The Big Deal - a programme about selling art

The Big Deal with Steph McGovern - Media Release

A new programme about art was broadcast last week on BBC1. It's a novel idea - about seeing whether complete novices can become art dealers!

The Apprentice for the Art World?

My questions as I started to watch concerned what is it actually about and what is it trying to do. Specifically:

• Is it educational or not?
• Is it going to be informative about the business side of the art world?
• will it help artists understand better how to deal with the business side of art?
• Or is it just a game show with a spin?
• Or as characterised on the programme is this "The Apprentice for the Art World"

The proposition seems to be "art is no different to any other business". 

How would you describe The Big Deal?

It’s like The Apprentice for the art world, but the deals are all real, and it’s as much about the hustle as it is about art.

So maybe educational about the sort of knowledge and skills you need to do well - much the same as happens with Sir Alan Sugar in in "The Apprentice"?

According to the media brief

Seven pairs of trainee art dealers from around the UK are putting their creativity, negotiating and profit-making skills to the test in the highly competitive art world 

The bottom line is the seven pairs compete to win £50,000 of "brilliant British art" (I spotted a David Shrigley)

The Seven Trainee Dealers

Back row: Bella, Ollie, Liam, Gavin, Phil, Ellie
Middle row: Charles, Darren, Steph McGovern, Cordelia de Freitas, Claire, Aaron
Front row: Deborah, Rebeckah, Daisy, Rebecca

Now realistically, none of them are actually trainee art dealers! Their backgrounds seem to be completely random.

However they do, of course, cover all the demographic and diversity bases. (Do you get as bored as I do ticking all the boxes for every dimension covered? Disability - tick; Gay - tick; Black - tick)

Their media profiles suggest very little involvement in the art world in terms of making, reviewing, buying, selling, collecting or anything else.

UPDATE: After I published - and after I got some odd comments on Facebook from Art Dealers who seemed very offended by the programme - I went looking and found what are "said to be the criteria used" for those who were selected to be trainee art dealers

The production team selected contestants who met specific criteria:

• No professional experience: None of the participants had a background or professional history in buying, selling, or trading art. [1]
• Walks of life: Producers recruited ordinary people from diverse backgrounds across the UK who showed a strong competitive drive, natural curiosity, and a willingness to learn. [1, 2, 3]
• Auditioned pairs/individuals: They were chosen through standard casting processes handled by production company Stellify Media to test how well their interpersonal dynamics and business instincts translated to the high-stakes contemporary art market. [1, 2]

So is that clear? NONE of the participants had any experience or history as art dealers. They are complete amateurs.

This, of course, is where the competition starts for the viewers - spotting those likely to go to the end!

• Darren (43) and Charles (40) - characterised as the "go getters". They reminded me of second hand car salesmen. I'm not expecting much of them.
• Ollie (26) and Bella (29) - siblings who are trying to get a business off the ground. Seem to be tuned into what young people like
• Claire (59) and Aaron (36) - Welsh friends Claire and Aaron are from Pembrokeshire and have a background in sales and the building industry. She's obviously the mover and shaker. I think he's along for the ride.
• Gavin (32) and Liam (28) - Best friends Gavin and Liam from Belfast have an interest in graffiti art and want to learn more about the art world. I'm expecting them to leave early.
• Deborah (42) and Rebeckah (42) - Friends Deborah and Rebeckah, from London, hope their eye for fashion can would translate successfully into selecting and trading art pieces. I think they may go far - possible winners.
• Phil (74) and Ellie (28) - the Dad and daughter team from the West Midlands love visiting art galleries together.
• Daisy (27) and Rebecca (61) - Mother and daughter Rebecca and Daisy from Warwickshire work together on the family farm – which specialises in camel hire. I also think this couple could go far. They seem to have a good eye.

The programme has two constants throughout the series.

Readers' Comments on The Great Pottery Throwdown

Yesterday I hoped my commentary How Pottery Throwdown is a better programme than Artist of the Year might have some resonance with readers of my blog.

I was surprised to see how very many thought 

• my analysis was spot on
• offered a few more views of their own.

So today is a READERS SPECIAL. Below you'll find comments left on my post when it was published on my Facebook Page yesterday

There were a number of themes - and I've organised the comments under the themes. Any emboldened comments are due to me highlighting them in bold.

Participating Potters in The Great Pottery Throwdown 2026
(Facebook 30 December 2025)

I highly recommend subscribing to The Great Pottery Throwdown Facebook Page. Always guaranteed to make you feel good!

What makes Throwdown special?

Totally agree-it’s a very skilfully put together programme, with an approach that seems very supportive and yes educational. The judges are very skilled in their field and respond with useful feedback and in a way that is positive and specific.
It’s thoughtful, gentle and actually about process and creativity and skill. Jo York Art

I totally agree with your assessment. There’s one more aspect of Throwdown that brings me joy, and that is how close the participants get to each other. There’s a real sense that they develop lifetime friendships and a community of likeminded people. And they help each other, whether it’s carrying things to the drying room, or flipping something heavy over. I remember an episode where one potter asked another for advice. The advice given was real advice, intended to really help. Diana Hume

Very much agree. I am a painter and art teacher but I prefer Throw Down to L/PAOTY. Much more interesting, educational and a pleasure to watch. Sue Bradley Artist

Plus a lot more in the section on the Judges..... 

Why the Format works

it’s mainly the format which lends itself to better showcasing the contestants’ skills (one big project which can be practiced and prepped plus a shorter test which is not revealed in advance) Hil Beavan 

The Great Pottery Throwdown is a gem! We get to know the potters over several weeks and care about them. As a group, they are so supportive of each other and the judges genuinely want them all to do well. I’m a painter, but this is my favourite programme to watch. Sarah Clark

Art versus Craft

I love the Pottery one, watch it religiously. Your comparison is spot on Katherine. I think the difference stems from the age old craft verses art problem that most people in the art world seem to suffer from, i.e. they seem to be afraid of the “craft” of art, the mastery of skills and techniques. It is almost like the magic circle, such a mysterious secret, that to really show and explain the process would not be good for the general public.  Sarah Wimperis 

The Judges

The Throwdown Judges 2026
Rich Miller and Keith Brymer Jones

Keith Brumer Jones 
25 March 2025

Last year, I had the good fortune to meet Keith Brymer Jones at Grayson Perry's exhibition at the Wallace Collection. I of course did the naff fan thing and introduced myself and said how much I enjoyed the show!

This is what you had to say.....

The warmth of the two Pottery judges of course makes a massive difference to setting the tone, and you never feel they look down their noses at anyone’s work even if it is not to their personal taste. This means that they can be straightforward about their comments, which always have a kind spin - even when something gets splatted in the Bucket of Doom! And of course they deliver their judgments directly to the contestants rather than behind the easels in a secret discussion. Hil Beavan

I love Pottery Throwdown! And how Keith gets so emotional when someone does good. He truly cares. Patty Henderson

Such kindness shown, and encouragement and I could go on….  Jane Duncan

The judges seem to care about the potters & their work &, yes, your comments about criteria for making & judging are spot on. Cath Allwood

Plus contrasting how the Judges behaved with the Judges in PAOTY/LAOTY

When they go around to each contestant during the makes, they often give helpful advice on what they see as the pitfalls to come. 

The po-faced inane utterances of the infamous trio from PAOTY and LAOTY are the very opposite. Kate Pearce

I wished that the PAOTY or LAOTY gets more detailed crit by the judges at the end. I found their cursory opinions often very vague and feels some of the artists were short changed for their efforts. I don’t see the points to show their discussion for the selections when the actual paintings were hidden from the viewers. It makes it look less serious about art than making a TV show. Yoriko Cole 

and my final word on the contrast with PAOTY/LAOTY 

You only have to read the comments on just about every review I write of every PAOTY / LAOTY episode to realise that very many viewers are very critical of the Judges. Mostly in relation to wiffle waffle language and the obscured way in which they talk about the judging.

What would be interesting is to change the judges and see if people were still critical i.e. is it the format or is it the judges? Making A Mark

About the Throwdown Judges

Here's a teeny bit about both of them. 

• They are, of course, THE REAL THING i.e. practising potters - except they make ceramics and tiles! 
• They've both been at it for a very long time - and they run their own businesses!

Keith Brymer Jones

Many people know me as the judge on the popular TV show, the Great Pottery Throw Down, but my real job, and my passion, is ceramics. I have been a ceramicist and design expert amassing both knowledge and experience for over four decades. Not only have I been successful with my own collection of ceramics, the award winning ‘Word Range’, I also work collaboratively with both British & International designers, artists illustrators & fashion houses. 

Rich Miller

Richard studied ceramics at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design, graduating in 2003 . For the last 19 years he’s been running Froyle Tiles, a handmade tile company based in Surrey. Specialising in the bespoke production of high fired stoneware tiles, they have to date carried out a range of commissions for a variety of notable architects and designers.

and should Love Productions be reading.....

At least one reader out there would like Love Productions to tackle Printmaking as well!

Although I watch all the programmes you mention TGPT is definitely my favourite. I’m not a potter but I am an artist and a printmaker and would love to see the firm behind the Pottery, Sewing Bee and Bake off tackle Printmaking- with a different technique each week and a technical challenge as well.. I think it would be interesting and informative- the general public have no idea of the work involved in producing print based artwork! Drusilla Cole, Former Senior lecturer at University of the Arts London 

How Pottery Throwdown is a better programme than Artist of the Year

There have been a number of television programmes over the years about creating/making things in a competitive context and I've commented on a lot of them (see my Art on Television page)

I've been writing reviews of the Portrait and Lansdscape Artist of the Year series (and others) since 2018 and I've been watching The Great Pottery Throwdown since it started - but never reviewed it.

However this year, I feel prompted to say why I think Pottery Throwdown is a better programme

This is in the context of the multiple criticisms over the years of PAOTY and LAOTY, many of which are shared by viewers.

The Love Productions pic for The Great Pottery Throwdown

So here goes

How to watch "Artist of the Year" on television and mobile devices

I've had a number of queries on Facebook in the last few days about how to watch Portrait Artist of the Year. So this is for all those new to the "Artist of the Year" series broadcast by Sky Arts in respect of:

• Portrait Artist of the Year (PAOTY)
• Landscape Artist of the Year (LAOTY)
• Celebrity (whatever) Artist of the Year
• Artist of the Year Masterclass - by participating artists

This post is about how to watch Sky Arts and Artist of the Year series 

• three different ways - via Freeview, Now TV, Sky TV and Virgin Media
• on television and mobile devices
• in the UK and USA

NOTE: I rather suspect the Facebook algorithm has changed as the queries seem to be coming from people who are completely new to my Making A Mark Facebook page

How to watch the Artist of the Year series in the UK

Back in January 2018, I wrote this post How to watch Sky Arts - Portrait Artist of the Year 2018 without subscribing to Sky!

Since then things have CHANGED - so this is by way of an UPDATE!

You now have three options - which I will discuss in turn.

• Sky Arts on Freeview
• Now TV subscription
• Sky TV subscription

I gather there might be channels in the US who have bought the rights to broadcast the series - which get covered at the end.

Sky Arts on Freeview

You can watch ALL the Artist of the Year programmes being broadcast for the first time on Sky Arts on Freeview (Channel 36) or Freesat (channel 143)

You can also watch all other Sky Arts programmes via this channel - which is well worthwhile keeping an eye on.

You can also watch on via the following (see https://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview-play for more info)

• the free mobile app (I use this for its guide feature which is the best way of finding out what's on Freeview channels) - which I know works on both my iPad and iPhone.

Sky Arts on Freeview - on Channel 36

The constraints are:

• the new episode always broadcasts at 8pm on Wednesday every week during the series
• a repeat of the episode in broadcast at 7pm on the next day, Thursday.
• further repeat episodes eg Sunday Lunchtime; Monday afternoon
  

The only way you can watch it twice or at a time other than when Sky Arts broadcasts is to record it - for personal use only - in the normal way.

There is a Freeview Play recorder which adds the ability to pause, rewind, and record live TV, as well as series.

The Freeview website has lots of helpful info about how to watch - see https://www.freeview.co.uk/how-can-i-tell-if-my-tv-has-freeview-play

Want to watch Landscape Artist of the Year being filmed?

Filming has started on Series 11 of Landscape Artist of the Year which will be broadcast between January and March 2026.

Derwent Water is next week
Best View yet - by a long way

For those curious as to how it is going and for those who maybe want to go and watch, this is what I've found out so far. (They've stopped sending me press releases!)

Of the locations they have identified 5 are about 

5 Very BIG Structures 

• Dover Castle, Kent
• Dover Ferry Point, Kent
• The Thames from HMS Wellington, London
• The Ouse Valley Viaduct, West Sussex 
• Falkirk Wheel, Scotland

3 Actual Landscapes!

• The Lake District, Cumbria (two heats) - actual real landscape as painted by very many landscape painters - but BIG!
• St James’s Park, London - actual land which is green - small and manicured and a lake with a lot of birds on it!

BELOW you can find out where the heats are and which date they are filming - although some of this is guesswork.

Heat Locations

Locations of "public" heats are as listed in this marketing image

They say they are 

unable to accommodate audiences at the other locations due to the lack of parking and facilities. 

However every single one of them is a public space - so, if you fancy, you can ignore that if you can work out how to get there and where local facilities might be located.

I can't work out whether they mean this is what they are ALSO telling the wildcards to do!

Last week: Dover Castle, Kent and Dover Ferry Point, Kent

Given they split up the locations during the series but do them at the same time while filming I'm assuming there were two heats at Dover was last week

• a view of Dover Castle
• a view of the ferryport from the cliffs!

Here are some of the photos from social media!  Some of those pods look somewhat precarious. I wonder what the insurance was like after the risk assessment exercise?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Susie Treherne Thomas (@strehernethomas)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Sims | Landscape & Pet Portrait Artist UK (@katiesimsart)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Durham (@mikedurhamart)

Next week: Crow Park, Keswick in The Lake District / Cumbria

Two days in the Lake District - on Wednesday18th and Thursday 19th June means two heats.

You will recall that last year, they went to Wales and maybe moved the pods about half a mile to get a different perspective on the same place. 

Here's the Google Maps reference for Crow Park which appears to overlook Derwent Water.

Plus see the photo above of the view from Crow Park over Derwent Water.

I envy anybody who gets that view.

Remember - the sites they use will ALWAYS be an expanse of flattish land big enough for eight sizable pods.

Wednesday 25th June: St James's Park

St James Park - the Lake View, with trees (2008)

from Drawing trees in St James Park

What I do know is that anybody getting this heat better be good at trees!

There are various places they could theoretically set up the pods in St James's Park - however they also run the risk of causing an obstruction for the other people using the park.. 

 Those who have sketched or plein air painted there will know the places to "go to". I'm assuming it's probably going to include water as it's a bit silly going to a park with a great big lake and then ignoring it.  Just as you can hardly ignore the trees....

See, for example, my blog post about Capturing the Moment - plein air paint out in St James's Park organised by the British Plein Air Painters.  I'd so like them to turn out en masse and NOT be wildcards and paint what they want to paint....

I'm including a couple of sketches I did back in 2008 (above and below)

St James Park - Tree Study #3 (8th October, 6pm)

8.5" x 11", coloured pencils in Daler Rowney sketchbook

(see The colour of weather and time)

However it's going to be absolutely swarming with tourists - who all love a camera! You can't move in London at the moment for school trips and families all speaking every language under the sun! 

I do not envy those who get this heat!  But I might go and watch!

Thursday 26th June - The Thames from HMS Wellington, London

I think it's a fair bet that if they're in London with the pods on Wednesday then on Thursday those pods will have been erected somewhere else in London and the crew will be working two days back to back with the pods etc - which means that Thursday will be the date for the other location they've already announced

Which is The Thames from HMS Wellington, London - and below is HMS Wellington - moored on the north side of the Thames inbetween Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge. 

I don't know if they're going to put the pods on the boats - but it strikes me that could be problematic!

HMS Wellington, 

HMS Wellington is a Grimsby-class sloop, formerly of the Royal Navy. During the Second World War, she served as a convoy escort ship in the North Atlantic. She is now moored alongside the Victoria Embankment, at Temple Pier, on the River Thames in London, England

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the wildcards are on the bridges... Maybe with a few others?

I am speculating. They're not saying. However all the land either side of the river and along the bridges is public - and this is very much a public location . However it's next to the Embankment and a very busy road so common sense dictates that they won't be encouraging people to attend next to the boat. There again they can't stop them either...

HOWEVER, the irony is THAT there is a MUCH MUCH BETTER view from the "made for LAOTY filming" area exactly on the opposite side of the river on the South Bank.

The view from the other side of the river
You can see St Paul's cathedral and all the towers in the City of London
as well as an excellent view of the bridges

SEMI- FINAL

(I'm guessing! Wednesday 2nd July) - The Ouse Valley Viaduct, West Sussex

There are always two locations which are isolated from the others. Which means 

• one is the location for the semi-final and 
• the other is the location of the Final.

Since they're telling us the Final is in Falkirk, I'm making the reasonable assumption that the semi-final is in West Suusex.

The Ouse Valley Viaduct is another ridiculous structure - which is only outdone by the ridiculous structure for the Final!

The Ouse Valley Viaduct

A structural marvel, the viaduct was originally built in 1838 to carry the London-Brighton line over the River Ouse.

It has been estimated that around 11 million bricks were used in construction, with almost 17 million passenger journeys being made across the viaduct every year!

It strikes an elegant silhouette over the beautiful High Weald area and is a must for all photography fans. Standing at 29 metres tall, the Viaduct has 37 arches stretching 450 metres across the Ouse Valley and over the River Ouse. Ouse Valley Viaduct, Visit South East England Website

Basically it's halfway between Crawley and Hayward's Heath.

• This is the location - link from Google Maps
• Also described as Haywards Heath Road, Balcombe, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6QP.

The date provides for three clear weeks before the Final on the 23rd - during which time the finalists have to product their commission artwork. (as in "find a really silly view near you and paint it")

THE FINAL

Wednesday 23rd July - The Falkirk Wheel

That's a horror story of a subject for a Final. 

Sue England (Series 5 LAOTY 2019) was given the Falkirk Wheel as the subject for her commission painting prior to the Final proper (see Fujiko Rose won Landscape Artist of the Year 2019 in Final at Battersea Power Station). I remember then thinking how unlucky she was. There again - at least she got to choose how she portrayed it and from what angle and how much!

The Falkirk Wheel, Scotland

But it gets better - the producers are complete sadists! IT MOVES!

Threre's a canal at the top and a canal at the bottom. At rest, the wheel sits with a gondola at each level, filled with water. Barges sail in, and the water relevels, but due to Achimedes' principle, the weight in the gondolas remains the same. The wheel, in perfect balance, is turned by a small electric motor (same power requirements as a few teakettles, we're told) and the gondlas stay level thanks to wheels within the wheel. The rotation takes 5 minutes, and then the barges sail ou

So, if you were applying for a heat, I wonder which you would choose......

More about Landscape Artist of the Year

on MAM and by participants

Series 11 - to be broadcast early 2026

• Call for Entries - Landscape Artist of the Year 2026 (Series 11).
• A new Judge for Landscape Artist of the Year!

Series 10 - broadcast early 2025

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

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

This is about:

• Interviews with all the Heat Winners and Wildcard winners in Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - now available on Cass Arts website
• How to view the Commission Painting - now hanging at the Courtauld Gallery
• My reviews of the Final and the Commission programme

Interviews with the Artists

For those who have been following Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2025), you'll be interested to know that interviews with participating Artists can now be found on the Cass Artists blog in this post Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10: Meet the Artists

Heat 1: Ben McGregor with his submission

The article covers Heats 1 to 6 and

• all the Heat Winners
• all the Wildcard Winners

and has quite lengthy text about each one. 

Very definitely a "get a cup of tea and find a comfy chair" long read!

If you want to see the Commission Painting

The winner's Commission Painting inspired by three locations associated with Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh in the South of France is now hanging in the Courtauld Gallery.

You can read more about where it is and how to view it in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 winning commission now on display at The Courtauld Gallery

Note that Goya to Impressionism is SOLD OUT until 30th March.

It's priced admission and don't forget there are a limited number of "walk up" tickets which enable to go free as a Friend of the Courtauld or if you have an Art Fund National Art Pass. Otherwise an adult is £10 to see the Permanent Collection

If you also want to see the current Goya to Impressionism, you'll be waiting a while as it is currently booked out for a few weeks.

My reviews of the Final and the Commission Programme

I'm still feeling fairly wiped out following my partner's very sudden emergency admission to hospital last Friday and his five day stay. Coupled with the fact I went to hospital again yesterday for my outpatient appointment and now have to work out how I'm going to continue blogging in a couple of months after my left shoulder replacement operation! (Arm in sling for six weeks!)

So I'm having a quiet day today and tomorrow and will be hoping to publish as follows

• Sunday - Review of the Final
• Monday - 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!)
• Tuesday or Wednesday - Review of the Series as a whole

I hope you'll be back to read them despite the fact the Series has now finished.

Review: Episode 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - Bristol Harbourside

The heats - as per the running order of episodes Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - finished with a cold and wet one - right next to some cold wet water at Bristol Harbourside.

Pods on the edge of Bristol Harbourside

Comments included below are by people who follow me on Facebook - unless indicated to be by an artist, wildcard or Judge.

Episode 6: Bristol Harbourside

This review - of Episode 6 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

NOTE: This might be Episode 6 but it was actually Heat 2 and was filmed on Wednesday 12 June 2024 in Bristol (which rather suggests that the Suspension Bridge was Heat 1). I think they decide the running order of Heats - as Episodes - after they have filmed and know the outcomes. That and the fact that the two heats in the same area are never consecutive on the screens. Anybody care to divulge the actual filming date of their heat?

Location and Weather

The location was Bristol Harbourside

A side on perspective of Bristol Harbourside

I kept trying to work out where the pods are - because this programme has this unhappy habit of sending cameramen to film the view from locations where the pods are NOT located! Plus we had lots of top down views - none of which contained either pods or wildcards (presumably done in advance)!

Review: Episode 5 Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 - Dinorwic Slate Quarry

We were back in the Welsh countryside this week - but with an industrial angle!

I don't think the view selected for Heat 5 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 could be called "attractive: . More like a manmade scar on the countryside....

LAOTY 2025: Heat 5 - artists lined up to hear the results of the shortlisting

Episode 5: Dinorwic Quarry

This review - of Episode 5 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

Location and Weather

The view of the Dinorwic Slate Quarry from the pods
the vertical slate seam to the left and the slag tips to the right

The location was the old Dinorwic Slate Quarry located between the villages of Llanberis and Dinorwig (formerly Dinorwic) in North Wales.

The two largest slate quarries in the world at the beginning of the 20th century were both located in North Wales. Penrhyn was the largest (which is the one I know) and this one was the second largest. It opened in 1787; at its height of production it employed 3,000 people and it closed down in 1969 and became the site of The Slate Museum.

The artists had a view of an imposing and monumental view of the vein of slate, which is very nearly vertical and hence there is a very vertical quarry. Vegetation is growing again on the hillside. To the right was more of the quarry and the slag heaps.

An actual landscape and a nice, meaty challenging one at that!

Interestingly the pods were split into two rows of four - either side of the vertical scar - and I'm guessing that was to allow the wildcards to see it too.

The split pods - with wildcards behind.
Is this going to be repeated in future?

Tai thought it was quite ugly and very difficult to do. He highlighted how the scar in the hillside goes in so that the shadows will be constantly changing on a sunny day - as it was.

Another comments was that the hillside was scarred and those scars had been inflicted by humans

I found it unattractive and also very difficult to make look interesting as most of the day it was all one tone. It seemed to me the only way to make it look interesting would be via mark-making or exaggeration.

The heat was filmed on a very hot dry day in June 2024.  People were using their umbrellas and protective tents to shield themselves from the sun!

"It's very hot so it's going to be a challenge!"

 

The Artists in the Pods

Review: Episode 4 of Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 10) - St Pancras Basin

This, for me, was a rather unsatisfactory episode of Landscape Artist of the Year from the viewers perspective. Mainly because it  

• was totally confusing as to what the view was
• provided different artists with different views
• kept giving us top down or high up perspectives on the place
• nearly all the artists seemed to be very "hemmed in"
• overall, it made for a disappointing episode

Shortlising announcement in Gasholder Park 
at St Pancras Basin in North London

....and I haven't even got started YET it being another URBAN cityscape! 

Can the production team and the Judges not bear to drag themselves away from London? Is this a cost-cutting exercise?

I’m thinking that my chances of getting into the competition would be better if my submission painting showed the bleakest urban landscape possible!

 

Episode 4: St Pancras Basin

This review - of Episode 4 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

Location and Weather

The view was all over the place - as were the pods.

The location was St Pancras Basin - just north of  St Pancras Station. 

• You can find it here on Google Maps. 
• It was originally built by the Midland Railway in 1869 with the aim of loading load canal barges with the coal brought by the railway, mainly from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It fell into disuse after the coal drops were dismantled.
• Regeneration started - or rather had some false starts - in the 1980 and 1990s
• The 1996 decision to move the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Waterloo to St Pancras became a major catalyst for change as part of what became a grand plan to redevelop all the old industrial land behind the two stations of Kings Cross and St. Pancras. The results have been very impressive across a number of metrics

Top down view of most of the site that provided views for the artists

This is a competition which requires eight pods lined up in front of a view - with space for the wildcards and for the production team to work

This site has very limited space and the area is completely hemmed in by:

• The Regents Canal - and St Pancras Basin full of barges
• The high level railway lines coming in and out of  St Pancras International Station
• the gasholders - rebuilt on the north side of the site as a result of the changes made at St Pancras station for the Eurostar.
• the new flats built on what was a brownfield site
• the new centre built at Coaldrop Yard

As a result, the eight pods were not all together. Six were on a spot close to the railway bridge over the canal and two more were further away on a piece of grass, next to a tree. Except they looked like three to me so even more confusing....

I found the whole location gobsmackingly complicated and confusing. I couldn't make sense of where anyone was and what views they had to look at and paint. The split-site pods may explain that last bit! Thanks for pointing it out.

The Split of the Pods
six to the left near the bridge over the canal; two to the right on the grass

I don't think I've ever seen all the pods split up in this way before

However the weather seemed to be sunny and hot with some cloud - at least judging by the attire of some of the pod artists......

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 4 pod artists are listed and profiled BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames; including:

• a synopsis of their background
• Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
• Social media platforms are also referenced