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

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

The subject was Portraiture. 

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

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

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

Below are some notes and some quotes. 

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

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

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

What is a portrait?

Which comes first, the person or the painting?

"Portraits are first and foremost a likeness"

The audience for a portrait expect a good likeness.

However:

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

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

To this end

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

What's different about Portrait Painting?

Call for Entries: Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2026

This is about the call for entries for the annual exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters - and why it's a good idea to enter if you an aspiring portrait artist.  It covers:

• reasons to enter
• who can enter
• what you can enter
• how to enter
• the timeline of important dates

Submissions are open until Tuesday 3 February 2026

You can also review my past blog posts about the RP Annual Exhibition over the last 19 years at the end.

Reasons why you should enter the RP's annual exhibition

The "Portrait Artist of the Year" competition may attract a lot of entries from would-be portrait artists in the UK - and be on television - but only one artist gets to win. 

The annual exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, on the other hand, welcomes new and emerging talent and ample space to give a boost to more than one artist.

The RP exhibition is an annual opportunity for artists who paint people to see their paintings hung alongside the work of their peers. As always, emerging and established talent is displayed together.

This "call for entries" gives all aspiring portrait painters:

• an opportunity to be hung in the same exhibition as some of the leading portrait painters in the UK
• a potential first step up on the ladder to becoming a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters 
• access to an extremely well used commission service for portraits
• access to a much longer term payoff than an outing on television and not winning the top prize

For all those wondering whether and why they should submit an entry to this exhibition, take a look at the following.

Expert assessment of your portrait

• ALL drawings and paintings selected for exhibition from the Open Entry are chosen by practising professional portrait artists who are full artist members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters - and who use a variety of media. (click the link to check out their work)
• The Selection Committee is rotated annually. 
• There are no administrators, sponsors, gallerists, art critics, television personalities or other such éminence grise who get a say on what gets hung.
• Judges are are looking for solid skills in portraiture - but they are not averse to new styles and innovation demonstrated by emerging talent.

A prestigious portraiture exhibition - in central London and online

This is a very prestigious exhibition within the international portrait world

• It fills all three galleries at the Mall Galleries on The Mall in London
• It attracts over 4,000 entries to the exhibition - including very many entries from international artists
• The exhibition is also put online so it can be seen all over the world.

An expert commissions service

• This exhibition generates a LOT of portrait commissions. This exhibition is much less about sales and much more about being a marketing shop window (e.g. 87 (40%) of the portraits exhibited last year were not for sale as they had been done as commissions and already had owners)
• An expert Commissions Consultant service runs throughout the show. Exhibiting artists are invited to
• display additional material
• advertise portrait commissions through the Commissions department - on which a commission will be payable.

The Commission Room at the 2024 Exhibition

Entry is digital

• Hence you only need to go to the expense of framing and transport IF invited to progress to the second stage of selection. So entries which do not succeed only incur the expense of the submission fee.

Some significant prizes

This is an exhibition with some heavyweight and prestigious cash prizes. 

• The total prize fund is £35,000, including The William Lock Portrait Prize (£20,000).
• It has the most valuable individual prizes awarded by any national art society in the UK. 
• These include awards for younger artists and portrait drawing.

Your chances of getting selected

Chloe Barnes wins Portrait Artist of the Year 2025

Yesterday, Portrait Artist of the Year programme revealed that Chloe Barnes won the Final of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year.

Chloe Barnes and her monoprint of Brian Cox in the Final

I'm splitting my comments about PAOTY Series 12 and the two most recent programmes into three separate posts:

• Today - a review about the Final and the final and commission paintings produced for the Final by the artist 
• Sunday 7th December: the Winner's Programme and the Commission
• Monday 8th December: - a review of the PAOTY series and approach taken this year, and a summary of why the Judges , rather than the programme, continue to annoy so very many viewers and whether the competition is really a competition.

Followed sometime soon after with the details of how to enter Series 13 in 2026!

This review covers:

• The Final: Artists, Sitter and Set
• The Portrait Paintings for the Final
• The Judges' Perspective
• The Final Portraits - and my comments
• Why Chloe Barnes won.

The Final

The Artists working in the Final - watched by the audience
(left to right) Lauren, Katie and Chloe

The audience for many of the episodes was largely female and middle aged to older; plus very proud parents and a smattering of young people who seemed to be associated with individual artists. I think this probably reflects the audience for the programme too.

They are VERY well behaved - as you have to be when filming is taking place. I highly recommend those that want to, to apply to watch the heats next year - and you'll learn a lot more about this competition is really like!

The Artists

Katie Jones, Lauren Ross and Chloe Barnes
sat on the steps outside Battersea Arts centre

In order of the heat they appeared in, they are

• Episode 3: Katie Jones (Instagram) - A community arts tutor who lives and works in Somerset and has a studio on the Mendip Hills.
• Episode 4: Chloe Barnes (Instagram) - a printmaker with a first class honours degree in Illustration and an MA (Distinction) in Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking. She works as a Gallery Production and Studio Manager and lives in Peckham in London. 
• Episode 5: Lauren Ross (Instagram) - an art tutor and painter from Edinburgh. 

You can read more about them in The PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists + their Exhibition!

The Sitter and the Setup

The Sitter was Brian Cox, the 'media mogul' star of "Succession"who is 79, still active and still acting to great acclaim.

There was no repeat of the craziness of last year when, with absolutely no notice, the contestants suddenly found themselves painting two sitters - with an extra half hour for the challenge!

Instead we had a stripped back set and one sitter this year.

• The Set used a comfortable burnt burnt orange armchair. 

"That armchair is doing a lot of work" Kathleen Soriano

• The cloth hanging at the back was Jute which is very much associated with Brian's home town of Dundee and his ancestors where it has been produced for very many years
• The jute and the armchair, both combined to create a very warm set.

The one benefit for the artists is that were rather nearer the sitter in the Final than they were during the semi final.

The Start: The sitter - Brian Cox - and the setup for the three artists
and how close the cameras are over every artist's shoulder

Review: Semi Finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025

This rather late review is about the semi-finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12) which was broadcast on Wednesday night - except it wasn't uploaded to Now until a LOT later) Which is why this is late!

It covers various observations about the Semi-Final (the reality and the programme) including:

• The Semi Finalists (Heat winners)
• The Heat Portraits
• The Sitter setup and setting
• Themes of the semi-final
• Judging and Finalists
• Sitters for the Final

Dame Mary Berry sees the portraits after they've been turned around

The Semi Finalists

You can read all about the Semi Finalists in my post last week in my blog post last week about The PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists + their Exhibition!

They are - in order of the episodes (i.e. not the heats) as follows:

• Episode 1 - Edie Bound (Instagram) - review of Episode 1
• Episode 2 - Paulina Kwietiewsska (Instagram) - review of Episode 2
• Episode 3 - Katie Jones (Instagram) - review of Episode 3
• Episode 4 - Chloe Barnes (Instagram) - review of Episode 4
• Episode 5 - Lauren Ross (Instagram)- review of Episode 5
• Episode 6 - Uthman Wahaab (Instagram) - review of Episode 6
• Episode 7 - Vincent Stokes (Instagram)- review of Episode 7
• Episode 8 - Courteney Bae (Instagram) - review of episode 8

The Heat Portrait Wall

The Wall of Heat Portraits
Left to right: Katie, Uthman, Vincent, Courtenay, Lauren, Paulina, Chloe and Edie

Imagine walking into a semi final. You have absolutely no idea about:

• who your fellow semi-finalists are
• what they can do in four hours!

......and then you see the Heat Portrait Wall (see above i.e. NOT the self portrait wall or both together)

What you don't know as a semi finalist is if any of the others spent time and effort producing an absolute stunner for their self portrait - and then went small for their heat.

Then the artists line up next to the side of the support they're working on - and you begin to get the picture of what you are up against!

The Setting and the Sitter

The Nightmare Set-up

The Artists in the Semi Final enter the room
This is what it looks like - with easels very close together

I've been to a couple of Semi-Finals at the Battersea Arts centre - and it's an absolute nightmare of a set-up.

• Eight artists is just too many to be comfortable and have space to walk around, think etc. 
• Plus the audience seems much closer than in the heats
• Eights artists means ALL must be further away from the sitter than in the heats
• Some are going to have very acute side profiles - if working from life
• Notwithstanding some are going to be painting from devices rather than from the sitter.

Chloe Barnes summed it up rather well in her blog post about the Semi Finals (link further down - near the end of this post)

PAOTY 2025 Semi Final NOT on NOW!!! (Plus I identify who painted which portrait!)

Where is the PAOTY Semi Final on NOW?

I have NOT yet seen the Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year (2025)!!!

I'm fuming and have been since last night!  In this year's series, the episode has been available from the Wednesday morning - and on one occasion I watched an episode before it was broadcast. Now the ***** who posts early can't be bothered to post at all!

I'm posting this more in the HOPE that the Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year will EVENTUALLY be posted to the NOW streaming service for Sky TV.

Thing is I cannot write a review after watching it through once on Freeview - which is normally what I do - for the first pass on the programme during which I make some notes

I then watch it again at least twice to pick up the themes, add info and fill in the gaps in my notes and get quotes down correctly when I've heard something I want to quote but didn't quite get it all written down.

I cannot think of anything less likely to promote a service offering than messing up the end of a series by not posting it to the way people watch it.

BIG ADVERT: 

DO NOT USE NOW TV 

AS THEY PULL THE PLUG BEFORE THE END!

So until such time as it is posted, and I can actually write my review......

.....I'm going to guess who painted which painting! 

Who painted which portrait in the Semi Final?

I don't actually know who painted which artwork - I'VE NOT YET SEEN THE PROGRAMME!!

So here goes - using the pics of the portraits produced from Instagram.

I got these two straight off. They have very distinctive and consistent styles. 

Top right is by Chloe Barnes (Episode 4) who painted another monochrome on an aluminium panel. I like it. Both faces are good.

The bottom one is by Katie Jones (Episode 3) A few more wrinkles this time....

I'm guessing that both of these two got selected. The painting by Katie is in my opinion the best of the bunch and if she has been selected, then my my guess is she wins the Final next week.

Top left was - this is by Edie Bound (Episode 1) - who I would also put through to the Final. She has a strong and consistent style and can capture a likeness - and in this painting I think she's also captured the sense of fun in Mary Berry. The orange underpainting was the giveaway!

The next two took a bit more thinking about.

Top right is Paulina Kwietiewsska (Episode 2) who I got to through a process of elimination.

Bottom is by Lauren Ross (Episode 5).  The background colour was the first clue and then the flowers in the background and then how she has approached the painting of the portrait. Looks to me like she ran out of time to do the tonal variation in the fur of the dog.

Two of these were really easy.

Top left is easy. Who else paints women with large bodies and very small heads? This is Uthman Wahaab (Episode 6). Nice dog!

It should of course have been the wonderful Laura Cronin who was a wonderful portrait painter and it was a crime to not even shortlist her and her wonderful portrait of Shane Lynch. (That even got mentioned to me yesterday afternoon when I was at the PV for the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition. There's LOTS of people out there still feeling "miffed" for Laura)

Top right is Courteney Bae (Episode 8) - who has "a very distinctive painting style". I shall say no more.

The bottom is Vincent Stokes (Episode 7) who looks to me like he started with a good idea and then it all fell apart a bit.  Obviously I'm not seeing the whole drawing, but the subject of the portrait ALWAYS needs to be prominent in a portrait competition. It's also a tad too illustrative for me. Great basis for a proper portrait of her as a person though. Just not one in four hours.

The major comment I have on the paintings as a whole is that the big theme of this series for me is PROPORTIONS.

I shall be doing a summary of themes about Series 12 as a whole - including judging approaches and production values after the review of the commission.

I think it needs one....

The PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists + their Exhibition!

This is a listing of all those who have made it through to the Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12). 

PLUS news of their Group Show in December in London!

PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists' Group Show: "Marks of Reflection"

This year, seven of the eight semi finalists have organised a group show of their work ‘Marks of Reflection’ - details below - which is great news for all those who would like a closer look at their work!

I've only just noticed that they are all women apart from Uthman Wahaab. Very sadly Vincent Stokes is not taking part.

The basics are these. At the end of this post are more details about the nature of the exhibition - and the Panel Talk about Contemporary Portraiture.

The show will feature a selection of work featured on the show, as well as new, unseen paintings.

• Venue: Noho Showrooms, 67 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PT (a three minute walk from Oxford Circus )
• Dates: 16th-21st December 2025 (11am - 6pm)
• Panel Discussion: 18th December 2025 with Kate Bryan and Curtis Holder

Portrait Artist of the Year: Heat Winners

Can I suggest you note the size of the heat portraits - there's an awful lot of small ones....

Episode 1

Self portrait and heat painting by Edie Bound

Edie Bound won the first heat to be screened in 2025. This was the profile I used in my review.

Edie Bound (Instagram) - b.2002 is originally from Wiltshire but now lives in South London. She did a foundation year at Camberwell School of Art and then chose to work at a ceramic studio whilst pursuing oil painting in her free time.

Edie being announced as the winner

This was what I said in my review of Episode 1

Tai-Shan thought the self portrait to be a little gem. Edie produced a very small but extremely competent self portrait. The orange carried over into her heat painting. It catches the eye like red but is much less wearing on the eye.

Tai was also a big fan of the minimal mark-making in the heat painting and the fact that, after starting out with the portrait upside down (to mark out the big shapes and tones) she caught the likeness very fast.

"I'm always impressed when young artists go out on a limb and still nail the likeness"

I thought she was very clearly the only artist to have a very good likeness from early one. The fact that her particular method of mark-making was not boring made the end result a racing certainty. 

Episode 2

Paulina Kwietiewsska was the winner of Heat 2.

Review: Episode 8 Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

This is the last of my reviews of the first eight episodes of Series 12 Portrait Artist of the Years 2025 which have covered the various heats - out of order - from this year's competition which was filmed in April 2025.

A reminder of just how big that PAOTY set-up is and why it stays in once place!

Thank you!

Before I start I have to comment on the number of people commenting on Facebook about my posts on my Making A Mark Page prior to my review posts being published.

The one for Episode 6 in which I highlighted the person I thought should have won got more than 50,000+ views and the one this week in which I again highlighted a very good artist (in the context of a very silly comment) by a Judge has almost reached the same figure (currently 47K views) in a much shorter space of time. 

Somewhere between 95-98% of the comments have erred on the side of NOT being complimentary about the Judges decisions about shortlisting. 

Plus more than a few comments about what they say. Several hundred actually!

Episode 8: The Sitters

The three sitters (top right) Tim Peake
(bottom left) Jack Rooke (bottom right) Reece Clark)

The three sitters in the eighth episode are all male and are as follows:

• Reece Clarke - a very tall Scottish ballet dancer who joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. He appeared dressed as Count Albrecht in Giselle
• Jack Rooke - comedian and writer who created and wrote Big Boys, a semi-autobiographical comedy for Channel 4 which has made him a four-time BAFTA Award nominee for the show, finally winning in 2024 for Best Writer: Comedy. He also campaigns with wit and candour for recognition of the mental health struggles of young people.
• Major Tim Peake CMG - a retired British European Space Agency astronaut, Army Air Corps officer and author who has been into space. He wore his training suit - complete with numerous badges - for the sitting

I must confess I'd only heard of Tim Peake!

Episode 8: The Artists

The Artists in Episode 8

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists.

• Lucy Ambler  (Instagram) - a commercial mural artist based in Suffolk. She likes using heightened colour and also uses coloured pencils on card - as for her self portrait.
• Silas Archibong (Instagram) - From Mbiabong, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, he currently studying for a Masters in Fine Art at Kingston University. He produced a self portrait which was split into his two identities of Nigerian heritage and a Jesuit student.
• El Barrett  (Instagram) - a conservation biology student from Surrey. She has been making art since she was a child. She now finds art really useful for when she draws the natural world as part of her studies.
• Courteney Bae (Instagram) - 1986 is a Korean-American contemporary artist who is the daughter of artist Sangki Bae. She describes herself as a "creative marketer" - but initially trained in Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, before gaining experience at renowned luxury goods brands. Now working in oils and gouache watercolour. She has won multiple juried awards and exhibited in New York, London, and Europe. Lives in Walton on Thames in NW Surrey. 
• Steve Cannon (Instagram) - An American artist based in Galway for the last 29 years. His self portrait contains a lot of detail in the reflection of the window in the background. He works mainly in figurative studies and paintings whether it be oils, watercolour or graphite and his main aim is to catch a likeness. He has regularly exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (I thought his style looked familiar!) and the Royal Hibernian Academy. After looking at his Instagram, I'd advise him to apply again, after he has worked out how he can do what he does best in four hours flat! Then practice. In the meantime, he had another go at Reece when he got home (see below).  I wonder how many other participants do the same? (also see below!)

My self portrait with a peace lily. (The photos should be a bit darker) It shows where I work. Packed with canvases, easels, paintings, plants and assorted miscellaneous bits and pieces.
A peace lily has a expected life span of 5 years. My little plant is 21 years old. It was a gift while in hospital after losing my leg all those years ago.
Me and the plant are both a bit worn, with crinkly edges, but there is new growth as well so not all is lost.

• Eugene Evans (Instagram) - A social care worker from Middlesborough. He has osteoarthritis (snap!) and used medical motifs in his self portrait. I cannot remember the last time anybody turned up to paint in a heat wearing a suit - but he looked very smart! He continued to finish his heat portrait of Jack when he returned home (see below).

• Han Guo (Instagram) - an artist living in Guildford who used to be an engineer. She trained at London Fine Art Studios with the Classical Atelier method. She enjoys the process of observing her subject and using the brush to capture her perception and understanding.
• Fiona Land (Instagram) - a former rowing champion from the Yorkshire Dales. I'm not including a link to Fiona's website as I only include links which are secure (ie. prefaced by https) . She participates in North Yorkshire Open Studios. I got the impression that she was very nervous and didn't do herself justice on the day. 

Painting is usually such a solitary pursuit so to have cameras, an audience and the 'judgementals' watching was a very different experience

• Lewis Meda (Instagram) - an aspiring Fine Artist/Illustrator living in Hampshire, England. He has trained with the Watts Atelier Online School since 2018 and is now a member of their Online Grading Team.

This was a blog post about "Filming Sky PAOTY Heat 8 with NELDA SALE" which I found on Courteney Bae's website blog. Nelda Sale is the Series Editor for Sky Art’s Portrait Artist of the Year. This includes this paragraph.

One thing that sets PAOTY apart from other competition shows is that we do not cast for character - artists get through to the heats based on merit. This is quite unusual for a television competition show which is often about casting for big personalities or dramatic backstories. I think this adds integrity to PAOTY as a competition however, it does present it's own hurdles. Many artists are rather shy and introverted or certainly used to working in solitude in their studio so to find themselves on a huge set (Battersea Arts Centre's Grand Hall) can be very intimidating. Therefore one of the challenges the PDs are faced with is to produce artists who are not comfortable on camera and can be monosyllabic in their answers (other shows go through a casting process where participants are often screen tested to iron out these things). Filming Sky PAOTY Heat 8 with NELDA SALE

Review: Episode 7 Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

You can relax - this is not like last week!

This episode of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 is a better one with a number vying for shortlisting - although uneven in their contributions of both self portrait and heat painting.

Judging the artwork in Episode 7

Episode 7: The Sitters

The sitters for Episode 7
(bottom left) Jack Dee; (top right) Jacob Collier (bottom right) Fatiha El-Chorri

The three sitters in Episode 7 are as follows:

• Jack Dee - an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He's now rated as a comedy legend. He brought his radio - obviously still a dedicated analogue man!
• Fatiha El-Chorri (b.1981) - a British comedian and write who was born in Hackney. Currently a rising star on the comedy circuit and television presenter on Channel $'s Taskmaster and Sky "Mr Big Stuff". She bought a family plate she was given when she got married.
• Jacob Collier (b.1994) - an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. He is known for his energetic live performances. He has won 7 Grammys and has 15 Grammy nominations. He brought three instruments with him.

I must confess I'd never ever heard of the two younger ones - but maybe I'm showing my age!

Episode 7: The Artists

The artists participating in Episode 7 of PAOTY 2025

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists. As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

• Sarah-Lee Bailey (Facebook | Instagram) - from County Durham. She produced her first ever portrait to apply for the competition. It depicts her asleep with her new baby daughter, a doll and the family cat - all snoozing away!
• Hannah Broadhead (Instagram) - a professional artist who took part on PAOTY 2023 (painting Shirley Ballas). She graduated in 2007 from Staffordshire University and won her first art prize in 2017 (People’s Choice award Lichfield Art Prize). Her artwork was selected for the Royal institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition in 2025. Her practice explores observation and narrative. Her self portrait was a complex one of a full size self sat on the floor with her easel and art materials. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hannah Broadhead (@hannahbroadheadart)

• Joe Capps (Instagram) - a Literature graduate and practising screenwriter. His formal study stopped at A-Level and he is self-taught after that. His route to becoming a freelance artist has been defined by media exploration and stylistic refinement, culminating in a 2019 solo show, Atlas, in Kendal. He now lives in Edinburgh, where he enjoys engaging with local art groups and attending life-drawing sessions.
• James Isaacs (Instagram) - a designer and artist living in North London with his wife. Painting has always been a part of his life. During Covid he pursued portraiture and painted friends via webcam. When he's not being an artist, he's a multi award-winning designer and art director with 15 years industry experience currently working for on  internationally focused content and data driven music media.
• Hamley Jenkins (Instagram) - She is passionate about drawing and music and works as a live sketch artist in jazz clubs. In 2018 she began a residency at Jazz Live at the Crypt in Camberwell - and never really stopped!. She graduated from Bath College with a BA (Hons) in Design and Illustration in 1993. Her large self portrait was painted in just 4 hours.
• Bernie Liumako (Instagram) - a fine artist originally from Tanzania, now living with his young family in Llangollen in Wales (and somebody teach Stephen Mangan how to saw words which are Welsh! I cringed every time he said 'langollun')
• Nasreen Nazir (Instagram) - she works as a civil servant in London. She completed her self portrait using W&N Promarkers.
• Vincent Stokes (Instagram) - b. 1996 in Walsall in the West Midlands. He completed his BA in Fine Art (1st Class) from Birmingham School of Art (2014-2017); BCU in 2017, and achieved his Masters in Fine Art (Distinction) in 2018. He's a regular exhibitor in and around the West Midlanda, botably with the RBSA. He works on themes for a series of drawings - with many related to his personal life. I RECOMMEND you take a look at his instagram account!
• Millie Wilkins (Instagram) - An artist, illustrator and studio technician who has travelled and is now based in Cornwall. She did a 3D Design BA(Hons), Falmouth University and various short courses on portraiture and drawing for a graphic novel. She aspires to illustrate books and is working on some children's book submissions, represented by Gill McLay at Bath Literary Agency.

Review: Episode 6 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

We've reached Episode 6 of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025. I'm beginning to wonder how many more to go - but I do know there is another heat next week as I know who the sitters are (at the end).

This review follows the normal order of my reviews - with one significant deviation for the person and the paintings that nearly all the public think should have won.

The other major deviation is that there is no pic of all the artists lined up and looking to their right to the Judges because - for the first time in a very long time - there was none in the programme. 

Here they are - with no faces - from the other angle! (Note to Director: we ALL like to see their faces in the normal line up shot! What happened?)

The artists line up in front of their self portraits for the shortlisting announcement.

Episode 6: The Sitters

Sitters in Episode 6
Beth Rigby (top right) Gabby Logan (bottom left) and Shane Lynch (bottom right)

The three sitters in the first episode are as follows:

• Beth Rigby - Journalist and Political Editor for Sky News and co-host of the podcast Electoral Dysfunction (which I listen to a lot). She had brought a pen which jer brother gave her and a small notepad of the sort journalists use. (You can also watch it on YouTube)

Rigby is known for "her trademark dark bob and red lipstick, her distinctive diction and her persistent questioning of senior politicians" Wikipedia

• Gabby Logan - a Welsh television and radio sports presenter, and a former rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. Her special item was her 50th birthday present - a black standard poodle called Maverick.
• Shane Lynch - an Irish singer, best known as a member of Boyzone.  He's also well known for his tattoos and piercings. Latterly he has pursued his interest in racing cars which he has done for 30 years and has appeared in various television programmes. He brought one of his helmets

Episode 6: The Artists

The Artists in Episode 6 after they had finished and been banished to the outside
so the artists can judge and they can get their photo taken together

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists.

• Emma Alexandra (Instagram) - a contemporary artist who works in a variety of mediums from Aotearoa New Zealand. The last few years she has been living between Italy and UK. She now lives in Bath.
• Laura Cronin (Instagram) - full time professional portrait artist who was born and brought up in Dublin. Studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. When she returned to Ireland, she initially worked as an illustrator and did regular drawings and paintings for the two national newspapers- weekly portraits for The Irish Times and court drawings for The Independent. She has had a number of successful solo shows in Ireland and London - and her first in Dublin sold out. She is married with two daughters and a son.
• Thalia Elliot - From Sunderland. Currently studying Fine Art and Textiles at Newcastle University.  (If you know Thalia and she has sites please get her to tell me about them!)
• John Matta (Instagram) - a motion graphics designer and musician located in Suffolk. He is also an artist inspired by the timeless beauty and craftsmanship of the Old Masters.
• Robert McLeod (Instagram) - Currently a third year student studying for a degree in fine art at Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology where he has been winning prizes two years in a row! His university also featured him on their website.
• Lizzie Patterson (Instagram) - She describes herself as a creative who works across the mediums of art and photography. As a contemporary figurative artist, she creates large-scale, life-size portraits that celebrate colour, character, and connection. She is based near Guildford in Surrey.
• Rick Roberts (Instagram) - a painter and decorator from Ashton Under Lyme. He has worked as a life model and as an art technician.
• Ash Tyson (Instagram) - She lives and works in London as an illustrator and a tattoo artist (for 10 years). She has a love hate relationship with the biro she uses for drawing.
• Uthman Wahab (Instagram) - born in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria in 1983 and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. He holds a higher diploma degree in Fine Art from the School of Art, Design and Printing, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. He is a multidisciplinary artist, who lives and work between Lagos Nigeria and Kent in the UK. He has an overarching interest in social phenomenon; yet, he is not concerned with a consistent use of medium or even singular aesthetic style. His work seeks to challenge perceptions and foster dialogue around issues of faith, tradition, and community, particularly within the context of African and Islamic identities. (His about page is more comprehensive and impressive than those of most artists)
  

Review: Episode 5 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12) - after the accidental deletion!

We've reached the fifth episode of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 and I'm beginning to wonder how many heats we're having. 

I'm told Episode 5 was in fact Heat 1. Why, you may ask, do they show them out of order...

The shortlisting in Episode 5 of Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 12)

Episode 5: The Sitters

The three sitters in the first episode are as follows:

• Emily Atack b.1989 - an English actress, comedian and television personality.
• Melvin Odoom b.1980 - a British radio DJ and television presenter.
• Max Beesley b.1971 an English actor and musician with many film credits

The sitters in Episode 5

Episode 5: The Artists

The Artists in Episode 5

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

The mini bio provided in the programme does not include all the relevant and rather important information about some of the participating artists.

Yet again ONLY TWO ARTISTS have surnames which begin with a letter in the second   half of the alphabet. Why is this? 

• Daniel Badger (Instagram) - a gardener from London who specialises in biro based drawings. He sketches in his spare time.
• Hannah Barker (Instagram) - an artist and a volunteer coordinator at a social enterprise from Leeds who draws people using pastel pencils, slowly building each portrait through layering, smudging, and erasing.
• Mario Cervantes (Instagram) - a fine art graduate who grew up in England and studied Fine Art at the Complutense University in Madrid (2009-13) and now lives in Glasgow. He paints entirely from life. One of his portraits was selected for the annual exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2021. He also paints still life, landscapes and sport.
• Fiona Daly (Instagram) - a psychotherapist from Wicklow in Ireland She features twice in her self portrait at different ages. She studied studied Sculpture in the 1980s and went on to work her way up in the Irish Film Industry over about 25 years, to become a Production Designer. She then qualified as a Psychotherapist in 2012. She came to painting later in life and her portraiture took off during the PAOTY Online Sessions during the pandemic.
• Han Han (Instagram) - Originally from Shanghai, she has an MA in Fashion from the University of the Arts London. Han spent a decade in design before turning to painting in 2020. She is now a professional artist working primarily in portraiture and figurative painting and lives in London with her family. Her work has been shown with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. 
• David Maddock (Instagram) - a figurative painter from Leicester. He has degrees in Fine Art from Bristol and Goldsmith's College. While teaching, he completed a part-time History of Art masters degree at Leeds Metropolitan University and a part-time doctoral degree at Leicester University. His self portrait took him two weeks and he wanted to demonstrate his expressive painting style. He currently divides his time between painting, research, and teaching.

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• Ruby Mitcham (Instagram) - a 17 year old sixth form student from Edinburgh who already paints professionally - painting on commission in her spare time. She is self taught. Her work has recently been selected for the Florence Biennale, has hung  in the Royal Scottish Academy and toured in the Scottish Portrait Awards. She is the youngest artist to have exhibited at the prestigious Society of Scottish Artists annual exhibition. She also has an interesting story - as told on her page dedicated to the competition on her website.

I had actually decided not to enter the competition this year. I didn’t want to rush into it and the task is quite daunting. My art is developing so quickly that even a few months seems to make a big difference. Then, one of the producers from Storyvault (the production company) emailed me inviting me to apply. I quickly put together a self-portrait while I was on a school exchange in Canada, figured out how to bring it home with me on the plane and sent in my application. It couldn’t have been much longer than a couple of weeks before I heard back from them telling me I’d been selected! Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year  on Ruby's website

• Lauren Ross (Instagram) - an art tutor and painter from Edinburgh. who first appeared in Series 2 of PAOTY. She also works as work as an English & maths tutor and as a High school mentor. She completed a foundation diploma in art & design at Edinburgh College and came back to art during the pandemic. She has also exhibited portraits with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Society of Women Artists
• Verity Ure-Jones (Instagram) - a portrait and figurative painter based in London who works primarily in oil paint and pastels on panel and paper. She won 2nd prize for the Windsor & Newton Young Artist Prize, was one of the final 115 (out of 13K) on the shortlist for the Jackson's Art prize and has been longlisted for The Cass Art Prize 2025
  
  

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