Every Stroke Tells a Story! - Portrait Artist of the Year - Art Documentary

foreign [Music] Arts Center where we've learned that when it comes to Art things don't always need to be a hundred percent complete to be good so if you like a work in progress or you're partial to a profile stick around it's the semi-final of portrait artist of the year over the last eight weeks we've welcomed over 70 of the UK and Ireland's amateur and professional artists painting an array of familiar faces how would you like us to address you today my name is Trevor I feel like rose on the Titanic how would you like me oh my goodness oh I just I love it I think it's really beautiful I'm sorry eight artists fought off the competition to win their heat this is so crazy it's so crazy I'm very happy to do it again please now at the semi-final the pressure is on with a place at the final at stake and the chance to win a 10 000 pound prize to paint International ballet star and choreographer Carlos Acosta for the Birmingham Museum and art gallery on the lookout for some show-stopping Talent are our three judges we've picked eight phenomenal painters and the result is we've created a rod for our own backs but with just three places available it's all started very exciting now I'm panicking the artists will need extraordinary Focus to make it through to the final you're not holding back are you it's a semi-final though isn't it it's a semi-final going over pulling out all the stops foreign [Music] eight artists won their Heats to claim their place at the semi-final four are professional artists Kofi Ferris Eugenie vronskaya Sai sapsford and Sarah Cowley to beat the semi-final is so so exciting I can't believe that this is happening somebody like me this is a wonderful thing and four are amateur artists kyun Anderson Curtis holder Morag kaster and Sally Ward I think as an artist you find that you have good days and bad days I'm just keeping my fingers crossed to have a good day [Music] our artists find the grand hall of Battersea Arts Center has been transformed from the way it looked in the Heats oh wow oh my God [Music] it's extraordinary are you gonna include any of the background in your piece I have no idea [Music] we have the artist facing inward whereas today we've removed that and we're kind of looking outward they can see this grand hall in all its Glory there's a lot of space and light to play with that wasn't there before I mean it's hard to ignore it that very broken sort of space could be exciting could be really complicated could work for you it could ruin you [Music] we've got this here eight artists who've got very distinctive Styles and very different approaches and all of them have incredible Merit so trying to decide between those to which go forward is going to be nion impossible so today in the semi-file it's a beautiful set and a fabulous sitter but there will be difficulties we're taking them out of their comfort zone so at the end of today I want to see three exceptional works of art and be confident that the three artists going forward are ready for that challenge in the final [Music] artists congratulations on making it through to the semi-final now I know you're all looking at this set behind me and trying to work out who you might be painting so let me put you out of your misery your sitter today is an award-winning writer her critically acclaimed novel girl woman other not only clinched the booker prize in 2019 but also made it on to Barack Obama's list of his favorite books of that year a long-standing advocate for the inclusion of writers and artists of color and professor of creative writing at Brunel University with an MBE to boot please welcome Bernadine everesto [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to be here yes we've got eight artists looking at you I know all these very visually attuned eyes as a novelist obviously you are an observer of humankind I am yeah I observe everything and you do it very kind of inconspicuously as well as a writer so I shall be watching you all very closely look out for my next book are you looking for anything in particular are you looking for a flattering portrait always I'm sure the artists will be over taking pictures having a good look so make sure that's a comfortable position it's obviously a practice in front of the mirror well artists I'm sure your creative process began as soon as Bernadine walked in in fact you're probably not listening to a single word I'm saying right now but you might want to listen to this next bit you have four hours to complete your portraits good luck everyone your time starts now [Music] thank you [Music] Sarah and how you feeling semi-final Day 72 artists started this competition there are eight of you left and you're one of the eight how crazy is that does that make you feel like you know that you rule the world or are you yeah a king of the world now when everyone was kneeling at it Sarah Cowley is a professional artist from Loughborough the judges loved her miniature portrait of actor Eddie Marsden in the Heats admiring how she focused in on the personality of the sitter there's a lot of pattern and color is that exciting or is that a worry I need to get some settled in and get rid of Bernadine before I can worry about that because oh wow I know you're not holding back are you no it's a semi-final though isn't it it's a semi-final going over pulling out all the stubs I mean I would estimate there are what about 700 books you're going to try and get them all in I've got 703 but yeah [Laughter] [Music] so sorry can you hold you up straight ahead straight thank you thank you foreign is so bright and colorful and she has this great smile I've drawn her head quite large so that I can really explore those skin tones and skin colors but also her earrings in there her hair and the colors of her hair band and her clothes and so those are the things I'm trying to capture in the painting kayune Anderson is an architecture graduate based in London as well as the clever use of color in her heat portrait of chuti gatwa the judges appreciated her skill for really getting under the skin of her sitter you're right in that drawing phase and you're really concentrating on building the structure and there's two different lines you've got does it mean that the first drawing didn't quite work out right they're going quite rapid the first roaring and then I will put it on my phone compare it with the photo of Bernadine I'm painting from and kind of edit the lines of the first drawing to make it more accurate hang on you flick between them yes I do I do I will look at the two photos next to each other and adjust each line and that darker gray is the adjustment I've never seen that done it's a very interesting tip which is going into the vault foreign [Music] how are you finding it in your Palace of floating books it's special have to say what about having eight artists scrutinize you does that intimidate you that somehow their entire world today is their reading of you I suppose I like it it's this kind of good kind of attention that I'm getting I suppose it's nurturing my ego a little bit and where's your head at apart from taking in the artist are you drifting off thinking about you know I can't I wish I could but actually it's it's way too distracting my eyes are just following everything and everyone okay so you've got this lovely sort of sense of wonder all this aren't being yes yeah yes I think that's what's happening yeah while the others are working at their easels Curtis has taken up his familiar position right in front of the sitter how did you get started well I've always drawn I I can't remember not drawing how did you develop your skills just through doing it yeah just doing doing um drawing drawing drawings I like it when people are kind of self-taught there's no one telling you you can't or that's not the right way you can find a way that's right for you everyone can make marks yes everyone can but also art is almost anything now God yeah you know it's a sound installation isn't it yeah it's a lump of turd on a white flower hopefully that's not what I'm going to be producing hopefully not Curtis holder is a primary school teacher living in London at the Heats he blew the judges away with his large profile pencil drawing of drag queen the Vivian which they described as completely original and courageous Curtis we've seen you in this setup before creeping in and he creeping but look I've got stall this time I thought the point the floor was it was a great angle but actually it was a great Angle now you've got a bit of luxury you've just abandoned all your principles yeah now I'm big in the saddle right and we're going to see dozens of sketches I'm on my third I think you just need to feel your way and then when you look at those after you've finished then some sense comes from what you've done and then you can transfer that to the big stage yeah it is a big stage that's enormous thank you very much foreign [Music] how long did it take you to find that particular crop it took me a while actually at the beginning because I tried to spend quite a bit of time deciding on the composition and the expression as well is it almost like there's too much going on there is but at the same time I was really pleased with this composition because I think it sort of packs everything in okay so you've taken control of what we've given you yeah bent it to your will yes Sally Ward is a civil servant living in Kingston she painted presenter Melanie Sykes in the Heats and although she struggled with the likeness her work stood out for its powerful sense of Melanie's spirit so obviously with so many artists presumably there's not much of a chance for a conversation with Bernadine today no I haven't spoken to her myself I've been feeding off other artists who have Curtis is doing all the work for you exactly and of course what he doesn't realize is you've been able to crack on with the painting there you see fly the artists are almost one hour into their semi-final challenge foreign and then I want to do a hair over the top of the background so background I'm not scared I'm scared of a few books [Music] I think the most difficult aspect is going to be trying to make the colors work together with the background the clothing itself is such a bold pattern I've never painted anything like that before so that's going to be a challenge as well [Music] this is the most important bit you've got to get the proportions right because today it's about getting a lightness and also having something that the sitter will not be repulsed by so it's a bit of a juggling Act [Music] here at Battersea Arts Center our artists are one hour into painting book a prize-winning author Bernadine everisto where most artists are sticking to their usual process one has decided to try something new [Music] Virginia you're gone for a very ambitious portrait no in a wonderful way in the heat you didn't use a black canvas I haven't done it before I'm just going to just experiment how does it feel painting onto it is it working do you know I couldn't quite make my mind if I should go for this black but those bright colors they almost look pastely so I thought oh well okay why not should make things maybe a bit more exciting you know I like the fact that you're thinking it's a semi-final let's see what can happen I think that's a very courageous or crazy yes it could be crazy yeah originally from Russia Eugenie vronskaya now lives in London at the Heats she painted fashion designer Pam Hogg and wowed the judges by producing a piece that captured the sitter's character and likeness perfectly Bernadine is appearing so she's got a head that is easy or difficult to capture I mean painting is difficult whatever you do [Music] but yes I like her head a lot I mean that's why I have chosen that sort of Royal position she sort of resides like a queen of books now you've spoken about it absolutely it's in a long line of Royal portraits yes as well nice well look the head's making a wonderful appearance so crack on thank you that's very encouraging from Kai yes foreign [Music] yogurt stage of painting the amount of color that she has is a little bit confusing so what I want to do is simplify the color and simplify the form and this sort of sense of leaving the board bare around Bernadine what will that achieve for you well one a Simplicity but the other thing I'm looking for because she's such a large figure in terms of her achievements I want her to kind of be bursting out of the of the space Kofi Ferris is a professional artist from London his portrait of DJ and musician Don Letts was described as magical and masterful they felt he perfectly captured the complexities of his sitter [Music] it's a semi-final you're surrounded by artists you've won their heat yes yes you can see Eugenie for example here you try to sort of have tunnel vision what I need to do is just settle down get into a nice Zone and just work it from there great I'm loving this color that you're starting with well hopefully it will work positive imaging imagining that's the goal foreign books bulbs and Bernadine yeah most wonderful thing of course is Bernardin herself I can't imagine she's a great poker player because you can see thoughts and emotions flitting across her face and I think that's perfect for portrait artists today we have Columns of floating books and some twinkly lights we know there's some artists you can put them in front of eight dancing elephants as a backdrop and they would ignore it is that a problem for you especially in this instance I want some acknowledgment of it because it's been thought through as a whole concept in a sense and Bernadine has responded the concept by dressing in a certain way and do you want to sense that this has been put there for a reason okay well when you pick a finalist that ignores the background I'll be back on yeah I'm interrogating yeah okay [Music] um so how are you finding your sitter the very vibrant colorful Bernadine knowing what I was going to get I would have gone for the bigger canvas because I really like the color and the shirts your work was sort of reasonably colorful before but this potentially would be exaggerated do you think normally I only have this limited palette I've got new colors out as a sort of like little reward yeah and because I wasn't sure I'd get quite the vibrancy from the shirt I'd like to be a bit you know more experimental and not just follow the same format as last okay so you're trying to sort of give us something slightly different scissapsford is primarily a sculptor in the heat she won the judges over with her sophisticated use of paint to convey the mischievous character of her sitter musician and actor Jordan Stevens did you learn anything and you were here on the heat well my ambition was to work much more quickly at getting the initial shape down so yeah but again I'm going a bit too slowly I haven't learned anything well you pulled it off last time but it was like throwing the paint on at the last minute I can see her eyes are already there it's beginning to catch her size that's great yes yeah keep going thank you [Music] foreign [Music] correct me if I'm wrong wasn't it much later in the day that you got to paint at the heat yeah I think I was about just over two hours in right and I saw a painting last time which was just silly I don't know what I was thinking so you've had a sort of word with yourself and said got to get the paint on earlier is a recent Fine Art graduate from Brighton she impressed the judges with her ability to catch a fleeting notion of the energy and body language of her sitter TV personality Fred siriix you have a great Setter today yeah have you spoken to her at all I actually haven't I've been a bit shy but I can tell that she seems really warm and just really peacefully kind of intelligent yeah she has a calmness about it you express yourself through painting yeah you've got a sitter who expresses herself with words on a page yeah I don't know where I'm going with that but it's just no I thought that to you you're both trying to catch the essence of people yeah trying to reduce it down into some kind of descriptive form oh good I'll leave you to do that then [Music] foreign I think when they turn their easels I'm going to be really surprised I want them to portray me as strong and as characterful and individualistic I would be very upset if I look boring the artists have just two hours left [Music] please I had to lift the hands because the hands were too low so I'm just redrawing it back and trying to calm myself down it's all started very exciting now I'm kind of panicking [Music] a little bit behind I'm just concerned about color at the moment it's just at the age I know I can probably pull it together time's really scary today I was working on a smaller scale for the Heats I'm definitely finding it a challenge to get the paint down quickly really got to crack on [Music] here at Battersea Arts Center our semi-final artists are painting Bernadine everisto who's doing her best to pass the time you're right yeah it's interesting I have no idea what any of you are doing well I've done a lovely picture of a house and a car and a tree I thought I might put an elephant in there as well but I might be panicking yes that's great artistic license absolutely to make it to the final the artists need to impress all three judges so at the halfway stage what do they make of the work so far well you can tell it's semi-final day there's an atmosphere in the room isn't there I think the artists have really responded to Bernadine's presence you know they've got a real sense of her strength there's a real Force coming at the artist Kofi says he can see the finished portrait in his mind he's very confident isn't he I like the way he's caught two signs of Bernadine's face one is kind of somber the other smiling the problem is there's something wrong with her shoulders so Kofi has a Bernadine who's quite lethargic and um down I find watching Kofi painting Bernadine like watching a romance develop the way in which he sort of touches her lips with that gentle pink I'm falling in love with it already shoulders or no shoulders eugenie's portraits with that dark background is striking I think what's fantastic is that she hasn't painted on that before she's not sure how these colored paints are going to respond to it the initial sketch we felt like Bernadine after just like a few minutes doing that yeah usually started really forcefully and strong you know big bold use of color but there's something wrong with the top of the head I think the little incorrect Bowl the light is flashing Sally's really embraced the books I think Sally is doing what Sally does what we loved about what she's given looks before is that sense of a breathing living person and at the moment Bernadine is there but she hasn't got that depth that we like expect me to suggest this son he's just giving us what she gave us before because hey it's larger B she has nailed the likeness at an early stage today which she recognizes she didn't do with Melanie Curtis working in his chatty nomadic scratchy style it's performative what he does it's about his body in relationship to the sister's body it's a kind of conjuring I love it when Curtis goes in close and gathers the information he needs but there's something about Bernadine's structure it relies on that beautiful head of hair and I hope he goes and gives us that because at the moment we're dealing with profiles again I think we've learned from the Heats with more aggler she's capable of producing something special at the last moment I think Mara has been put on this Earth to make us nervous until the very last minute you know we all these elements come in in different stages and hopefully by the time you get at the end of today we will see something that we know is as strong as her self-portrait and the portrait of Fred well this is the semi-final do you have any idea here at the moment who is looking like they're going to make it through no it's anyone's day we picked eight phenomenal painters you have the result is we've created a rod for our own back so this afternoon's going to be tough foreign [Music] what's been going through your head I've just been thinking about the experience of being here right and and just watching everything happen the way it does because I'm not used to this this isn't my world so you're wearing a very colorful outfit today are these the clothes you'd normally be wearing not to the supermarket no I would wear this as a special outfit but I wouldn't wear this with this okay but I thought I'd go over the top to give them something to work with right well it's a semi-final exactly so give them an advanced challenge yeah [Music] I was wondering what you thought about the color there's a lot there yeah if it goes too loud it gets kind of garish and um I want to tone it back but still kind of bring forward her colorful characteristics you've modified the background to give it a very stark white aspect why have you done that um to really allow it to kind of jump out the composition that's the plan [Music] Sally how's it going I found this really challenging actually I mean there is so much color in bernardini I've had to use three palettes so this would be for skin tones that is for the shirt and the Hair Band yeah and what's that interesting well those are sort of my darker taste it looks like you've toned down colors so they fit into one sort of kind of family yeah it's a real balancing action look it's working so um Carry On [Music] usually I can see you've started work on the shirt I mean my biggest sort of dilemma is it's fabulous to look at but it completely destroys any sense of forms maybe I just bit too much in the such short period of semi-final I gotta raise your game well I have to say my pulse is definitely raised a lot [Music] as well as grappling with color and form a key factor in a times challenge is scale [Music] Cuts is your competitor today you've gone really big yeah and it's a very full work there's more marks we're even actually getting a bit of a background are there any parts that you're worried about are you thinking time is against me or I don't want to do this bit or that bit because it's timed time is always against you always sorry about that but that adrenaline rush is what yeah makes you want to take those chances thank you [Music] how are you finding being in this ring of eight artists I'm done enjoying it you are I won't enjoy the last 20 minutes and I realize I have run out of time it's funny because some people under the pressure of a competition like this slowly go to pieces I think I've had more stressful experiences I used to do a lot of sailing wow crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific and sometimes that that could get quite specific so today's a sort of gentle day you're not an Atlantic storm today no I'm getting to that point where it's like oh my god I've got to finish this off [Music] just 30 minutes to go [Music] I'm trying to get as much the composition down and then I will go back to the face from now on it could probably only get a little bit better so things are looking up [Music] I think I've got a nice seated figure sitting on a green chair anything else is a bonus [Music] main thing to solve is to finish the canvas to get the face in and get the likeness there as well as making all the colors work together [Music] we're into the final stages of the semi-final challenge painting novelist Bernadine everisto I've got all those like last minute decisions that I leave for the last minute I've got to kind of make them now it takes one wrong Brush Mark and you lost the painting painting is like that things can go wrong easily how long do we have artists you have five minutes left five minutes [Music] the stage where it's saying what it needs to say it certainly doesn't look like me so that's a step in the right direction [Music] I feel like I've covered a lot of ground in the last four hours she's quite glad to reach artists your semi-final challenge is over please put down your brushes and step away from your portraits [Applause] after four hours of sitting Bernadine will finally get the chance to see the artist's work and choose her favorite portrait to keep [Music] how did you find that really fascinating yeah really actually a really enjoyable experience let's not put the moment off any longer here we go artists can I ask you to please turn your easels [Music] wow hello Bernardine they've all kind of captured a different expression the eight sides of your character yeah yeah right let's have a closer look let's have a look [Music] the shirt gets the starring I know yeah I'm exploding off the page which is a good thing full of joy yeah full of Vitality thank you [Music] wow they'd almost look like scribbles but actually I'm emerging through them and I love the bracelets as well very serious you've captured my determination I'm very determined person and that's absolutely there you've captured a certain kind of melancholy which is very interesting and yeah not not many colors but it feels really colorful [Music] it's like you've seen deep into my soul with this from it it's not bad is it it's not bad it's good yeah it's very strong it's a very knowing look isn't it you've really captured my eyes there really kind of curious and thinking you're harboring a secret in this one I'm sure yeah very knowing I want to know what it is I'm not telling you okay fair enough you've made me look very young actually I think we have I look very young and quite wide-eyed and and kind of full of hope it's lovely thank you [Music] it's the smallest one but it's really detailed you've really captured my hair my face my dress I just look very kind of serene and calm and relaxed it's a really lovely picture well then it's a bit overwhelming it is eight portraits all very different but only one will go home with you it's really tough because I spent you know several hours with everybody now watching them you know put their hearts and soul into their artwork but there is one particular portrait that just spoke to me directly and I think captures something of how I like to see myself and that was kion's I'm so blown away yeah it's crazy that she chose my portrait to take home it's a real honor foreign exhausting four hours the artists tried to relax as the judges discuss their portraits semi-final day hoping they were going to step up have they eight great artists a fantastic sitter I mean you mix them all together and you get this which is brilliant so let's start with Sarah how does she get on today it's a kind of quiet intimate portrait of Bernadine and mixed all of this noise and energy which I think is really admirable I think Sarah had problems with what to do when there wasn't something to paint so she certainly has this huge expensive gray and I think given more time she would have resolved that PSY concentrated on head and shoulders was she successful what I really like is the Gaze holds you as if you're sort of walking past and she's stopping you in your tracks I've got to say I find size paint handling when it works beautiful and when it doesn't work quite clumsy but size strength has always been the psychological insight into a sitter and the fleeting mood changes it's just sad the paint's a bit rough Eugenie gave us Bernadine in front of that very dark background did she pull it off I mean Eugene took a risk I'm pleased she stuck with it this it was slightly more undone I think Eugene is all about contrasts so this is actually a very formal traditional type of portrait but then the more you look at it the more quirky and weird it is and fun it's joyful and I I could live with this portrait of Bernadine I think Kofi gave us a very thoughtful Bernadine he started with that Dusty red it was like a wonderful magic trick I had a problem with the shoulders at halfway but he sorted it out so there is again this very powerful presence you know the hair is just beautifully sort of thought through I think what we're looking at is something that is unfinished but it is effective as a result because you're constantly drawn back up to that face I find it a very warm image of Bernadine Maura gave us a familiar concentration on the head and more suggestive body I must love more eggs portrait of Bernadine it's got a spikiness but also a sort of deflated depressiveness to it which is my favorite combination but with Fred she really worked hard to get the drawing right and here she didn't spend enough time and I think as a result when the paint went on Bernadine started to slide off and it's a Pity really I wonder whether the trauma of leaving the painting late in the heat was something she was trying to avoid today yeah possibly I mean I get a sense tomorrow the trauma is part of the creative process Sally gave us what looks like to me a completed portrait yeah I think solid set out today to prove that she could get a good likeness because she knew that the Melanie painting wasn't quite there and I think that's what she's given us yeah I think Sally's works very successful I think the verticality of that book stack is really intelligent and it really helps lift the whole picture of all of the artists I like the way that she used the books the most Curtis stands out in this parade it's so different to the others well I just like the way we're seeing the marks as a sort of extension of his thought process I think it's wonderful I think he's moved on and given us something new is great I don't know if I'm mad on the way that he's treated the books but I love those bracelets they're fantastic and he did something similar with the Vivienne with that little Focus moment which is really successful and finally the painting chosen by Bernadine full of joy full of energy cayune's portrait yeah I like a young artist who is courageous and puts it out there she underpins all the very good drawing it has got that lovely element when you go up close it's just an abstraction and when you move back it becomes this beautiful image of Bernadine and not only any old image of Bernadine but a very nice positive one full of wit and charm so there we go we have eight portraits today you've got to find three easy no no it's been one of those days really some people have fulfilled that promise and others sadly have not quite got the curve whereas some have actually exceeded our expectations so yeah we have to kind of readjust and we have to forget who we've fallen in love with right really yes and look with a cold Clear Eye absolutely yeah yeah [Music] I think we all agreed that we've got two so it's just who's fighting for that third space these look great I know these three do look good I feel more excitement about what might happen with history I feel confident but less excitement when this one's in the mix this artist who I'm not as mad on today was one of my favorite submissions we had this year I'm so conflicted Okay so we've got two that we're really happy about we just gotta give it a bit more thought to this third space [Music] artists you have done so well to make it this far you should be really proud of yourselves and thank you for all your hard work we really appreciate it sadly though only three of you can go through to the final and the judges have made their decision the first artists they have chosen is Curtis holder [Music] the second finalist is Sally Ward [Applause] [Music] the third finalist is [Music] Kofi Ferris I'm just overwhelmed I can't actually take it all in I can't believe what's just happened it's just incredible because this is something that I just love doing and to be recognized for doing it is just amazing [Music] the competition was pretty high so it was stiff rivalry like the support that you get the encouragement and people just egging you on to win my family is going to be over the moon that just happened I'm quite shocked I now want to sleep for a day and then get back on that drawing horse and ride it [Applause] Curtis Sally and Kofi what an incredible triple build all three of the artists that we're putting forward deliver something very different which means we've got a very exciting Final on our hands [Music] thank you [Music] [Music]

Channel: Banijay Home and Garden

Views: 16,410

Keywords: Canvas Transformation, Creative Process, Live Painting Event, Visual Arts Show, all homes home and garden, art documentary, artist of the year, arts competition, diy projects, documentaire, drawing, frank skinner, joan bakewell, landscape painting, painting, portrait, portrait artist of the year, portrait artist of the year full episode, portrait drawing, portrait painting, sky arts

Id: EhoruKbBDfE

Length: 44min 16sec (2656 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 19 2024