plus observations about the subject
• Observations, Themes and Tips
• Decision Time: 
• The Commissions
• The Final Paintings
• The final decision
• The Winner

As always the programme about the Final is always something of a bit of an odd show since

• 5 other participants are missing
• there is the need to recap the journey to the Final
• plus a more indepth profile of each artist AND
• the story of the three artists doing a commission between the semi-finals and the Final

You can find all my reviews of previous programmes in this series at the end of this post. Plus how to apply for the next series which will be filmed this summer in six heats in three places around the UK.

The Final

The Finalists (left to right):
Kieran Guckian, Susan Isaace and Ben MacGregor

The three artists in the Final were - in order of the heats they won - were:

• HEAT 1: Ben McGregor (Instagram + new Instagram account post broadcast) - a self-taught amateur artist based in London. Born in 1979, he grew up in Surrey. He began to be interested in art when in 2015 he returned to the UK after working overseas. He now runs a luxury bespoke furniture company. He's never studied art formally but has, instead, studied artists whose work he liked - including post-impressionists and more contemporary painters.
• HEAT 3: Kieran Guckian (Instagram) - Born in Dublin, Kieran attended Crawford College of Art and Design graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Painting. He switched from his career in web design to becoming a full time artist a year prior to the heat - so this was a big opportunity for him.
• HEAT 4: Susan Isaac (Instagram) - Born in Cardiff and now based on a farm in Nottinghamshire. Her initial training in fine art & sculpture was followed by a Design History degree, an Industrial Archaeology Masters and an early career as an historic buildings investigator. She is an artist and sculptor and has won several awards. Her submission was a painting of "Senate House Passage, Cambridge" (a place I know well). Previously she has been a wild card winner in 2021 and a shortlisted ‘pod’ contestant in 2022

The Final: Location and Timing

The Pods at Stonehenge

On the face of it, when the programme started, the choice of iconic megalithic Stone Circle seems rather a good one. I'd guessed they'd start very early and the early morning mist seemed very appropriate to the place - and provided no clues as to what the weather would be like!

Then we began to realise just how far the Pods were from the stones. Look at how tiny the pods are below - and how faw away from the Circle they are.

Distance between the Stone Circle and the Pods

......and then the visitors started to arrive.  Loads of them!

So not only were the Pods at some distance - but they also had a steady stream of visitors in view - between the stones and the pods. All day long!

I thought Sky Arts might have shelled out and booked the place for the whole day - from 9.30am to 7pm - and then somebody told me what the admission ticket cost! 

• the filming was during the standard season of June to August if filmed between Monday and Friday (if it had been at the weekend it would have been peak season!)
• a Family Ticket - for 2 adults and up to 3 children would be £72.50
• two adults would cost £56 on the day
• so the likely cost to hire the place for the day must be well in excess of £50,000 

You only need to look at the numbers visiting - which was a steady stream through out the day to realise that booking the place to have no visitors would have been a high five if not a six figure sum.

So the artists watched a steady stream of visitors and the sun did not come out giving them a very flat grey light throughout the day - reducing the scope for contrast and edge interest.

Observations, Themes and Tips

Review: Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - Semi Finals at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

This is a formal Review of the Semi Finals of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 10) which took place and was filmed at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in July 2024.

The seven semi final paintings - and one print

Last Wednesday, the semi finals of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 was broadcast. I then watched it again the next day and started to write this review. 

However my partner then intervened and what was due to be a quick finish off on Friday morning has turned into an even quicker finish off on Wednesday afternoon six days later. Inbetween, I've spent most of that time either in A&E at the Royal London Hospital with his medical emergency or trying to catch up on sleep or sort things out post discharge. Anyway, enough of that.....

This was quite possibly the worst Semi Final of Landscape Artist of the Year I've ever seen - and was particularly notable for how many of us drifted off to sleep while watching it.

This review includes a lot of comments from people who were once avid fans of the show - but who feel it could be so much better than the tired, self-indulgent version we now see on our screens.

I feel that this series has truly lost the plot. (comment on FB)

The judges seem to delight in making life difficult for the artists, cackling at the thought of their plans going awry as the tide came in. It feels almost sadistic to me: does making the heat as difficult as possible for the artists make good telly? (comment on FB)

I've watched the program over many years too and to doze off and come to as they announce final three is a first for me. (comment on FB)

Location and Weather

Yes - it was yet another one of those ludicrous locations which this series chooses for its semi-finals. 

Complete with a tide which was coming in.

None of them are thrilled with the Challenge (Judge)

They were all out of their comfort zone and certainly out of their depth. (Observation on FB)

What a ridiculous subject for the semi final. Especially given what the commission is. I haven’t got a problem with the concept of urban as opposed to organic/countryside landscape, but this is more akin to a still life. (Observation on FB)

Dealing with tidal changes in a natural landscape is already a challenge, but in this environment it’s setting them up for a challenge that needs more than 4 hours.
They will never get the best out of artists in this way.It was not fun to watch. (I did have to go back to watch the bits I slept through and didn’t feel it was really worth it in the end) (Observation on FB)

The location was Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The pods were on the concrete slipway below the jetty which goes out to and partially obscures HMS Warrior.

Those pods - at the bottom of the pic - and sitting very low down on a slipway
well below the jetty which hides the bottom part of HMS Warrior

Below is the very tight view of HMS Warrior in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. 

If you look at it on Google maps, the artists had a very narrow field of view: restricted by a massive boat house on their right, and the Mary Rose museum on their left. They had no choice but to paint either the long pier with HMS Warrior hidden behind it or the more industrial-looking pier on the right. I thought Ben made the best of a terrible situation - I think I'd have walked off set!. (comment on FB)

Problems with the location of the Artists Pods were as follows: 

Landscape Artist of the Year: Potential for Change?

This is VERY LONG! It's about looking how Landscape Artist of the Year (LAOTY) might change to provide 

• a much more satisfactory experience for all the artists who participate in it and 
• deliver a much better programme to all those who watch it 

I think there's some considerable potential for change. So do rather a lot of other people who I've been discussing this with. They typically fall into two camps

• those who would participate - BUT for the formulaic way it works at the moment where artists are constrained from the outset by the pods
• those who create art and like watching - but have become more and more disappointed over the years

There's a third camp - those who know little about art but like the programme and see nothing wrong with it. However they are NOT going to be providing future participants!

This post covers:

• Context: Another perspective or four - about other matters which are relevant to a rethink of LAOTY - or the development of competition by another production company.
• Scope for Solutions? Looking at the broad context of what change needs to address in terms of weaknesses in the programme
• Structure of the Programme
• Calibre of Artist - Who's the REAL TALENT?
• Wildcards
• Location, Location, Location
• Judges
• Presenters

What's written below is essentially what I've been thinking about for a long time and more recently. But also, it includes lots of contributions from people discussing the programme online on my Facebook Page.

Context: Another perspective or four

Landscape Artist of the Year: Time for a Refresh? highlights many of the issues which, in the opinion of me and rather a lot of other people - need to be changed 

Since writing it, four more things have come to my attention which were not "front of brain" when I wrote the first post

Plein Air Art

• The first is that somebody reminded me about the practice in the US of having competitive plein air painting paintouts all over the country. This is normal and routine. 
• In the UK in the last decade, more and more groups have got together to do something similar - albeit only a few are competitive.  
• My blog post Capturing the Moment - plein air paint out in St James's Park is an example of one such plein air painting group which I was invited to attend.
• Plus Urban Sketchers Groups which have developed all over the country in the last decade are the natural audience for overtures for people to participate 
• For the record I was one of the Founders of Urban Sketchers London back in 2012 and I set up the Facebook Page for Urban Sketchers UK - Events where you can find out about upcoming events. There are now huge numbers of urban sketchers in the UK. (Minus me - I gave up when I tore the meniscus in my left knee which made mobilising totally about staying on my feet and very much limited my ability to carry anything. that then led on to the bone on bone ankle, then surgery etc etc)

Television and Broadcasting / Streaming

• The second was I listened to expert commentary about how much broadcast television has changed in recent years and then went off and looked at the data revealed in e.g.  Media Nations 2023: Latest UK viewing and listening trends 
• steep declines in watching broadcast TV - use of video on demand increases
• recent decline in older people watching is the steepest ever

older viewers are diversifying their viewing and becoming more likely to take up streaming services

• a steep decline in the number of programmes attracting ‘mass audiences’.
• huge increase in interest in commercial radio and podcasts
• there's more competition than ever for eyes and ears!
• The third highlighted something which really reinforced my thinking that the current format was well over due for a radical change.  I listened to an episode of "The Rest is Entertainment" podcast ("The Oscars, Ozempic and Wonka" on my daily walk. 
• The very experienced and incredibly well informed 'telly person' Richard Osman (who used to be  creative director of the television production company Endemol UK), discussed how much and how fast television programmes have changed in recent years - from pitch to putting a team together to broadcasting. In particular, I learned how programmes get made and how things have changed massively in the last few years - and how agile some of the new programme makers are at conceiving, making and monetising their output.
• A lot of this is due to the fact there are many more small companies are involved in delivering programmes for both broadcast and streaming media - and certain channels who are much more tuned into delivering decisions fast. Bottom line, they know what people like and what appeals and are fast and nimble on their feet and speedy with their delivery timelines. 
• If you want an analogy - it's rather similar to how artists went from thinking art as being something that was sold in galleries to realising they can sell for themselves online - and ditching the too heavily corporate model. It connects the artist and the consumer much more directly.
• The fourth thing was I had a very big think about other similar programmes - operating in different fields of endeavour - and what made them successful. I'll reference this further in the Judges and Presenters section.

Context: What has changed radically in last 10 years 

I came away from all of this thinking it made LAOTY look very staid.

So context for any rethink of LAOTY includes the notions:

• Other models of delivering competition in plein air art are already well established elsewhere and are developing in the UK
• the broadcasting industry has changed radically in the last 10 years
• development and speed of delivery of television programmes has changed radically in the last 10 years (i.e. lifetime of LAOTY)
• as a result trends on what people watch have changed radically in the last 10 years - with a major change from broadcast on a regular day / regular time to much increased consumption of streaming - even by older people. Niche interests are now catered for.
• television formats for today need to be based on what is possible - and what connects with the potential audience - rather than what was thought a good idea 10 years ago 

By implication, if you're still doing the same thing 10 years later you are a bit of a dinosaur! Your audience has moved and you need to keep up!

Otherwise there's some considerable scope for others to come along and come up with a better idea and snatch your audience!

Scope for Solutions?

as the quality of the programme deteriorates, the quality of those applying does likewise which is then reflected in the pods etc etc etc. they are on a downward spiral.

Landscape Artist of the Year: Time for a Refresh?

Is it time for a major refresh of Landscape Artist of the Year (LAOTY)?

Below I'm setting out some arguments concerning the need for rethink of how it works.  This includes:

• PART 1: (TODAY) looks at major issues related to the latest series and how aspects have changed over time
• PART 2: (TOMORROW) examines the potential for change to help improve the series 

LAOTY Context

• Series 9 of Landscape Artist of the Year has just concluded. It has followed pretty much the same format since Series 1 - with minor tweaks and changes in presenters.
• The Call for Entries for participants in Series 10 is out (see Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year Series Ten) and the deadline for online entries is NOON on Friday 3rd May 2024.
• Filming begins this summer (June/July) for Series 10 to be broadcast January - March 2025.

Realistically, it's very unlikely that there will be anything other than minimal changes for the next series. That's because a project as big as this one will involve months of planning and some aspects may be scheduled years in advance. 

Although certain aspects cause one to sometimes wonder about this! (eg how well do the heats relate to the commission)

Time for a Refresh

While it has had some minor tweaks during its life to date, this series has never had any major charges to help make "the beginning to end experience" more efficient and effective.

It's very unusual for a television series running for this length of time to have not gone through a major reboot - to make it fit for today's audience and their expectations. Particularly where 

• members of the audience are regularly identifying aspects which they find unsatisfactory.
• aspects of the programme are declining in quality.

I've been writing about the series every year since 2018. (See my Art of Television page for links to all the reviews.

As a result, I've been thinking for some considerable time about how the series might be improved. 

• I've already commented on major issues and unsatisfactory aspects in my reviews of various episode.
• Followers of my Facebook Page have been also been particularly active this year in comments and highlighting issues and also identifying what needs sorting - and how that might be achieved. The balance of comments lies very much with the fans who think it could be a lot better as opposed to those who think it's basically a contrived and stupid idea. Although there's quite a few of the latter.

I also spent a considerable part of my career involved in performance improvement i.e. reviewing major services for leading organisations and analysing how they might be improved. It is, if you like, part of my DNA!

 

What follows - in two parts - is an amalgam of my ideas and those which fans (or former fans) of the programme have identified as issues and potential for change:

• PART ONE: Landscape Artist of the Year: Time for a Refresh?  (today)
• PART TWO: Landscape Artist of the Year: Potential for Change? (tomorrow)

What are the Issues and Problems?

Monica Popham wins Landscape Artist of the Year 2024

This review is about the Final of Series 9 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 at Covent Garden in London - which was won by Monica Popham.

Landscape Artist of the Year 2024:
Commissions and Final Paintings by the three finalists

Below you can read about

• Artists in the Final
• Venue: Where/when the Final was held - which was a bit different
• Observations about the subject
• Themes and Tips
• Decision Time:
• The Commissions
• The Final Paintings
• The final decision
• The Winner

As always the programme about the Final is always something of a bit of an odd show since

• 5 other participants are missing 
• there is the need to recap the journey to the Final
• plus a more indepth profile of each artist AND
• the story of the three artists doing a commission between the semi-finals and the Final 

I'll spend a little bit more time focusing on Monica since she won the series.

You can find all my reviews of previous programmes in this series at the end of this post. Plus how to apply for the next series which will be filmed this summer in six heats in three places around the UK.

The Final

The Artists in the Final

(Left to right) Kristina Chen, Denise Fisk and Monica Popham

The three artists in the Final were - in order of the heats they won:

• HEAT 1: Kristina Chan (Instagram) is a Canadian mixed media artist and printmaker who has studied in London. She uses narrative and specific facts about a site to create a sense of place. She is very she is very used to doing commissions for prestigious clients and public art installations - but not a lot that resembles painting. Her work is in the collections of V&A Museum (2016, 2017), Ingram Collection of British and Modern Art (2020) and Royal Collection, Clarence House (2018), Royal College of Art (2018, 2016)
• HEAT 5: Monica Popham (Facebook | Instagram | tiktok) is a digital media manager and landscape artist and illustrator from Gibraltar. Currently based in Guildford. She studied Fine Art at Loughborough University and graduated in 2021. The main body of her work focuses on the tangible quality of sunlight, and how it interacts with the architecture in Gibraltar and other Mediterranean towns. She has worked on a variety of projects such as large scale murals, book covers and private commissions. 
• HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ This is her LAOTY article about applying for LAOTY and then appearing in the series. in which you can see a lot more paintings of Liverpool which she produced while waiting to know which location her pod would be in.
• HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ Her LAOTY article about her participation in the semi finals is The Semi-Finals of Landscape Artist of the Year: Bucklers Hard - which reveals how different the semi-final is to the Heats.

I went into the semi-finals wanting to prove that I could do more than extremely cropped landscapes and paint a scene outside of my comfort zone. At this point in the competition, we have no idea the location of the commission but I knew if I wanted to progress to the finals I had to prove that I had more flexibility as an artist.

• HEAT 6: Denise Fisk (Instagram) - a landscape oil painter from East Sussex. Denise has BA (Hons) Degree in textile design which led to a career as a colourist and designer in the furnishing industry. She now exhibits in art fairs in South East England. She particularly likes autumn colours.

Location and Timing

The rear of the Royal Opera House and the Covent Garden Piazza
The Terrace is the top floor on the left - with the open gaps

The venue for the Final of Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 was the Piazza Terrace of the Royal Opera House - where I've been and sketched myself. (It's actually a restaurant - and while not cheap it's also not expensive! Which you need to know if you want to try it out for yourself.)

So NOT in the Pods for the first time in LAOTY History! However still undercover - with protective covers also for the nice wood floor!

Finn Campbell-Notman wins Landscape Artist of the Year 2023

This is about the Final of Series 8 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 at Portmerion in North Wales - which was won by Finn Campbell-Notman.

The Finalists with their Final Paintings

Some fans of the programme were quite apprehensive as to who might win. Fortunately, we had a new worry as soon as the programme started! Why no Dame Joan? What have they done with her - and why no explanation?

You can find all my reviews of previous programmes in this series at the end of this post.

The Prize

The prizes are:

• a £10,000 commission for the Royal Museums Greenwich to create an artwork celebrating the Van de Veldes at an exhibition of their work at the Queens House in Greenwich
• the title "Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2023"

The Finalists

Left to right: Finn, Helen and Stefano

The Finalists were - in order of their episode:

• Finn Campbell-Notman (Episode 1 / Heat 1?)
• Stefano Ronchi (Episode 3 / Heat 5?)
• Helen Lloyd-Elliot (Episode 6 / Heat 6?)

I go out on a limb in my reviews of the Heats and say who I think will be in the Final - so you also get what I said about each artist in my review of each heat!

Finn Campbell-Notman (Facebook | Instagram | Twitter)  

Finn in the pod

• a professional painter and illustrator. 
• Born in London in 1970, he grew up in rural England as part of an artists' commune. His art education also includes BA (Hons) in Fine Art at U.W.E. Bristol and at Wolverhampton (to 1993), a double First Class B.A. (Hons) in Illustration from Falmouth College of Art, Cornwall, UK. (1998-2001) and an M.A. in Communication Art & Design from the Royal College of Art, London (2002-04). 
• You can see his illustration work here. 
• Since 2020 Finn has been without a studio or permanent home and divides his time between Bristol and Andalucia.

He competed in the very first heat shown - near Blackpool North Pier - see Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - Blackpool Beach and Pier

What I said

You could say I predicted his win - because this is what I wrote in my review of the first episode of this series

Interestingly, if you went through all the websites and social media sites prior to viewing the programme, I'd have very definitely been selecting Finn for my shortlist for this heat.

Indeed I think he might stand a good chance of making it to the Final (see below)! 

an afterthought - by me!

• The winner of LAOTY 2022 was the winner of the first heat
• The winner of PAOTY 2O22 was the winner of the first heat

I know I have a formula for writing these posts. Do the production team from Storyvault ALSO have a formula for which episode they decide to air first?

 

Stefano Ronchi (Facebook | Instagram)  

Stefano in the pod and the sunshine and the intense heat

• from Italy, lives in Hackney and can work big. 
• He describes himself as a "punk surrealist painter". He has been influenced by Leonardo, Brueghel, Dali, and Hieronymus Bosch mixed with comic book art. 
• His very large impressive submission was called The Hill (Acrylic on canvas, 120x80 cm 2017)

He appeared in the 3rd heat at Castle Ward in Northern Ireland - See Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - Castle Ward

What I said

This is what I had to say about Stefano's heat painting and submission

For my part, I have to say I'd draw a very sharp distinction between:

• something which is very good art - of a surreal / comic book variety
• an excellent landscape

Both of Stefano's painting are the former and not the latter. It was quite simply fantasy. He's a surrealist painter - and a very good one - but he's not a landscape artist.

In response to Kate's comment, being unable to stop looking at it does not make the painting qualify for the competition!

We've subsequently had an email correspondence and he's a very nice chap who is very talented.

 

Helen Lloyd Elliot [Instagram]

Helen - in her pod,
very sensibly wearing a wide brimmed hat to protect her head and eyes from the sunshine

• live and work in Dorset and London. 
• Primarily a landscape and portrait painter - and a nature lover. 
• Has exhibited at leading open art exhibitions in England. 
• Tai described her as a colourist and I agree.
• She's made prints of all the paintings she made during the series
• Her four paintings from the heat, semi-final and final plus her original submission are all for sale on her website

What I said

The winner was Helen Lloyd Elliot - and very deserved it was too. I thought she might get edged because in some ways she's very close to the winner at Blackpool in Episode 4.

The view was that she was a great painter, using great brushmarks while hovering between abstraction and realism.

I think Helen will be in the final. She talked about the win giving her confidence. I don't think she needs it, I think she just knows how to respond to a scene and how to paint it.

and in my last review - of the semi-final

Helen is a very effective colourist and observer of scenes who delivers more than can be seen by more ordinary mortals.

I'm hoping she wins the Final.

 

The Location

The Final has two locations:

• the location for the Final Painting in 4 Hours
• the place(s) about which the Commissions are painted.

Portmeirion - the Final Pod Paintings

LAOTY Semi Finalists + PAOTY Call for Entries Deadline extended

Portrait Artist of the Year 2023

The deadline for entering your submission for Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 (Series 10) - has been extended:

FROM: 12pm (midday) on Friday, 24th February 2023

TO: 12pm (midday) on MONDAY, 27th February 2023

So basically you've got three more days to get your entry in.

Don't forget what my recommendations about this Call for Entries and submissions generally:

• READ my tips in my blog post covering the Call for Entries. See
  Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 (Series 10): Call for Entries
  
• Make sure you submit a self-portrait which:
• does not like very common formats for self portraits - makes yours about you and make it different!
• demonstrates what you can do it you had more time - as a proxy as to whether or not your commission (should you win!) could be impressive

Interestingly the first episode of Series 9 suggested that the self-portrait submission could be regarded as evidence of what an artist can do when not constrained by time.

• has a style which could be consistent with what you can do in 4 hours i.e. the submission gets considered alongside the heat painting in determining who wins the heat from the three artists who are shortlisted - and a coherent, consistent, unique, mature style is important. (That's mature as in you've painted a lot of portraits and learned how you paint best - and has nothing to do with age)

Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - The Artists

It's the semi final tonight and the subject is the Thames Barrier. WHY yet another gigantic architectural construction when there is so much else in the landscape to paint?

Below are the pics of the winning artists in each heat - see if you can spot who's got a chance of being a Finalist.

I'm identifying who I think at the end of this post - but make your mind up first before you read what I think!

HEAT 1: Finn Campbell Notman

Finn Campbell Notman: submission and heat painting

see Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - Blackpool Beach and Pier

Finn Campbell-Notman (Facebook | Instagram | Twitter) - a professional painter and illustrator. Born in London in 1970, he grew up in rural England as part of an artists' commune. His art education also includes BA (Hons) in Fine Art at U.W.E. Bristol and at Wolverhampton (to 1993), a double First Class B.A. (Hons) in Illustration from Falmouth College of Art, Cornwall, UK. (1998-2001) and an M.A. in Communication Art & Design from the Royal College of Art, London (2002-04). You can see his illustration work here. Since 2020 Finn has been without a studio or permanent home and divides his time between Bristol and Andalucia.

HEAT 2: Susanna Macinnes

Susanna Macinnes: submission and heat painting

See Review: Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year - Royal Ascot

Susanna Macinnes (Instagram) - Lives in South London a BA (HONS) degree in Fine Art from Manchester Metropolitan University. Member of and Secretary to the friends of the Chelsea Art Society. She has been painting landscapes for 20 years and is an experienced plein air painter. She has exhibited in various locations over the years. Painted from her roof during the first lockdown. 

• She took part two years ago in the 2021 series - see Review: Episode 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2021 at West Reservoir, Stoke Newington (again!) - also in the hottest day of the year and
• Previously participated as a wild card artist in Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2019 - Millennium Bridge Gateshead where she did a splendid painting.
• currently painting in Goa - see her Instagram

HEAT 3: Stefano Ronchi

Stefabno Ronchi: submission and heat painting at Castle Ward

See Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - Castle Ward

Stefano Ronchi (Facebook | Instagram) - from Italy, lives in Hackney and can work big. He describes himself as a "punk surrealist painter". He has been influenced by Leonardo, Brueghel, Dali, and Hieronymus Bosch mixed with comic book art. His very large impressive submission was called The Hill (Acrylic on canvas, 120x80 cm 2017)

HEAT 4: Ann Byrne

Ann Byrne: submission and heat painting of Blackpool Pleasure Beach

See Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - Blackpool Rollercoasters

Anne Byrne (Facebook | Instagram) - retired marketing Executive from Chester and a contemporary landscape painter interested in a contemporary take on traditional approaches to landscape painting. Trained at St Helens School of Art in the late 70’s. Currently represented by The Harbour Gallery in Portscatho, Cornwall. Her work suggests she knows how to create a composition. Works in oil with big brushes relative to format size.

HEAT 5: Steve Nice

Steve Nice: submission and heat painting

See Review: Episode 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 - Ascot

Steve Nice - a retired IT consultant from Nottingham. His submission was large and mostly monochromatic. He appears to have no presence online.

HEAT 6: Helen Lloyd Elliot

Helen Lloyd Elliot: submission and heat painting

See Review: Episode 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2023: Strangford Lough

Plus one wildcard artist

This I think is always the most difficult to predict. In part because I think they choose somebody who is NOT like the other artists and also because we never got to see their submission.

I'd like to see Matthew Timmins-Williams (Instagram) who did the very panoramic view of the garden of Castle Ward - but he is quite similar at least two other artists

As is Jo Burns who I think might be the other contender.

Who will make it to the Final?

I identified who I thought had a good chance of making it to the Final when I wrote my reviews.

The three artists are:

• Finn Campbell Notman

One look at his website also tells you he's a very accomplished draughtsman and painter.

• Ann Byrne

I must confess, I did the profiles of the artists yesterday afternoon before I watched the programme and I'd already decided - on Wednesday afternoon - that if I were judging I'd be picking Anne as my winner.

Indeed I'd go so far as to say, bearing in mind the pic in the intro part of each episode which presumably relates to the commission, I think she has a good chance of making the Final and might even win! She can certainly handle sky!

• Helen Lloyd Elliot

The winner was Helen Lloyd Elliot - and very deserved it was too. I thought she might get edged because in some ways she's very close to the winner at Blackpool in Episode 4.

I think Helen will be in the final. She talked about the win giving her confidence. I don't think she needs it, I think she just knows how to respond to a scene and how to paint it.

Based on what's happened in previous years, appearing in the opening credits (which change every week) is a pretty good indicator of who wins - in which case Helen Lloyd Elliot will go through to the Final and win!

If you fancy having a go and would like to be a pod artist or wildcard this summer, you have until to NOON on Friday 28th April 2023 to submit an entry

READ MORE about the call for entries - plus my tips - in my blog post about Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year 2024 (Series 9).